Under 500 Spotlight & Song Premiere

I am glad to present our next spotlight on rising Bass producer: Peej. Hailing from Reno, Nevada Peej brings a recognizably fresh West Coast Hip-Hop infused sound with him. I first came across Peej by hearing “Gang Shit” and was immediately taken by the sound design, structure, and in your face Hip-Hop throughout. “Gang Shit” implements the West Coast G-funk sound with bass music seamlessly and is an uplifting banger at the same time. Paul Herrera is the man behind the project and he credits his heavy love for hip-hop and trap for the multi-faceted sounds of Peej. Today we are premiering “Aliens Peak” a modular bass stomper that will get you moving. The song starts with trippy modular chords which are really cool to hear implemented into a bass song before it goes into a frantic drop over hype reggaeton vocals. Along with being a great producer, Paul is a great guy as well. Give Peej a much-deserved follow on the Cloud as I am positive we will be hearing much more from him in the near future. Check out the premiere. below and learn about Paul’s musical journey, the making of Aliens Peak, and what’s next below!

Where are you from and how did your musical journey begin?

I’m from Reno, Nevada, I’ve been doing music since I was a child. I started with drums as a kid and then got interested in the guitar. I lost touch with making music at some point in the military but when I got out in 2014 I started messing with the guitar again. I have always wanted to pursue music, I just assumed it was going to be with a band. I started producing electronic music at 16 when I realized it was so hard to find people as dedicated as you are to the dream. haha. I remember my first electronic event was new years of 2007 going to 2008. A warehouse rave at an indoor skatepark called Tropicana 3. I can’t tell you an artist that played, to be honest. I was just stoked I was able to come home after boot camp and enjoy something like that.

We are stoked to be premiering your track Aliens Peak. Can you talk about this song and how it came together?

So Aliens Peak has been a special project for me because it’s one of my first modular-based sound design tracks. I have always been influenced by the sounds made with modular synthesis. I did a modular sound design session and just recorded while I twisted knobs and connected different routing paths. I then chopped up the best parts and pieced it together. It took me so long to get the mix to sit right but I was patient and it all came together. It was a lot of fun experimenting with new ways of sound design.

Peej · Gang Shit (Free DL)

Your recent tracks are bass oriented with heavy hip-hop and trap influences as well. I noticed you uploaded the first original Peej track about a year ago. Can you talk about the journey of developing your sound?

Thank you, I have a deep love for hip hop and trap. When I first heard West Coast Bass I saw the similarities and loved the sound design of it. I wanted to add my take on my favorite genres and just blend it together and create a sound that I really enjoy producing. I officially launched the Peej Project in January with a remix of Conrank’s Drum in Time. Before that, I went as DJPJ. It originally came from a camping trip and my cousin Jake yelled it out one night and it kind of stuck. But I wanted to kind of separate from the DJ part because I am not just a DJ and I feel like it was limiting. I am trying to create a whole art brand with my music and visual art so I decided to go as Peej. I feel like I’m getting more comfortable with the sounds I am making and really starting to hone in a unique style that is my own. I have developed my sound with so many hours behind my DAW and trying to create sounds intentionally. It was just like practicing piano but with sounds. I had to understand different shapes of sounds and the basic waveforms. Then I went super nerd into what the effects actually do from my DAW. It made my sound design process a lot more fluid because when I hear something I want a sound to do I can go to the effect I want without thinking. I really recommend to anybody wanting to nail their sound is to really take the time to know your tools. All the plugins are amazing, I have a lot but I use a few, haha. The ones that are my go to’s I know so well and can get stuff done quickly with them.

What DAW do you use and do you have a certain goto format when you sit down and create? Any favorite VST’s or gotos for sound creation?

I use Ableton 10. I do love production templates but I also love to update them. I get a workflow that is good for me but if I see trends of me using or doing the same thing consistently to each track, I’ll update the template. I also have templates for sound design and mastering. I love Reaktor 6 for Reaktor Blocks. They have a soft modular synth and you can get third-party modules as well. It’s so amazing because modular is ridiculously expensive. I also love Phaseplant by Kiloheartz. It’s such a great synth engine by itself, not to mention the effect chain you can put on that thing. It’s almost completely taken over Serum for me. I also love Operator and Wabetable that are native in Ableton. I recommend learning how to use your native DAW synths first. They can create great sounds and save CPU. I love VSTs but I got lost in them in the beginning. I finally took a step back and limited myself to native plugins only until I really knew each component really well.

Peej · Underground King (Free Download)

How has COVID and the growing social movements impacted you? Have you been able to be creative/inspired during this?

COVID initially impacted my work but I’ve been back to work since 4/20, working with weed funny enough haha. I’m honestly so heartbroken by all of the shit that is happening. I was in the Air Force for 7 years and I 100% believe in people’s right to assemble, especially with what they are protesting against. I don’t want to get too political but I will say, I support the Black Lives Matter movement wholeheartedly. I want everybody to feel comfortable and treated equally. Reno had protests and people trying to hijack the movement but I love Reno and feel like the majority of the people are good and support what is happening. I have been very inspired in these times and stayed really busy. I set goals frequently to get stuff moving whether it be a new song, sound designing, or working on visual art. I ensure I work every day in some form so that I can feel accomplished.

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

I am super inspired by Zeke Beats. He is such a genuine and amazing artist. His bass design is definitely goals. DMVU is another artist that I feel is pushing the boundaries with sound design. He is probably my favorite sound designer in the scene right now. I also gotta give love to the local heroes from my area Subdocta and Charlesthefirst. I love both of their music and it just makes me so proud to see my area represented so well. I’m excited to follow their shoes and show what the Reno production community has to offer because there is some talent out here.

Any fellow upcoming producers we should know about?

I gotta give a shoutout to my boy Skudd. He just put out a mix for Beatlab radio and killed it. I love his music, always playing it in my sets. He is such a nice dude and a beast producer. Don’t sleep on that boii.

Whats next for Peej?

I just shot a music video in San Francisco as a birthday present to myself. Im using it to push an upcoming EP that I’m currently finishing up and building the marketing plan for. Im also working on building a sound library to start promoting sample packs. I have a lot of things in the works and releases I am getting ready to put out. Its been a weird year to say the least but I am not trying to let it take my motivation and momentum away.