Have you heard the Lil Durk song “Before Fajr” off his latest album 'Almost Healed'? Our very own BeatStars Publishing member Desro got the opportunity to produce it and we knew BeatStars had to give him some shine. Dive into the full interview below featuring him and our Social Media Associate, Owen Postma.
Owen: Pleasure to be chatting with you, Desro! First question, how did “Before Fajr” come to be? Tell us what happened from start to finish; from when you exported the beat/loop to when the song was initially released.
Desro: Same here, sir! Looisey and I were working on some collab melodies last summer. I would send him a few starter ideas (simple melodies with lots of space to add / change some stuff). Original name of this loop was "Desperate Measures,” made in August 2022. Few people used this loop in the following months, but nothing really came out with this one. Fast forward to March 13th, a snippet of Lil Durk pops up going crazy on a very hard beat. Few hours later, Looisey let me know Smatt from 808Mafia made the beat using our loop. I was in total shock.
Owen: Wow, that’s pretty damn cool. Since it’s release, how has this placement made an impact on your career as a producer & what has the reception been like?
Desro: This placement definitely had a huge impact on my musical career, in a positive way, of course. It made me understand at this very point that any dream is achievable if your goals are clear and you put your mind to it. It gave me so much motivation to go even harder. Reactions were pretty wild too. As I'm writing this, “Almost Healed” is projected to sell between 125 and 150K units in the first week. A lot of people reached out to me to tell me how “Before Fajr” was their favorite of the album, which is so crazy to me. I received lots of support and congratulations from my people on Instagram, which I'm super thankful for.
Owen: So well deserved! What non-musical skills helped you land this placement, or other placements in the past?
Desro: Great communication skills, definitely. I feel like a lot of young producers nowadays are just reaching out to bigger producers / engineers and DMing them by asking for an email directly, which is not that great. Solid skills for communicating come in handy when you're trying to expand your brand and take your craft to the next level. As far as I know, I always was a very responsive and listening person, which opened a lot of doors for me. Not just music wise.
Owen: Love it man. Any music production-related sauce you can offer the community?
Desro: Strive for having your own sound. Mimicking other producers will work sometimes, but always ends up failing. My ultimate goal is to establish my own sound so when people hear a song that I produced they can be like, "Oh yea that's definitely Desro". In order to achieve that, you will be forced to step out of your comfort zone and try new stuff. It's really all about experiencing and seeing what works for you. While I'm here, I might as well just drop some of my favorite plugins at the moment too: Mellotron V, Opus (Orchestra), Delay Tape-201, UAD LA-2A, Dual Spring Reverb (Physical Audio).
Owen: Great advice and plugin drops! How large of a role has BeatStars/BeatStars Publishing played in getting to where you are today in your career, and what has your experience been like since joining the team/platform?
Desro: BeatStars helped me from the very start to get my beats out there on the market, and to generate my first sales. BeatStars Publishing allowed me to collect my royalties with just a few clicks. Super convenient platform, very simple to use. Linking up with Sony, BeatStars Publishing allowed me to access SCORE, an amazing platform that allows me to see every single analytics about my music publishing. BeatStars Publishing played a huge role in my music production. Since it's so convenient, I can really focus on making music and not worry about collecting my royalties, because I know they always got me covered. Last thing I must say is, amazing staff! Always available to answer your questions and help you out step by step (big shoutout Mike!!).
Owen: Haha, Mike is the best! What is your advice to up-and-coming producers who hope to make a living off their music and/or get notable placements someday?
Desro: My BEST advice for upcoming producers that wish to make a living off their music would be to learn how to build genuine connections. Music has always been about collaboration and will always be. That's why building connections with other producers and artists is essential, but not just securing an email. I'm talking about getting to know people outside this music thing. People can smell when someone is just trying to eat off their plate and they don't like that, trust me. Building genuine connections will open doors for you. I'm not saying you need to rely on other people, of course you gotta get on the grind and work hard, but surrounding yourself with the right people will help you tremendously.
Listen to Desro and Lil Durk’s song “Before Fajr” and make sure to check him out on socials for everything music moving forward!
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