THYME - Interview

Spencer Le Ray Armstrong, known as THYME, is a producer from Canada who writes a variety of chilled out electronic music. He's young but has plenty of promise! We've teamed up to make a video for one of his new tracks that caught my attention called "Summer Daze", with some beautiful footage courtesy of Bianco Soleil. I always think it's nice to know something about the artist behind the music so here's a small interview we did! First off, here's the video...

1. Where were you brought up, how old are you now and when did you decide to start producing your own music?

I was born and raised in Toronto ON, Canada. I'm 18 and I decided to start producing about year ago, when i was 17. I had been learning how to DJ for a couple of months, but I got kinda tired of spinning other peoples music, so I wanted to take a shot at making my own!

2. How exactly did you learn to write music? Which programs do you use?

I started messing with ableton and reason at the same time when i started and right away I felt that Propellerhead's Reason would be more suitable for me (I adore the layout.) I was in a choir for 8 or 9 years, so I learned quite a bit about theory and all that jazz at that time, but when it came to producing music, I just sat there for hours trying to figure stuff out and get the hang of the program. There are also many cool little tutorials on youtube, that helped me learn the basics.

3. What were your early tastes in music and who or what would you say influences the style of your music?

 Growing up I had many different tastes in music. I have two older brothers so at the time, I was listening to punk being blasted from my big brothers room (nofx, drop kick murphys ets..) My dad had an amazing taste in music, so I also grew up listening to artists like: Sting & The Police, Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones (just to name a few) and I still listen to all those artists today. Personally when I was 8, I really got into Iron Maiden! I thought that they were the greatest band of all time (I was seriously addicted.) I still own like 10 shirts, 15 albums a bunch of posters and I'm part of the Iron Maiden Fan Club website. For the music that I make these days, I get a lot of inspiration from classical music, (music i grew up hearing and singing in choir.) My style is definitely influenced by my opinion that electronic music has the ability to be very beautiful and more than just a club banger!

4. Definitely! What genres do you enjoy composing most and what's your favorite track you've produced so far?

 I enjoy messing around with different genres. I still have not found my "one specific genre" yet, andIi don't think I ever will, just because I love so many different kinds of music. I have always been geared more towards the ambient side of things. I very much enjoy laid back, chill beats. Lately I've found a love for ambient, liquid, chill out DNB, so I'm going to continue doing so more of that for the moment. I think that my favourite track that I've produced so far would have to be "The Gateway to a Magical Place" but I'm not sure. Its always hard getting asked what your favourite track is that you've made!

5. Chilled drum and bass works for me. Are you just writing music as a hobby or do you want to see it go somewhere, what would you like to see yourself producing in the future?

 I write music because it is my favourite thing to do in the world. But I would also like to do it as a career. I am going to be attending College starting in the next upcoming months for music production. I hope one day to have a career making music for film, whilst also doing my own different music projects and maybe hopefully touring the world playing out my music, one of these years! My idol is Hans Zimmer, so id love to see myself producing music for the big Hollywood movies.

6. Great aspiration. What are your current favorite artists/tracks

My favourite current artists: Zeds Dead, Stumbleine & Asa, Netsky, Four Tet, Burial, Mango, Hosta & Jodi, High Contrast, Essay, Owsey, Sizzlebird, Cahb
My favourite current tracks: Tantrum Desire- Reach, Colossus- Under The weather, Facing Jinx- One Perfect Moment

I love Stumbleine & Asa (leave the light on is epic), Netsky, Mango, High Contrast, Essay, Owsey, Sizzlebird...all big favorites of mine too! Put the Colossus - Under the weather track on just now, had forgotten about it but what a great track. Soulful vocals and jazzy drum and bass like NZ Shapeshifter have nailed down is the best. Thanks very much for the interview and look forward to hearing more stuff from you in the future!