Graffiti Welfare
... is a musical project by an Austin-born, Denver-based artist who blends psychedelic rock, synth-pop and ambient sounds. He started making music in his bedroom after being inspired by Tame Impala’s Lonerism and buying a used Roland Juno-G keyboard. He later switched to Ableton software and moved to Colorado to pursue his graduate studies.
In August 2016, he released his first EP, Into the Soul of Space, which featured six tracks of atmospheric and melodic compositions. The EP received positive feedback from listeners and was featured on several meditative playlists on streaming platforms. His talent was also recognized by MilleVille Music, an independent record label based in Italy that specializes in promoting emerging artists.
First of all, thank you for your time. I’m really honored that you could spare some time for us. Graffiti Welfare covers a lot of genres, sometimes “out of the box”, then experimental or meditative. Where do you get your inspiration from?
Of course - I'm honored that you're enjoying my music and digging the latest album. Yeah, marketing my music can be challenging as each track seems to cross over multiple genres and then often not fit well under a singular umbrella. So I've learned to lean into that and give each track a fair shot targeting a subgenre, such as psych pop, or ambient electro, but have to accept that it's not going to fit well under just EDM or dance pop or even psych rock.
My musical inspirations are far and wide, from Animal Collective to Floating Points, Beach Boys to Beach House, but there's also a philosophical and spiritual influence that comes from years of soul searching and trying to grasp my purpose in the bigger picture. Alan Watts has been a huge inspiration there, so I sampled him on "To Be It," and previously had sampled him on "The Drama," so that consistency between albums seemed right.
When you are in your creative process, how do you overcome a creative block?
Great question. The process of creating Revolving Shores was littered with creative blocks. I would often spend days on building out a melody between keys, vocals, and guitar, then get burnt out on it, and have to switch to a new track until my mind had settled on the last one. Perseverance and late nights only get you so far. Switching between half-finished tracks and developing them in tandem was a big help for my sanity once I got into mixing.
“Revolving Shores”, your last album, tells an anxious coming-of-age story. Was it a deliberate choice to go in that direction or did it happen naturally as you created the music?
Yeah definitely not deliberate - the anxiety was already baked into the recordings when I listened back, and just seemed to seep in from what I was feeling at the time. I tried to line up the tracks in a way that resolved the tension along the way, but it's still pretty heavy at various points in the album.
Your soundscape is always impressive. What are some of the tools or techniques that you use to produce your music?
Thank you. I'm not as adept with music theory and melody as I'd like to be, so the soundscapes and movement are really important to me. I'll often start by molding a raw sound into something odd that can grabs my attention. Then, I'll play with that vibe by stacking virtual and analog synths for live, multi-track recordings with heavy delay and panning to try to capture improvisational moments.
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self about music?
"You can do it with just perseverance and dreams, but it's going to take a lot longer this way."
If you had the chance to collaborate with any artist of your choice, who would it be?
I think Avey Tare from Animal Collective, or Sam Shepherd from Floating Points, would be incredible.
Are there any plans to see you perform live on stage?
Negative - maybe the next album will play better for live performances, but Revolving Shores is really intended as a headphone, solo trip experience.
And finally, what are some of the projects or plans that you have in mind for the near future?
I'm really diving back into recording at night and pushing myself on this next album, so that's the main long-term goal. Go bigger and hit harder. In the near future though, I'm looking to collaborate with a few close friends while also vetting visual projects that could align to Revolving Shores. Hopefully more news coming soon!
