Call & Response: GLOhan Beats
(10 min)
GLOhan Beats is a producer and License Lab composer who loves video games. There’s a genuine affinity there that goes beyond just “playing” the games. He’s internalized them to a point where they’ve help mold his inventive and attention-grabbing beats. Working with rappers like Famous Dex and Lil Uzi Vert, GLOhan Beats has been making a name for himself by infusing unique video game samples and beats with an unspoken sense of nostalgia. Read on to learn about his background, why video games are so important to him, his successes and plans, and how he made his first beat within a video game itself.
Lab Notes (LN): If you had to boil your musical journey into one sentence, what would it be? (Run-on sentences accepted and encouraged.)
GLOhan Beats (GB): I'd honestly have to say that my musical journey has been a long, but exciting, creative, fun, and patient journey that has involved a WHOLE lot of hard work and patience (patience is the keyword here, lol); oh, and a LOT of personal growth as well.
LN: How do you approach sampling and how did you get started?
GB: I started sampling pretty much the moment I picked up my first DAW (FL Studio, which I still use now). My first beat ever was a stock loop I found that came with the program, so I was sampling right out of the gate.
Prior to getting my hands on a DAW, I had been a huge fan of a group of producers on YouTube who'd been sampling old video games and anime. I took to those guys because I'm a huge fan of those two things myself (you can hear the influence anime and video games have on me in the music I make). One of my favorite producers from that group is a guy who goes by the name Raisi K. After hearing other beats like theirs, I became motivated to take some of my own childhood memories and infuse them into my production. Another reason I took to sampling so much is because when I first got FL Studio, I had no clue what a VST was or even how to change presets and create notes, so sampling was right there for me to take stuff and throw drums on it. I do make tons of originals, though, probably just as frequently as I sample.
LN: Your tracks on our HypeKit label are among some of our favorites. Is your approach to production music tracks different than beats built for mixtapes or artists?
GB: Yeah. When I'm doing production tracks, I try to match that "TV" feel. I hate to use the word "corny" to describe it, but it has to sound like something you'd hear on a radio ad while driving or while watching TV. I still add my flavor to things, though. My goal is to make the music interesting enough that it keeps people watching, even during a commercial break.
I also have to take other measures such as making sure the mixes aren't peaking too often and too much (because my beats for artists BANG). Other preparations for production tracks that I normally don't take with artist tracks are making sure that there are extra bits like stingers and such; a lot of my regular beats have stingers, but it's more like just the tail left on the beat. With production tracks, I try to add one last little cymbal or open hat to accompany the tail. My beats for artists are also a bit more creative as well, and I'm more likely to use samples in them because samples are a bit of a grey area when it comes to doing music for TV and film, yet generally a bit more accepted in the realm of music for artists. I guess the difference between my production tracks and artist tracks are kind of like the difference between the NBA and street ball. There's a bit more freedom on the artist side.
LN: You were featured in a popular YouTube exploration recently on Lil Uzi Vert and Gucci Mane and how you sourced samples from Monkey Ball. Does a lot of your sonic inspiration come from video games?
GB: Yes, a ton of it does. I'm heavily influenced by both video games and anime, and I've pretty much fused the two together. When I would play games as a kid, my favorite parts of them were the "sound test" sections. I would listen to the in-game music for hours—I would even beat box to some of them as a kid, lol. The influence is undeniable... it's not really something I'm able to explain, I just know that it exists because with the amount of time I spent playing games as a kid, there's no way in hell that some of it wouldn't end up leaking into my music.
As a matter of fact, I started making beats on a game itself. I don't really count this as my official start because it wasn't a DAW, but I used to make beats on this game for PlayStation 3 called 'Little Big Planet 2' (which released in 2011). You could literally make ANYTHING on that game, including your own games!
The influence is undeniable... it's not really something I'm able to explain, I just know that it exists because with the amount of time I spent playing games as a kid, there's no way in hell that some of it wouldn't end up leaking into my music.
LN: What is it about video game music that catches your ear?
GB: I guess it's just the fact that the music is associated with so many good memories of mine. Often times, people will tell me how my music brings them back to the old days. That's what drives me to incorporate those memories into my music, nostalgia.
LN: Congrats on your work on Famous Dex’s 2018 album, 'Dex Meets Dexter.' What’s the biggest difference between getting a track placed on a major label album versus helping young up-and-comers with their earliest singles or mixtapes?
GB: The biggest difference is the label aspect. Before my track (XOXO) on Famous Dex's album, I had only produced tracks for him that were loosies and didn't end up being released commercially. I never had any communications with anyone on his label team when I did those ones. For the album, though, his A&R from 300 Entertainment hit me up directly, and his lawyers hit me with an email containing a proposal for terms. Those terms included upfront payment, publishing splits, points on the master, and more. Information regarding how I should be credited and such was also a requirement.
LN: What’s next for you and how are you adapting to the changes happening in the music industry?
GB: My next focus is further building my brand. I'm using everything I've done so far as a means to create an almost-impeccable brand. I have new music of my own on the way and I'm currently putting together several loop kits for producers. I'm realizing that brand and product are very important things to focus on. I'm also working on other placement opportunities as they come along. I haven't been stressing them much, though. I've really just been trying to draw the focus on my own art and brand, but placements are always good to have, so I haven't forgotten about them.
LN: What inspires you? What gives you hope these days?
GB: I'm not all the way sure myself. There's no definite answer, especially in times like these.
I guess my main inspiration right now is just inspiring other people. I see comments every day saying how I inspired someone to start making beats. The next Timbaland or Dr. Dre could end up being someone who was originally inspired by me, so that's dope.
I also don't really have too much of a choice but to wake up and do something. There are times when I find myself in bed too long, looking at social media, but I realize how much time I'm wasting and that gets me up and doing something. I also love making music. I'd do it even if there was no way to make money from it (but, of course there is, so I'm going to make money off of it, LMAO). Also, I get anxious when I'm not doing anything. Getting my ass on my computer and knocking out work puts me into a zen-like state.
PlutoTV's Naruto channel also has had me in the right mental space during this time. I've had the channel on constantly since I discovered it. 'Naruto' is my 2nd favorite anime, following 'Dragon Ball Z.'
LN: What music are you listening to right now? Playing any video games with great soundtracks?
GB: I haven't really been listening to anything specific these days, I've been listening to a wide range of stuff. My artist D2X has been sending me a bunch of old school stuff, so that's kind of where my head is right now. Been listening to a lot of J Dilla and Wu-Tang. Also been listening to one of my personal favorite producers/artists, Nujabes. Being from the Chicago area, artists like Chief Keef, G Herbo, and Lil Durk are a few more of my go-to artists to bump.
As far as games go, I haven't really been playing anything new at the moment. The latest released game I play is the new Call of Duty, but I haven't really been playing that lately either. As I'm typing this, I'm playing an old Naruto game that was recently ported to the Nintendo Switch. It does have an awesome soundtrack that I've sampled before.
People will tell me how my music brings them back to the old days. That's what drives me to incorporate those memories into my music, nostalgia.
LN: What do you do when you’re not creating music?
GB: When I'm not creating music, I'm either watching stuff on YouTube, playing the game, thinking of ways I can brand myself better and executing on that, browsing social media and posting, interacting with fans and supporters, watching anime, reading, and hopefully grabbing something good to eat. Oh yeah, and sleeping... lol.
LN: If you were trapped on a desert island, what 5 albums could you not live without?
GB:
1. J Dilla - Donuts
2. Nujabes - Metaphorical Music
3. Nujabes - Modal Soul
4. Daft Punk - Discovery
5. deadmau5 - Random Album Title
If I may add an honorary mention, Finally Rich by Chief Keef would have to be #6 on that list. Chief Keef has inspired me in many ways, including directly in my name with the "GLO" part of it.
LN: What are three things about you that wouldn’t want left out of your Wikipedia page?
GB: This is a tough one; in no particular order:
1. I definitely want people to know that the game 'Little Big Planet 2' is what I started making beats on in 2011, and that I didn't officially start making beats until November 2012.
2. From 2012–2013, my producer name was originally "MyPatch21" (which is my PlayStation Network ID). I then changed it to "Patch Productionz" in 2014; then, on January 1st, 2015, I made the permanent switch to "GLOhan Beats."
3. I don't know... my middle name is Phillip. I guess that's something, right?
LMAO... don't let Nardwuar get a hold of this information!