Out Now Magazine Spotlight series featuring rising Australian musician Tushar Apte for an interview
Where are you from?
Newcastle, NSW, Australia 🙂
​When did you start making music?
Professionally, just about 8 years ago however I’ve been playing music for most of my life (my main instrument is the piano!).
​How do you describe your music?
My focus is really on creating great pop records, instinctively they tend to be very melodically driven, often with a bit of an rnb twist.
​Favorite moment from your career?
There’ve been so many but the first time hearing a song I worked on being played on the radio in LA was surreal. It never gets old but the first time is a very distinct memory etched into my brain. I was in my old beat-up L.A. car (it was a 2004 corolla) and ‘Zero’ by Chris Brown came on, which I produced and co-wrote on.
​Who is your biggest musical inspiration?
Got to be the trinity – Prince, Stevie, Michael.
What is your producing software?
Presonus Studio One
What other things do you do besides making music?
Most recently, I’m quite heavily into the NFT and crypto world – initially as a hobbying investor since 2014 but now degen collector (I hold a bunch of blue chip NFT’s like Bored Ape Yacht Club, World of Women, Doodles etc). I’ve also been creating and selling music/art collaborative NFTs and have been consulting for a number of web3 startups. It’s a super exciting and new space and we’re all learning more about the possibilities of the technology each day. I love the potential it unlocks for creator ownership which is a big point of inequality in the current ‘web2’ infrastructure.
What is your favorite track of all time?
This is an impossibly difficult question to answer – right now as I’m writing this ‘Everybody Wants To Rule the World’ by Tears for Fears is playing in the hotel lobby (i’m in New York for NFT week currently) and it’s undoubtedly a perfect record start to finish. So let’s go with that today.
What is your best-producing tip?
I think it depends on what type of music you’re making – but if you’re a record producer and you work in the realm of songs, I think the two best pieces of advice are as follows:
1) Focus on the song: Production is basically a problem solving exercise centered around finding the best lens to hear a song through (song meaning vocal melody and lyric). Focus on a great song and then let the song guide the production.
2) Keep learning and work outside your comfort zone workflow/sample wise etc from time to time. If you learn even one new production skill a day, it can be as seemingly small as understanding what the ratio knob on a compressor does, it all compounds to becoming a master of your craft. I’m saying all this as someone who’s still trying to get there!
Why did you start making music?
Because I got attention from some girls in high school haha. Then later on it became more about passion and a calling and all the usual stuff artists talk about haha.
​What are your goals for the future?
I used to be shy about saying this but now I’m comfortable being clear with my intentions – I want to experience everything that success in the music industry has to offer – the number 1’s, the grammys etc etc. For the long-game, I love making music for film & TV and would love to do much more on that side in the future – I really enjoy the creative challenge of serving a story through music, and am just such a fan of film music generally.
What advice can you give for young music producers/DJs?
Focus on being great at your craft, and the results will come. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you admire for help and advice. Become a lifelong student.
​Please write a message to your fans.
I have fans?? Well thank you for being a fan I appreciate you!!
Follow Tushar Apte On Socials:
