1k Spotlight & Interview: Skrꓘro -

I am beyond excited for our spotlight today on a crazy talented upcoming bass music artist Skrꓘro. Malakai Albonetti is the man behind the beats and he hails from Atlanta, Georgia and brings some of the freshest sound design in bass music I have heard with him. I first came across Skrꓘro on Soundcloud when I saw the Moon Monsters VIP on my feed. You almost have to hit play when the track is called Moon Monsters and its a VIP at that. I was glad I did because Moon Monsters is a trippy journey to the other side of the moon via Skrꓘro’s bass spaceship. Since the release of Moon Monsters, Skrꓘro has released two EP’s aptly titled EP and EP2 that are incredibly well-done with highly-creative FIRE tracks that tie into an intriguing aesthetic. The Skrꓘro sound is influenced by Malakai’s love for horror movies and extraterrestrial happenings that are tied to the music perfectly. It’s very easy to come up with your own visuals or have your imagination go wild when listening thanks to the incredible sound design and aesthetic. I am positive we will be hearing and seeing much more from Skrꓘro in the future. I was stoked to be able to have a chat with Malakai about the Skrꓘro project, his influences, and the future. Check it out below and give the man a follow here!

First things first, your name is Skrꓘro, How did you come up with your name? Are you a lover of scary movies?

When I was in high school, I wanted to be a part of a metal band, so me and some friends started coming up with cool band names. I used a name generator and came up with Scarecrow Symphony. Long story short; metal bands are not an easy thing to pull off, so I held onto that name because it just resonated with me. Years later, my best friend started getting into Electronic Music and eventually got me interested enough to get FL Studio and I took that band name I made years ago and I butchered it so I could have an edgy producer name. I absolutely adore horror movies. whether it’s legitimately scary, or the cheesiest thing I’ve ever seen, I have no bias. I’ve definitely used my love of horror as an inspiration for the sounds I make and the aesthetic I go for.

How did your musical journey begin and when did you get into Electronic Music?

Music has been my passion since I was very young. I began taking piano lessons when I was 4 years old. My grandmother had an old baby-grand piano and it was my favorite thing in the world. Once I hit about 10 years old, I moved on to taking drum lessons, at 14 I moved to guitar and pretty much stuck with that and took lessons until I was about 18. Alongside that, I also joined my high school marching band and played the Mellophone and French Horn. I listened to Dubstep in those years, but I never saw myself producing or even really being involved in the Electronic scene because I wanted to be a rockstar. Once I graduated, I started looking for bar gigs to play guitar at and my friend had started DJing, so I would follow him to his gigs and talk to the club owners about getting my own gigs. Eventually, I became obsessed with Dubstep and decided to ditch the guitar and try producing instead, so a close friend of mine gave me a copy of FL and I started making music everyday for hours at a time. Now I’m about 3.5 years in and I haven’t stopped and I don’t plan to. I don’t remember my first show because it was probably about 8 or 9 years ago. I had a buddy who was over 18 and looked a lot like me, so I would use his expired ID to go to QUAD and a teenager at a rave is not there to remember the night hahaha.

Can you talk about the thought process behind Moon Monsters and the VIP? They were quite more experimental than your previous tracks on Soundcloud at the time of release. Did you plan to produce experimental bass music around this time and go full Skrꓘro?

Moon Monsters was actually my first legit attempt at making something unique. Up until that point, I was pretty much going for sounds and styles that had influenced me. Moon Monsters VIP only exists because I didn’t think the original was as good as it could be. I’ve always loved experimental bass because every experimental artist that I look up to has their own unique style(i.e. G Jones, Yheti, Space Jesus, etc.), so I was definitely trying to hit that realm.

You have some heavy-hitting inventive sounds. What’s your process like when it comes to producing? How much time do you spend just playing with sounds?

With my production, I start by making a drum beat with a good flow. Then I jump straight into sound design. My go-to for sound design is a native FL plugin called Sytrus (It’s my favorite because it’s not used very much anymore, and I’m a true hipster at heart.). I will usually mix and master the song as I go along so I know exactly how the end product will sound and I can add background and foreground noises as needed. I can spend anywhere from 10 minutes on a sound to 10 hours. it really depends on how much automation I need to use on a certain sound to make it fit in.

You’ve released 2 EP’s recently and it really seems like you have found your production sound/aesthetic on them. Tracks like Organ Harvest, Pigface, Death by Death are amazing tracks and it seems you have reached the next level in your production sound. Do you feel this way? Did anything change production-wise this past year? Any tips for other producers looking for their own sound?

I feel like I’ve hit a level where I can make my music fit the aesthetic that I’m going for, but I feel like I’m only starting to scrape the surface of what I actually want my sound to be. It’s literally taken me practicing everyday for 3 years to get to this point. My best advice for finding a sound that fits you is having a stage name with a theme then trying to catch that theme in a vibe. I’m not knocking any names that don’t have them, but it’s harder to find your own sound if your name doesn’t describe a sound or aesthetic you want. With Skrkro, I go for sounds that would scare more than just a crow. I also get trippy with alien sounds to represent the ufo sightings and crop circles that tend to happen on farms. There’s a hundred other directions I can take it as well, that’s why I’ve stuck with the name.

What DAW do you use to produce? Favorite VSTs to experiment with?

I use FL studio mostly, but I also use Ableton when I’m with my friend because that’s his favorite DAW. I adore Sytrus, but I also use Sakura and Harmor a lot. When I’m in Ableton, I just use serum because it’s easier.

What producers inspire you the most/are pushing the boundaries?

Every single member of Spicy Bois. I’ve been following Meso for a couple years and I’ve become obsessed with every artist he puts on. (Angelic Root, space wizard, Southgate, jonnie boi, cvptvgon, etc.) Also, my homies here in Atlanta inspire me every day!

Any fellow ATL producers we should be on the lookout for?

YESS! Atlanta is full of raw talent. Scales, Salty, Xenotype, Zubah, Archmage, Shix, Mike’s Revenge, Perma-Trip, US., Do$age, Sqrawbury and so many others! These guys keep pushing the limit on what it takes to be a great producer/DJ.

What’s next for Skrꓘro?

I help run shows in Atlanta and Duluth. the venues are Union EAV and Zero Bar respectively. The crew I’m running with now is called Camp A1. There’s going to be a bunch of big show announcements on my Facebook as soon as the quarantine gets lifted and everything gets rescheduled. Until then, expect a lot more music than normal. I’ve got a third ep coming very soon and a bunch of heat going to a couple of different labels. Keep an eye out on UUeird, TBN Collective, Swampstep, and Brainsick. Those guys are my go-tos for releasing tunes