Exposure To Music & Musical Influence
I was exposed to quite an array of sound over the years as my family truly revolves around music. My Dad finding his love in punk, old school hip hop, breaks and experimental beats; his first purchase a hip hop vinyl in 1984 and still very much collecting. My Mom was all about collecting cds just as my dad loved collecting vinyl; listening to Madonna, The Beetles, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Bjork, Moby, to name a few. I memorized all the albums and track numbers, yelling from my carseat what to play next until I was riding up front and making my own cd mixes. The lists are infinite with the various styles of music and artists I was exposed to.
Rodney Wills: Rim of the World Rally (2003)
Roxyona Wills: Home (2004)
Joanne Wills: Tower Records (2006)
Though there was something about the underground that I deeply loved, my earliest memory of sound being drum & bass. My dad was heavily involved in the import car scene, creating his own magazine TMR’zine and later GravelCrew rally racing. After passing out stickers all day at car shows and talking the ears off of everyone, during our drive back I would sleepily lay down watching the street lights fly past me, waiting to feel the bumps signaling that we were home. Drum & bass or some strange eclectic music from late night NPR radio was the background soundtrack to the earliest years of my life.
“my pop's sayz dat i got to learn where the original japanesse performance roots began. all i'm study'n is how to get a turbo manifold on this lil' puppy. what? no way! those aren't training wheels, those are my wheelie bars...because i got it like that.”
Roxy Wills for TMR’zine: (1997)
“my pops says when i turn 3 i'm gettin' a go cart but i know i'll be ready for the real deal. the real reason you should subscribe is 'cause we got some really cool stuff planed for next year! bigger size, more info, more pages of our automotive youth culture! all in color! and free stickers too!”
Roxy Wills for TMR’zine: (1997)
“This was our TMR booth at SEMA / Las Vegas (pink shag carpet!). Yep, Ed Santos - rest in peace Ed Santos aka Rockdamullet - was there with us! We actually threw a Drum’n’Bass party in Vegas that night as well to mix our industry people into our lifestyle.” - Rodney Wills: SEMA Drum & Bass party Las Vegas, NV: (1998)
My ears were then developed towards these experimental, genre bending sounds and I inevitably fell in love with literally everything. It seemed as though music was infinite by the age of 13. There was always someone new to be discovered or remembered and uncovered, there was always a sample to listen for, catch and name.
And then a new genre was born, dubstep. I remember specifically being with my Dad when he showed me Where’s My Money - Caspa for the first time and we both were losing our shit to say the least. I would always beg my Dad to take me to these shows, especially Caspa’s US debut show in 2009. But still I was only 14, far too young to get in to any clubs and my parents would never allow anything like that.
view the full album here - photos by Rodney Wills
It was an interesting feeling being so deeply apart of the movement yet unable to grasp it. The music was impacting my life in such a profound way and yet I wasn't allowed to be apart of any of it. Nor was there anyone to talk to.. how do you discover a genre at such a young age and only have your dad to talk to about it? (no offense pops you’re one of the coolest people I know!)
I needed to feel and experience sound more deeply. Unable to attend shows and desperate for anything, I began teaching myself to play piano by ear. I was really lonely that summer and would sit at the piano all day, everyday creating full original classical compositions without any formal training, nor could I read music.
Roxy Wills [self portrait - 2010]
I was composing my own pieces through channeling my emotions and everything I was feeling. Eventually experimenting with shorter chords and incorporating my poetry as lyrics. Which naturally progressed into production years later and now I find myself somewhere in between it all.
My love for experimental beats, drum & bass, classical and jazz still exceeds most genres, though I honestly love listen to everything. I often think back nostalgically, like we most do, to my first albums purchased, songs and albums I listened to for the first time that changed my life, the first music players I owned and downloading all kinds of music from everywhere; well let’s be honest I’m still downloading music all of the time.
And though things are, to some extent, different now, there is still so much to be discovered. We have full access to the world and are able find that sample we’ve been digging for ages, come across someone in France making the most experimental forward thinking beats, an old school jazz enthusiast playing the sax in Montreal, tech enthusiasts creating full analog audio visual set ups.
We are pulling influence from our roots more than ever, taking inspiration from around the world, from the past and the future. We are seeing the various impacts on genres and sub genres and now overall blending of. The infinite samples, resampling, vast technological advancements and vintage revival tech enthusiast.
Music has never been more exciting and what a beautiful thing to be alive to enjoy the greatest musicians, singers and producers of all time or find someone who may never be know for another 20, 30 years or ever at all beyond a select few.
Anyways, I’ve always been a lover of sound and the way it makes me feel above any technicality, continuing to remain infinitely boundless. I’m curious to know your earliest musical inspirations or where you think that we are currently headed in the overall space of music?
Music Selections:
To the DnB heads, producers and music enthusiasts out there check out this video featuring Goldie.