Trap Jesus ⁠— Speeding Up Your Workflow, Reframing Your Focus, and the Importance of Showing Up Beats and Risers with TVSKER

"Show up because it's what you do, not because of what you might get out of it." ⁠— Trap Jesus


Trap Jesus (@whatwouldtrapjesusdo) is a producer, engineer, songwriter and DJ involved with iStandard and BounceGvng. He’s also a sensei and mentor at Producer Dojo, and along with being the Dojo’s resident Reason expert, he’s curated several cyphers and recently guest-presented one of The Weekly Downloads (#148) on industry etiquette.


As Trap Jesus, he’s preaching Psychedelic Psalms from the Backwoods Bible through the Grimy Gospel EP in collaboration with Sam Shoemaker. As Luke Rain, he’s swinging big katanas and dropping heavy bass across electronic genres. You can hear his track “Katanas” on ill.Gates Presents: The Class of 808, Volume 3.


In our conversation, we talk about speeding up your production workflow with timers, the necessity of reframing your focus as a producer, how industry events have been a game-changer for his life and career, and much more.




Selected Links


Connect with Trap Jesus: trapjes.us / Instagram / Soundcloud
Connect with Luke Rain: lukerainmusic.com / Twitter / Instagram / Soundcloud


Full disclosure: This list includes some affiliate links. If you purchase something through those links, you won't pay anything extra, but I'll get a small commission or discount which helps me make music and keep this podcast going. Thank you for supporting me and Beats and Risers!



iStandard
Producer Dojo / Music and Cyphers
LEVIT∆TE Immerses His Audience in an Audio/Visual Universe - Producer Dojo Blog
ASCAP and the ASCAP Experience (formerly ASCAP Expo)
Splice
Summer Meltdown
BounceGvng
Beats Grind & Life Podcast with Syren (#117 with Trap Jesus)
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
Carlos Santana's Facebook post
on the elixir for total happiness
Reason
Serum
Omnisphere
Brauer Motion - Waves
Fabfilter Pro-Q - email podcast@beatsandrisers.com for a 10% off coupon toward FabFilter plugins/bundles
Akai MPK Mini mkII MIDI controller


Music Referenced


Producer Dojo Cyphers curated by Trap Jesus: #11: Off the Grid and #13: Timer Beats Only
"The Time is Nigh" by Trap Jesus
"Spell My Name" by Trap Jesus
"I'm Eel" by ill.Gates, which inspired Producer Dojo Cypher #8: Say My Name




Subscribe


Join the TVSKLIST for updates via email
Subscribe to Beats and Risers


Show Notes


On music being a part of his life at an early age [2:03]
How Trap Jesus started producing music by chance [3:26]
Trap Jesus explains how Luke Rain became his artist name [4:41]
In looking for a change of pace, Trap Jesus discovers iStandard events, and explains how they helped him renew his focus on production [6:15]
The interaction that sparked the Trap Jesus name, and what happened before he adopted the moniker [7:39]
What happened when Trap Jesus played beats that were well received, but weren't trap? [9:54]
How both names became part of Trap Jesus's artist identity [11:11]
After feeling stuck one night, Trap Jesus finds out about Producer Dojo and elaborates on how the Dojo changed his life [13:28]
What are the Producer Dojo Cyphers and how do they operate? [16:45]
On curating the Off the Grid [20:28] and Timer Beats Only [21:42] Cyphers
How to work faster through timer beats [20:52]
Does the perfect snare exist? [23:34]
Why is it important to set reasonable expectations as a producer? [25:54]
Trap Jesus explains how he starts his composition process with timer beats [27:25]
How does Trap Jesus make a beat in 30 minutes? [30:39]
Feeling stuck when you make a beat? Here's why Trap Jesus suggests taking a break and focusing on the business side of your music [35:34]
Trap Jesus breaks down how he made "Spell My Name" for the Producer Dojo Cypher #8: Say My Name [37:06]
Imagine a pottery class. Would the class graded on quality or the class graded on quantity have the better pots by the end of the class? [42:29]
On the importance of showing up, sett