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Fellow Traveler, also known as Alex is 22 years old and an electronic music producer. He currently lives in Colorado and has a job as fulltime cryptocurrency investor/day trader. A few weeks ago he released the single NIGHTMODE.
What makes you unique?
I write, produce, mix, master, make the cover art, fund, and manage the business side of Fellow Traveler entirely on my own. I'm a one man circus. Unrelated: I also make the best memes on the planet.
What drew you to the music industry?
Growing up in Indiana, throughout high school and toward the end of my freshman year of college (ages 14-18) I was heavily involved in the online Yu-Gi-Oh! community. I started out just playing casually on duelingnetwork.com (now duelingbook), and as time went on I not only moved up from local tournaments to regionals, nationals, and YCSes (Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series) that took place in venues across the United States, but I was also temporarily an admin of both the community's largest meme page (yugioh memes) and trading group (Zodiac Duelist). From a young age, through my adolescent bubble, I got to see a large chunk of the country and meet thousands of like-minded individuals from all walks of life; what draws me to the music industry is the idea of continuing that experience on much wider scale - in the real world, from something I created, on my own terms.
Who inspired you to make music?
Porter Robinson. I bought a Spotify subscription in summer '16 and Worlds was the first music I listened to. I'd been a fan of EDM casually but I had never before heard electronic music as majestic, lush, colorful, emotional, and artsy (I could gush about this album for at least 3 centuries). The album encapsulated the past 4 years of my life as a Yu-Gi-Oh! player so perfectly, I instantly knew what I wanted to do and this was it.
Did you always know that you wanted to work in the music industry?
Not always. I have been a lifelong music enthusiast but mostly of video game OSTs, soundtracks, and otherwise very niche songs. It wasn't until downloading Spotify that I discovered the wider industry and started to really did deep into other artists and the inner machinations of the machine. In HS I did marching band for two years and was never really into it - despite this, you can find me joking about dropping a mixtape in my final yearbook quote. I had no intention of ever following through with it, but here we are. Life is funny like that.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Liquid.
Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?
If you listen to all of my music in chronological order - including tracks that are not currently available on streaming services, it all tells one cohesive story.
Can you explain your creative process for making this EP/track?
One day in February while my dad was watching a documentary in the other room (https://youtu.be/qj7HH0PCqIE?t=602), I heard this piano sound and it captured my attention immediately. I began to write and then it became Nightmode, which then evolved into the rest of the EP. I primarily wrote the music on my Seaboard, and this is my first music produced in 432 hz tuning.
How would you describe your EP/track?
NIGHTMODE can be best described as a silent disco from another world under your bedsheets late at night.
What is the reason behind this EP/track?
Overall, Nightmode came out of no where but the goal of the EP was for me to create a project that is easy and rewarding to listen to, while simultaneously furthering my ability/skill as a producer. My primary goal with each new release is constant improvement/refinement, like an ever evolving canvas. Also, in January Porter announced his second album 'Nurture' with the same exact title "Nurture" and similar creative direction to an album I have been conceptualizing for the past several years - since I started producing. Seeing that in the flesh sent me on a creative high that I have never known before, that I am still navigating, and NIGHTMODE is just one product of it. If the universe could have given me any one sign to keep doing what I'm doing, it was that.
What is the message you want to give to your fans?
Stream NIGHTMODE, stream Fellow Traveler, support good music anywhere you find it, shoutout to the Goons, and wear a mask not to save lives or because someone on the internet told you to, but because they're just really cool.
What is next for you?
I have a playlist of 4-6 Nightmode Remixes releasing before the end of July, then two new singles before the end of September. Otherwise, I'm gonna build some LEGOs and hike until the urge to produce returns.
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