Today we’d like to introduce you to Drasen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Drasen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My name is Drasen, and you probably won’t run into another one. I am someone who is unapologetically himself and will always find a way to follow my heart and do what I love to do! And my passion in this lifetime is Music and Divine Creative Expression. I want to elevate the frequency and consciousness of this world through the power of my music and my essence. Everything you’re about to read is my journey so far to become the best I can creatively be.
Since I was little, I’ve been a huge lover of Latin rhythm, thanks to my Peruvian family background. My grandfather was also a composer, but he passed away when I was three, so perhaps I may have gotten his genes! However, the real creative kick came in during my early high school years, I would listen to music and in my mind, I would edit sections of songs in a way that grooved better. Until one day, in junior year, I found the tools that allowed me to actually edit music! My first couple of years in music, around 2009 and 2010, I was heavily into making mashups and edits for DJs. I was a DJ myself and loved the electronic music scene, particularly House. I felt so much genuine passion and love coming from that genre that I wanted to bridge the gap between that and the Mainstream, so I combined vocals from Pop Sensations like Adele, Sia and Lady Gaga, etc. with the best known House Grooves at the time.
My humble mashups got merit and recognition by some of the biggest DJs in the World. DJs such as Tiesto, Hardwell, R3hab, Thomas Gold and countless more played my Edits at their shows or radio mixes. And they gave me awesome shout outs! Although I was not creating music at the time, the support they gave me confirmed that my creative taste could reach the very top! It was such an inspiring moment during my early years in University. I knew if I developed myself fully in that direction, my music would eventually speak for itself.
Over the years, I taught myself how to DJ. I did this by driving to SamAsh nearly everyday to play on their demo CDJs until I finally nailed it and could play shows. And I played all over Miami and Florida. So far, my favorite show has been playing in the Terrace at Club Space. It was surreal to DJ. This venue slammed wall to wall with everyone going crazy to my edits. I will never forget that night! I also taught myself to extract vocals from songs using a process called Phase Inversion and I got a lot of rep in the Remix/Mashup community because I was one of the few in the world to get vocals out so clean. I still do this today exclusively for myself with the help of A.I.
I enjoyed many years being primarily a DJ and Mashup creator, it made me a lot of musical friends worldwide today who I still keep in touch with and I have even run into, such as Patrick Van Negri, who is now a massive Miami Influencer! Other amazing friends from Miami I met during this time period were Ray Ali, a very talented Hip Hop Producer & DJ. Andre Skyy, a friend I work closely with now within duo, called ZRO. MASF, two amazing twin brothers who inspired me to start DJ’ing. Zankyou, a fan who became a highly talented & close music friend of mine. Oscar Olivo, another skilled Producer and DJ who invited me to play with him at shows. Leo, the CEO of FGLB, a cousin of mine who I got very close with as we pursued success in the music business and throwing shows. The list goes on and on, but those are some people I wanted to mention from that era who are still killing it today!
Then begins the era of Music Production, which is a complete beast of its own. After several years of being mostly a DJ, there was a massive glass ceiling if I didn’t create my own music. I stopped chasing shows and stopped making mashups to solely start focusing on producing. If a show offer came, I took it but never pursued it. And although I had experience in programs such as FL Studio and Ableton making mashups, creating music had a tremendous learning curve for me.
My first productions were House Music because that’s where I started. However, my mind couldn’t just handle one genre. I wanted to take influence from everywhere and everyone. And thus began the inception of the Mastermind Society. Inspired from Napoleon Hill’s book ‘Think & Grow Rich,’ I gathered my closest producer friends, regardless of genre and we began sharing musical knowledge and ideas with each other every Sunday. The members were Burn1, Zankyou, Brandon Wayne, Takshak, Jimmy Duval, Oddoo, Nonms, Meta Forza, Nick Steffen, MASF, Mr. Furbzz & Mandehhh. Seeing our combined strength and connections with numbers, we hosted an Official Miami Music Week Party in 2017 at the Miami Supercar Rooms.
We went all out with the production: top of the line speakers, CO2 cannons, an open bar, multiple photographers, a live drum performance by Nonms from MAYDAY and an art exhibit by my childhood friend Danny Doya. It was also my Birthday, so I didn’t hold back with the guestlist. I invited the President of FIU, all my top music industry contacts at the time plus everyone else’s friends and connections as well. The network in there was unparalleled. It was a moment in history for me because it was done at nearly 0 costs. Everything from the Supercar venue, to the security, to the open bar, to the artists, to the speakers, to the lights and production was all donated or hooked up because everyone wanted to help make it happen! That is the power of genuine connection!!
The Mastermind Society inspired my mind to transcend genres with my own music. I constantly absorbed influences from House, Hip Hop, Future Bass, Trap, Dubstep, R&B and Pop from my friends. It took my musical creativity to places I never thought I would reach. There was nothing like it! However, about three years in, we all starting taking our own paths. Burn1, Takshak, Oddoo & Mandehhh collaborated on an incredible brand and House movement called Dark Shades, headed by my Peruvian brother DJ Techneekz. Other members moved out of town. I also began to focus more on myself instead of carrying the group. Everyone moved towards their own direction. We all still remain great friends today and never forgot those magical moments we shared together, advancing ourselves together in music. One day, when the timing is right, I plan to bring it all back together in a new light.
Although the group gatherings ended, the network effect of the Mastermind Society continued to expand, not only did it introduce me to amazing creative musicians but it also led me to become friends with many entrepreneurs & CEOs of businesses. I truly believe in following my instincts and my heart, so even if something may not seem “relevant” to my music career, if the vibe feels great, then I trust it will lead to only positive experiences for me. Over the years, this led to me becoming good friends with Elo, the owner of the Miami Supercar Rooms, which I eventually became the resident DJ for and performed for countless prestigious Supercar Events, including Lamborghini, Ferrari and the Gumball 3000. Huge shout out to him for being so passionate in his craft and everything he does in his business that inspired me to learn so much about Supercars!
I also loved learning and exploring the Cryptocurrency Market. Eventually, this passion led me to meeting Eryka Gemma. And I helped her host the Official North American Bitcoin Conference Afterparty in 2019 at the Miami Supercar Rooms. I even DJ’ed the event, which was a blast! It was one of the best Crypto Parties I’ve been to! Along the course of the next year, Eryka became the CEO of the Blockchain Center that opened up in Downtown Miami. The Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, showed up to cut the ribbon for the grand opening and stated he supported Miami in having a forward-minded economy. Truly a historic day I participated in!
One day in the summer of 2019, my friend Chris Johnson from @AboutLastNightSoFlo, told me about a music studio he had been working with and said I should check it out. It was A2F Studios and after a rigorous screening and interview, they began to train me as an Engineer and teach me the ways of the studio. I’ve been there for the last eight months and I couldn’t be more grateful. There are living legends in that studio who have all taught me so much. Huge shoutout and blessings to Will Datelma, the founder and creator of A2F and all its divisions. He is one of the best leaders I’ve met in my life who leads with such confident principles and humility. He also preaches a very powerful concept I live by, which is to “Walk by faith, and not by sight.” Because in the music industry, perseverance is so important, especially when the path in front of you isn’t always clear. You must walk forward with faith! Nothing can stop you if you believe it!
The accumulation of what they have all taught me is an absolute God-send of a blessing. My ears, talent and musical precision have been upgraded to vast new heights. Big shout out to the A2F Latin team who I have no doubt will create global hits! Mad respect to their leader Pamela Velez, who is one most hardest working women I’ve seen. She is so fierce and yet so kind at the same time with elite engineering skills. Shoutout to PK (PeruvianKing), who has some of the best Latin Productions in the game and who is so humble to teach all of his production knowledge openly to me. And his partner Charlie (MC4), which together make Supersonicos, who has also taught me a lot about the way of the studio and Pro Tools. And of course, mega respect to the writers on the team, OV, Ronny and Nia Skyfer, who I’ve seen sing their souls out to create Anthems for everyone to sing! And huge props to my man Zaigo, one of the hardest working engineers that I been learning from since day 1. With so much incredible skill & talent all working together, the A2F Latin Team is a creative engine destined to make history.
The list doesn’t end there. I have to thank @AyooInk, the Chief Engineer at A2F Studios, for giving me the opportunity to join their circle. And for creating the extraordinary Engineering standard at the studio. He is one of the best in the game and I’m always honored to sit in his sessions. Shoutout to Heartbreak, who is one most creative and experimental engineers in the studio. It’s musically inspiring to see someone push the limits of hardware and plugins and get amazing results. Shoutout to Adam Hendrix, who is not only a great engineer but taught me so much about studio ethics. Mad respect to Gairy Harris & Tom Foley, who are not only superb businessmen and artist managers but are also magnificent music creators! And the artists signed at A2F are also next level, who’s records are sonically and melodically engaging. Shoutout to Aymber, Ledoux and the Broken, Dominique and Murdarich for the big come up they are on.
At the end of the day, its honor to serve and help out this amazing studio team in any way they need, because they do so much for me just by being themselves; they are on the cusp of exponential greatness. They are going to make a dent in Miami and set new standard for getting things done through the power of the community. And I personally can’t wait to see the savant that A2F is helping me transform into.
After nearly a decade in the music industry, it is only just recently I started aggressively releasing Original tracks of mine. I was holding back on releases for almost 2-3 years because I really wanted to put out an Album called Transcendence in a massive way. During the recent 2020 Corona Pandemic and Quarantine, it hit me that if I were to die tomorrow, there no would be no music of mine uploaded anywhere for people to hear because of this desire. It didn’t sit right with me. I immediately took action and started self-releasing my music to all platforms. Including 1 or 2 songs from the Transcendence Album!
One of my most recent and proudest releases I’ve done has been the 6 Part Remix EP with Sofiya Rothschild. I met Sofiya while I was DJ’ing an event at the Miami Supercar Rooms. And she started her music career about a year later. I was really impressed by her vocals and I told her one way or another we were destined to meet in a studio. The reality was bought into existence in early 2020 when she passed by A2F Studios coincidentally when I was working. We happily caught up and I met her team. The vibe between everyone was super great and we started discussing about Sofiya expanding into electronic sounds. After hearing my music, they were really interested in Remixing Sofiya’s records. I sent them the first Remix to ‘Talk To Me Nice,’ and they fell in love with my capability, and we set off to remix Sofiya’s first six releases!
I’ve done many Remixes in the past, but never six in a row and by the same artist, it was an extremely unique & creative experience. I enjoyed remixing all of them, but personally, I really loved making the last three (‘Strange Love,’ ‘Digital Kiss,’ ‘High Road’) because the momentum of creation added up along with understanding her vocals better. Those three also had more of my own artistic sound fused throughout each record. The Remixes are out now and released on all music platforms!
It’s been a long journey to get to where I’m at and I have no regrets in being where I am today. I’m here to continue learning as much about music & frequencies as I can to inspire as many people as I can.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The Music Industry is one of the toughest paths anyone can face. I’ve seen many talented and skilled people give up in their dreams. The two most common reasons are getting too much rejection/mistreatment or getting to an age where it’s no longer comfortable or possible for them to keep living on the edge. Miami, in particular, is one of the toughest cities to break-in in the U.S. I have many friends that have toured nationwide who tell me Miami is always the hardest crowd to bring, even if they are from that city! Personally, from what I’ve witnessed, it seems Miami has a tendency to support what is established, but no support as often what are new & upcoming movements or artists.
I am the opposite and love supporting new movements and creators more than I support the ones established at the top. There’s much more to be inspired by and the connections are more genuine since you were there supporting from the beginning. In the Music Industry, it’s crucial to have a solid support system you can talk with and who can relate to any circumstances you might be going through. It’s great to push yourself and also know your healthy limits, physically & mentally. Otherwise, you could end up relying on external stimuli to keep you going.
The more years go by, the more thankful I am of all the wisdom I acquired beforehand. Perhaps if I had been in certain positions earlier than I should have, even though I would have wanted to, my wisdom at the time could have kept me from evolving or led me somewhere different I wouldn’t want to be today. I believe any obstacles you face in the music industry are there to help you grow as a person so you can be ready for that next level, thus now I never feel the need to rush my “success.” I’ve seen too many artists’ careers implode early because they didn’t know how to handle success either mentally, physically, or financially. Don’t ask for a smooth road; ask to be strong enough to handle anything.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
The proudest moment is right now, everything I’ve done in my life pursuing my passion has led up to this moment in time where I’m doing what I love to do at a high degree while pushing my talents and skills to new heights! I believe the value and experience of the journey is more important than the actual “success” you may reach. So I enjoy life moment to moment and trust in God’s Plan to unravel what is destined for me through my hard work and perseverance in being a creator. I am authentically myself to the highest degree.
Contact Info:
- Website: Drasen.me
- Email: rasmussen.drasen@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/Drasenn
- Twitter: Twitter.com/DrasenR
- Youtube: YouTube.com/Drasen
Image Credit:
DevKnight
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