The transformation from adolescence to adulthood is like no other.
Meet Max Styler, a local EDM DJ/producer from San Luis Obispo. He celebrated his 18th birthday, signed onto his first record label, and got his first tattoo, all in the last week. Styler’s newfound adulthood has proven to be the start of his dreams becoming reality.
Styler says he was “humming before he could speak.” He discovered electronic music when he was 13 and his passion exploded from there.
Now 18 years old, Max has signed his first record label with Dim Mak Records. Some famous Dim Mak artists include Steve Aoki, Borgore, and Zedd.
“I always wanted to get a tattoo of the first record label I signed with…” said Styler.
And sure enough, Styler did just that the day he turned 18.
For over a year, Styler sent several musical samples to Collective Efforts, a local company that hosts musical events, but never received much of a response. Finally, Styler sent Collective Efforts his unreleased song “Illusion” and got more than just a simple response from Johnny Kenny, who is now Styler’s manager.
“I was screaming in my studio,” said Styler.
Styler had heard that his song was sent off to Gareth Emery’s management who said that Styler “had a lot of potential for being so young.”
“That was a really, really good day,” said Styler.
That “really good” day has changed Styler’s life indefinitely. In just the last 6 months, Styler has played with several well-known EDM artists, including:
Styler will be opening for Steve Aoki at the Winter White Tour coming to Cal Poly SLO Friday, Jan. 31st. Information regarding tickets can be found in my previous post.
Although K Theory and others have acted as strong role models for Styler, he is a self-taught DJ/producer. Self-motivation and dedication took Styler to where he is now.
“Stay positive, you never know when something could happen. Lock yourself in your studio for hours and keep practicing and practicing and practicing,” said Styler.
STARANE
Two Cal Poly SLO students, Carlos Montes and Jaime Guerrero, exhibit a similar passion for EDM that has followed them from adolescence to adulthood.
The two of them make up the EDM DJ/producer duo known as Starane. They both started listening to EDM as high school freshmen and then started DJing as they got more into the genre.
Although they claim they met on eHarmony, the two actually met through Cal Poly’s audio engineering Facebook page. They instantaneously got along and transformed their passion for EDM into their own music production.
“Music definitely brings people together,” said Montes, just as it brought the two of them together.
Listening to EDM was just the beginning, but DJing and producing EDM opened up an entirely new world for Starane.
When they play to a crowd, “the positive vibes are unreal,” said Guerrero.
They both find inspiration from some of the biggest EDM artists of today.
Carlos admires Kaskade’s music because it is “all about acceptance, love, and bringing people together.” He aspires to send these types of messages in Starane’s music.
Guerrero looks up to Porter Robinson.
“He’s the reason I started committing to making music. He’s so young yet he works so hard,” said Guerrero.
Robinson started producing at 12 and is now a full-fledge DJ/producer at 21. He is a true example of how EDM can impact even the youngest adolescents.
Montes and Guerrero are currently building their name by competing for a spot in the Winter White Tour coming to Cal Poly this month. If they win, they would share the same stage as Steve Aoki for 45 minutes, a dream of theirs that is in close reach. Listen to Starane’s mix and vote for them if you’d like to see them on stage this month.
When it comes to EDM, Styler and Starane have made huge transformations from adolescence to adulthood.
They’ve gone from simply listening to EDM to making the music themselves.
Since they’ve gotten this far at such a young age, it’s no question that they’ll have bright futures in the industry as they continue to grow as artists.
XOXO,
Rachel
An EDM Girl 