03 Dec Seven Lions Talks Working With Lights, His New Track, ‘Cusp’ & Lucid Dream Experience

Seven Lions Talks Working With Lights, His New Track, ‘Cusp’ & Lucid Dream Experience
By Melissa Mallin

Hi Jeff. Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself, how you got into music and what your journey has been like so far?

I’ve been into music since middle school probably. My dad was a musician and he taught me how to play the drums, guitar, and bass. I played in some bands before I started using FL Studio. Then, I slowly got into Electronic music.

You started off as a Drummer in a band until a friend of yours gave you the production program Fruity Loops (now know as FL Studio). How and why did you decide to make the transition into EDM and was it hard for you?

Basically, I was playing in bands before somebody gave me the production program and they’re like, “Hey, check this out. You know, I don’t think this is your thing, but it might be interesting.” So, I downloaded it and kind of messed around with it and realized that I could make music on my own as opposed to waiting for the band. Because, as a drummer, you kind of have to wait until everybody shows up before you can really make music, so I realized dang, I could like sit here and do everything and do it all by myself. I don’t have to rely on anybody else. That’s really what made me interested in it for sure.

Your bio says that you’ve always “been driven to transcend musical boundaries to satisfy your creative vision.” As an artist, what exactly is your creative vision and what does making music mean to you?

Music has always been a hobby and it’s just something that I love. I think I’ve had a really hard time as a professional musician because people expect a certain thing out of me, but the thing is I just love doing it. So, I’m always going to kind of just do what I want to do.

I feel like my whole career has been just pissing people off left and right for just doing whatever I want to do. It’s kind of a blessing and curse at the same time. Like, I love blending genres and if I find something interesting, then I’m going to go for it. I don’t really worry about the repercussions. But now, I’ve just gotten to a point where people are so expecting me to make the same thing over and over again that I just… I don’t know. I feel like I’m at odds with half of my fan base now because I just experiment. It’s sad to say, but in electronic music, people don’t really like experimentation. They really want like the same old shit and the same exact genre and it’s sad, but you know… I don’t know that’s just where I’m at right now.

You may piss a lot of people off, but you make a lot of people happy too.

(Laughs), Yeah, I got to live on the bright side for sure, you know.

As an artist in the music industry, I’m sure you’ve had plenty of downfalls or situations that may have set you back. What keeps you grounded and what has been your biggest motivation to keep going and to never give up on your dream? Can you maybe give us an example of one of your past experiences?

Well, I don’t think I’ll ever give up just because even when this is long gone and over with and the trends have way passed whatever the fuck I’m doing, like I’ll still be making music because I always have been making music and I just do it because it’s fun. It’s therapeutic for me and it just makes me happy, so I don’t think I’ll ever not make music. But, what keeps me going is probably just being able to build a life with my wife and live a decent life and I’m really just grateful that I get to do it by being a musician.

To read the full interview with Seven Lions and to get even more exclusive content, check out the magazine now. This article can be found in Issue 15 of EDM World Magazine! Download the app for free. Apple users click for access on your iPhone or iPad. Android users click for access here.