Axero is a French producer who has built a strong reputation online by sharing his tracks. Now supported by Robin Shulz, Matoma, Bakermat and 3LAU, he has made his mark and shown what he’s capable of. Axero agreed to answer a few questions for Rodmusic and tell us…
First of all, can you introduce yourself and tell us who you are outside of Axero the producer?
I’m 18 and I’m currently studying for a technical degree in Physical Measurements (IUT Mesures Physiques) in Toulouse. My main passion is music, of course!
You’ve already been producing for several years. How did you discover electronic music?
I discovered electronic music by listening to the radio like most people, then it was my brother who really got me into production by showing me how to make music on a computer. After that, I threw myself into it and spent a lot of time on it. I played guitar for a few years before getting into production. That’s why the guitar remains a key element of my tracks. I got hooked on production very quickly and soon bought some “KRK Rokit 8” monitor speakers and a “Yamaha CS1x” keyboard. That gear is still with me in my home studio today, and I’ve added a “Komplete Audio 6” sound card, an “SE” mic and a MacBook Pro. I use Ableton Live 9 as my sequencer.
Some people knew you as Napolon, then you changed it to Axero. Does the name have a particular meaning for you?
I’ve never been very good at coming up with names. I chose Axero because I thought it “sounded” good and was easy to remember for the people who listen to me and follow me.
For a while now, we’ve noticed your musical style evolving. You used to produce mainly Progressive House; now you’re moving more and more towards Deep / Tropical sounds. How do you explain this change?
I think my musical influences have changed since I started producing; producers like Klingande and Kygo pushed me towards this “new style”, but I’m also working on more electro projects. I don’t want to lock myself into one particular style, I just want to do what I like. Right now I produce more Deep/Tropical, but I’ll probably move on to something else in the future.
Where do you get all this inspiration and motivation from?
All the support I get on my tracks is a real source of inspiration and motivation for me. I also draw inspiration from my daily life, from how I’m feeling at the moment I start a track, from the weather…
You currently have more than 70 tracks on your SoundCloud account. Your release rate is impressive: do you ever stop producing?
Producing is a passion, and I also miss it when I can’t do it. That’s probably the reason for this release rate, which I hope won’t drop too much in the future.
You’re using more and more vocals, which really adds something to your tracks. How do you find all these voices and singers?
Most of the singers I work with get in touch with me themselves, which is a real plus compared to when I started, when vocals for a track were hard to come by. It’s something I haven’t quite mastered yet, because it’s difficult to work remotely with singers and get what you expect from them.
Some producers have very specific methods for writing music. Are you one of them, or do you just follow your mood?
I start 90% of my tracks on the piano, which forms the basis of my music. I find chords and melodies, then the track builds around them. Sometimes I also have a clear idea of a type of drop, for example, before I start the track.
You worked with Tobu on a collaboration for his new album. How did that go?
I’d wanted to work with Tobu for a long time (and so had a lot of my listeners); our track wasn’t the first idea I sent him, but nothing had ever come of the others before. For this one, I sent him the guitar intro I’d made more than a year earlier. Then we finished the track together. Tobu took care of the drops more specifically, and I handled the breaks.
How do you see the Axero project over the next few years?
Growing, or at least I hope so. I’d love to be able to make a living from it and meet other artists to work with them. An album would be the culmination of all my work.
Any final words?
I’ll be DJing as Axero for the first time in Zurich on 30 April, a new experience for me that I hope will open new doors… for what comes next for Axero.
