Feature: Guitari Decodes “Elon's Musk”
Like a wax orchard of rainbow trees abundant with fruits of every imaginable kind, Ari Joshua's producer chops are akin to chameleon. Today, he presents us with "Elon's Musk," a fantastical voyage that merges the realms of synthwave and bass music with an almost ethereal touch. An almost classically influenced piece Elon’s Musk features the illustrious iLL Gates, the featured artist and a respected figure in the electronic music realm. Hailing from Canada and making a significant impact globally, iLL Gates is not just a producer but like Joshua he is also an educator, heading his Producer Dojo for over a decade now, his epic library has collaborations with the likes of Apashe, Clozee, Excision, and more, spanning genres from Electro House to IDM/Glitch. Also featured on Elon's Musk are layers of ambient guitar from Ari Joshua, and the hauntingly beautiful cello of Cory Cavazos. The song is out on Music Factory Records.
"Elon's Musk" is a collaborative masterpiece, nothing short of a symphonic odyssey blending GUITARI's layered guitars and compositional expertise with iLL Gates' on drums. The track seems to remind us of Tipper's intricate style, a complex assembly of over 40 sound layers, including live guitar and cellos. This fusion creates a multi-dimensional soundscape, offering a unique auditory journey.
The track is a significant milestone for Ari Joshua, showcasing his evolution as an artist and his ability to transcend musical boundaries. Mixed to taste by Ari Joshua & iLL Gates, 'Elon's Musk' will be the first release from Joshua available in spatial audio with an Atmos Mix by Alex Solano and masterful Surround and Stereo Mastering by Justin Gray. "Elon's Musk" invites you to experience a tapestry of multiple layers of sound, including live guitars and cellos.
How does "Elon's Musk" reflect your musical journey and growth as an artist?
”Elon’s Musk” is a song that has been in the works for a really long time. I tend to start seeds of songs and put like 15-50 hours into them before I get to considering releasing them. This is one of those songs. The melody, the feel and the structure all came pretty quick as it usually does, but I was fascinated at the time working closely with one of my best friends and bandmates Kevin Sakwa aka KJ Sawka. Sawka is currently playing with Pendulum, and collaborating with cats like Excision, and iLL Gates, and Amon Tobin, and the list goes on. I was going to burn a bunch back then, and get exposed to these genius level modern producers. I was really impacted by how much originality and vibe some of those EDM producers have. Particularly a producer named Tipper.
I basically locked myself in my studio every night after teaching for like a year trying to reverse engineer the sounds I heard in Ableton Live and watching tutorials. I mean the sound on this track is layers and layers and layers deep. Some day I’d love to share the process but I remember it was just meticulously obsessing over tiny little glitchy ornaments and effects on the sounds. For years it was just not ready, I added the cellos, and guitars, and I am really grateful for iLL Gates who graciously did a final run through and provided a better sound for the kick, and snare to polish it off. I am really so proud of it now. I have like a hard drive full of similar works, so if I can ever find time, I wanna make a moniker, maybe GUITARI, or maybe something random. It reflects my growth cause I wanna just do it all. I make art for my soul, I do make it to resonate and share as well, but the central theme is less about being popular or commercially appealing, it’s about searching and trying things, and expressing this life we live.
Can you talk about any collaborations you had while making this masterpiece?
For sure I can talk about that. I kinda mentioned some of the first questions lol. iLL Gates who is a guru and a genius when it comes to this type of production is featured on the track as well as cello player and multi instrumentalist Cory Cavazos. These cats are two people I admire not just on the musical level, but on the human level as well. Cory was teaching out of my music school - The Music Factory - and we had a mutual respect going. We would hang and talk about life and health and things and I was like hey wanna drop some cello on this? I have the concept all set up for you. He came in and did a few takes and knocked out the park. It sounds like an orchestra in there. You have to really listen to the parts, it’s just layered in but he has a great feature in the middle of the track at the breakdown. ILL Gates and I met at a party in LA on Thanksgiving. We were in a 3 way conversion with KJ Sawka, and Kevin essentially vouched for me and we were talking about education and music and we hit it off. I called him like 2 months later and asked him to contribute. He’s a ninja! The art was made by Jay Coby Art, really cool what he is able to do check him out. His art is very modern, and thought provoking.
What do you like the best about "Elon's Musk?"
I like the contrast to all my other works, and how it honors a time in my life when I really just dove in and explored my art in a new and expressive way. I like the title. I was born in Cape Town, if you do the math, me and Elon were there at the same time. There is a certain vibe that comes with being there at that time, a certain world wide awareness that I found to be lacking, or perhaps strategically under emphasized in some parts of the Western world but also a sweetness. Something in the way people do relate to each other in the moment over there. I also like the melody and the memories it brings back.
How do you stay inspired and motivated to continue pushing boundaries in your art?
I mean, can I say it? God. Whatever you wanna call it. The all seeing eye, the creator of it all, the mysterious scientific order that has been evolving forever. I am inspired by the masters that have come before us and the ones still here that are trying to point to the unpointable, and who are creating moments of clarity and expression. That’s what keeps me motivated, it’s evolution baby.
Where do you find inspiration for your songs or musical ideas?
I used to cherry pick elements from all my favorite artists. I started that way with records, tapes, and radio, and then I was able to see these artists in person, and then I was able to experience the thrill of being an artist sharing that same vibration with an audience. Inspiration is all around, inspiration is a faucet for me. It’s something that turns off and on. Inspiration comes when I can put all the day to day hustle aside, and just take a moment to breathe with it.
