After longtime BeatStars member, DJ Pain 1, landed at the top of the TikTok music charts after producing the song "Rodeo" by Lah Pat (feat. Flo Milli), it was apparent this achievement couldn't go unnoticed. To learn more about how this came to be, Owen Postma, Social Media Associate at BeatStars, set aside some time to chat with the multi-platinum producer/DJ.
Owen: My man! Great to finally talk with you. My first question is how did "Rodeo" come about? Tell us what happened from start to finish, from when you exported the beat/loop to when the song was initially released.
DJ Pain 1: Likewise, Owen. Really appreciate the time! I didn’t want to sample the original track (“Pony” by Ginuwine,) especially since it was filled with drums and would’ve been nearly impossible to sample cleanly. Also, the “Pony” beat is one of the greatest tracks ever produced in my opinion, so I wanted to, at very least, reverse engineer the melody. I learned from YouTube that the main melody was created with a preset from the Morpheus sound module by E-MU. My first sound module was an E-MU, so I grabbed the original present and replayed the melody in my DAW. From there, I added different drums and sounds— I didn’t want to copy the original. The artists and their management liked it, but requested a slower version, so I dropped the tempo and that became the final version.
Owen: Totally makes sense. How has "Rodeo" made an impact on your career as a producer & what has the reception been like?
DJ Pain 1: Honestly, it’s just crazy to have a trending TikTok song. I’ve never experienced that. And scrolling through TikTok and randomly finding a video with our track in the background is surreal. My supporters were surprised to find out that I made the beat once I started posting about it.
Owen: What non-musical skills helped you land this placement, or other placements in the past?
DJ Pain 1: Being stubborn is my greatest skill. Just putting my head down and figuring out how to create a custom track the most effective way. Lah Pat was an unsigned artist when I made this beat for him.
Owen: Haha, I definitely feel that. Can you give some music production-related sauce to the community?
DJ Pain 1: My biggest trick is to make space for the artist’s voice. Once you have a catchy top line, just fill some of the lower mids with additional instrumentation— don’t crowd the frequencies that the vocals generally occupy with extra counter melodies or extraneous sounds.
Owen: How large of a role has BeatStars played in getting to where you are today in your career, and what has your experience been like since joining the team/platform?
DJ Pain 1: The BeatStars platform has changed my life. I have met so many amazing producers on the platform— Dreamlife for example— with whom I’ve gone on to create songs on hit albums with. But ultimately, BeatStars taught me marketing, it inspired me to make and upload beats daily, and ultimately connecting with so many unsigned artists all over the globe has led to amazing songs and relationships.
Owen: What is your advice to up-and-coming producers who hope to make a living off their music and/or get notable placements someday?
DJ Pain 1: Form consistent and healthy habits. Making beats, uploading beats, giving good customer service, etc are all habits. So if you’re in the habit of forming habits— going to the gym, meditating daily, taking a daily walk, etc— you will be used to self-discipline and structure. Because beat selling is just self-employment, that structure is everything.
Check out DJ Pain 1’s YouTube channel, follow him on Instagram, and listen to the track “Rodeo (Remix)” that he produced on Spotify! Also, be sure to grab his latest sound kits off his BeatStars for your new music creations!
