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- My Story so far
I am INFEKT, a producer from Germany. I grew up in a suburb of a small city called Bayreuth and hardly anyone liked my music there. I was first introduced to music production by my Dad in 2010. He showed me a program he read about in a magazine – FL Studio. At that point I had no idea what I was doing or what to do with it, since a lot of the music I was listening to was made with real Instruments.
Introduction to Dubstep
I was introduced to the Dubstep genre in 2010 by a friend from a city about an hour away from where I used to live (Nürnberg). He showed me some of the music that was uploaded on UKF such as Datsik, Flux Pavilion, Doctor P and so on. As it happens with many things, I wasn’t into it that much right away, but I was curious. I went home and started digging a little deeper, slowly developing a taste for the genre and eventually getting obsessed with the darker, robotic side of it.
Now that I was into a genre that people produce on a computer, I revisited FL Studio and started getting serious about learning how to use it. At the time there weren’t a lot of resources available online for the genre that I wanted to make and I didn’t know anyone in the scene, so I had to mostly piece things together and experiment with the tools that came with the software.
I soon felt like I wanted to put my music out there somewhere and since a lot of my favorite artists were using Soundcloud, that’s where I decided to upload my creations and show my progress. My goal was never really to become a famous or rich artist, because then I wouldn’t have chosen such an unpopular genre. I just wanted to create something that I enjoyed listening to before and I always had a lot of fun doing that.
The Monsters
Around the time I started uploading my music on Soundcloud, I also discovered a sort of sub-genre of Dubstep that didn’t have a name at the time but the people at the forefront of it were a crew called the “Monsters”. The members were Shiverz, Subfiltronik, AD, Akira and a few others. From that moment my new goal was to make music like them, show them my tracks and maybe even become a part of the team one day, so I learned what tools they used to make music, tried to find more information and to implement their music style into my productions. I found out that they used a program called Reason and so I installed it and learned how to use it while continuing to upload my progress on my Soundcloud.
Introduction to DJing
At this point I was also curious about DJing and presenting a selection of tracks to a crowd, get them to feel the energy of the music through a big speaker system. I was too young to go to clubs, but I got a tiny controller for my birthday and started playing with it, without really expecting any outcome.
When I was 17 I was at the point where I had some followers on my Soundcloud and a few people were starting to notice me. I had made a few friends in the scene, got better at producing and I had a steady output of new music. In 2013 an online friend of mine, Tobi TJ invited me to play at a show he was putting on for his birthday in Cologne. Cologne was a 5 hour train ride away from where I lived, so it was a real sign of trust from my mom to let me go there. I had never played on a professional DJ setup at that point, so I looked at the manual of those devices before the show to figure out the controls and I needed some help from TJ, but it was a great time and it only fueled my love for the genre and inspired me to keep going.
The demand for me to play at shows was growing and I remember I was very proud and excited the first time I left the country for a show. I took a train to Belgium after a friend invited me to play at a small show he had organized and it turned out to be another amazing experience. After that the ball was rolling, I was getting more offers to play at shows until I was eventually invited to play at a show with some of my idols from the Monsters crew. I played in front of AD and Shiverz in Belgium and they were so impressed, they invited me to become part of their team. I had reached my goal!
Being part of the crew, I felt more inspired than ever before to make music and learn new techniques, to remix their songs and to work with them. My output on Soundcloud was steady, pretty much one track per week. I also started to get record label contracts and started releasing EPs on official music platforms. I was still going to school, so I spent most of my free time after school making music. Suddenly some of the people from school started being interested in what I do as they noticed that I was traveling further away, but there were still not many who actually had an understanding for that kind of music, so most of my friends were living far away from me.
Becoming a full-time Musician
When I finished Gymnasium in Germany, (which is kind of like High School in America) I started an apprenticeship as a programmer – a web developer to be more specific. I spent two years learning about programming, but as there were more promoters asking me to play at their shows, I found that I didn’t have as much time and energy after working in front of screens all day to make music, so I decided to drop out of the apprenticeship and focus fully on music. This was pretty risky, because I wasn’t making a lot of money at the time, so I’m lucky that it ended up working out for me as it did.
My Wife
At one of my shows in Montreal, Canada I met the person who is now my wife, so I would like to take a moment at this point to appreciate how far music has taken me and that it enabled me to meet the person that changed me and my view on life in such a major way. Without her and the way she believed in me I would never have had the courage and confidence to drop my apprenticeship in order to fully focus on my music career. Most of the things I’ve achieved now – in music, but also with where I’m at as a person – wouldn’t have been possible without her encouragement, her ideas and her way of thinking.
America
As the years went by, the Dubstep scene in America started to get much bigger than it was in Europe, so the ultimate goal was to get a Visa for the US and start touring there. Disciple’s management was interested in taking me under their wing after a successful release on their record label (Orgalorg) and they helped me massively with the process of getting the Visa. The US visa paved my path for the future, I moved to America and started to tour there. My first tour was with Oolacile and MVRDA, with more shows in a row than I ever could have dreamed of. After that I was invited to join the east coast part of 12th Planet’s bus tour with Shlump and Gentlemen’s Club, followed by another US tour with Samplifire and MVRDA. Between those tours I also played at festivals like EDC, came back to Europe for smaller tours and also played multiple shows in Australia. Looking back at where I came from, I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have these opportunities one day.
Disciple
Since I am managed by Disciple, I also have been continuing to release music with them on their sub-label called Disciple Round Table. Disciple is a family that consists of artists that are all professional and eager to work, so I’m very proud to be part of the team now. They have grown to be my friends and I’m always happy to see them when playing shows and to work with them.
Patreon
Since 2017 I have also been giving production lessons and exclusive music as well as some insight into my life via my Patreon page. Together we’ve been building a community of producers and people that are passionate about Dubstep and I’ve been able to pay my bills and make a living during difficult times thanks to their support. So here I would like to say thank you to each of you who is a member now or was a member at some point – your support is what’s making me feel more secure financially and allows me to keep going, while meeting and connecting with some great people.
Thank you
I would also like to acknowledge the fact that all of these things were possible most of all because of you – the people who supported me from the start as well as the people that have been supporting me along the way. Thank you.
I hope this story will inspire you to start or continue your own journey with music. It’s a beautiful thing that can help you in your life situation and brings passionate people together.
Much Love,
Christian / INFEKT
13 replies on “My Story so far”
This was really inspiring. It shows that everyone begins somewhere, others find an easier way to it, others a tougher one. Eventually everyone reaches somewhere. Depends on the goal. If there are any. I believe everyone has at least one. I love the similarities on the very early years of yours. The trying to understand the thing phase, i believe many others including me went, are and will go through the same stuff. It’s a journey. Always different yet in the same pool. I currently live in a city called Thessaloniki in Greece. Obviously i started getting into things later, so i got to learn about the genre and how to use software and hardware, socials, internet stuff alone. Even before i decided to choose this path, with hours and hours of gaming, the internet and technology played, and keeps playing a huge role in my life. Things here are very limited, including venues or even small places to play shows (before the quarantine), I’ve encountered very few people who listen, like or even know the genre i make (Mostly Dubstep). And yes, since this internet phase broke through, meeting people and sharing your work, getting publicity and stuff became so much easier and accessible for everyone, it’s different than living in a active “for your needs” place. In your story you mentioned you needed like a 5 hour travel to get to that show. That thanks to a friend, then things started moving. If you’re not meeting people and being active things are not moving as fast. My joyrney is in a nice point so far, I’ve met some cool people from the industry, very limited stuff but since it’s only the beginning for me (roughly been doing this for almost 3 years now), theres so much to come. Disciple is one of the many “dreams” i got, join the team and sh*t spirit you get it. Again, to conclude this long reply, this was a very nice read. Like i said before it’s a journey, you lived yours to a very beautiful point, you met people, followed your dreams, acheved goals, and kept moving forward. That’s a mentality more people need. To never give up, regardless of the current state they are. Thank you for this. Hopefully one day I get to “join the team”. Dreams come true! Cheers man!
Thank you for the comment! I actually played in Thessaloniki and Athens once before, but it was about 3 years ago, so I’m not sure how the scene changed there. (https://www.facebook.com/events/139290470021144/) Maybe you could connect with those people if you don’t know them already!
Anyway – I agree that the attitude to keep moving on no matter what is important, but for me personally it also came naturally that way because I just loved music so much that even when I felt frustrated, I would always come back to it.
Much love!
I feel happy for your success and wish you the best in the future! You will always be remembered in the dubstep scene. You are a father of riddim. I’m glad you joined Monsters, it’s unfortunate you left but it is what it is.
All I can say is thank you for being a part of my and others lives and inspiring me and others on making music.
Love ya, keep going <3
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the kind words and it’s always an honor to me to be an inspiration to people!!
Echt cooler u. hilfreicher Beitrag! Ich habe bis jz wirklich ne ähnliche Story (bin 15) und merke in der letzten Zeit immer mehr, dass sich das, was ich mache,immer mehr verbessert…Die letzten Monate waren zwar manchmal nicht leicht, weil ich mich öfters mit anderen Producern verglichen habe (Frustration), aber seit ca ein zwei Sessions in FL merke ich, dass ich die DAW wie ein Tiger, der langsam gezähmt wird,immer besser bändigen kann und sie mich auch besser versteht. Manchmal habe ich mir Zeitdruck gemacht, weil ich öfters dachte, dass die ganz Großen schon direkt am Anfang ihrer Karriere total gut in der Produktion ect waren (habe kaum Follower, aber alle Leute,die meine Sachen hören feiern es😅), aber deine Story zeigt mir, dass ich noch viel Zeit vor mir habe und dass ich auf dem richtigen Weg bin!
Danke
Freut mich, dass er dir gefällt! Ich finde auch, dass es viel einfacher ist wenn du dich auf dich selbst konzentrierst und nicht mit andren vergleichst (außer für Inspiration). Es dauert auf jeden Fall seine Zeit und wie Virtual Riot es vor einiger Zeit so schön gesagt hat – “Embarrassment is the cost of entry”, jeder fängt mal irgendwo an 🙂
You are the inspiration for many !! very good blog, I will look forward to the next one !!
Thank you for the comment, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Christian I don’t know where to start, I’ve been a fan of yours for almost 5 years now and the amount of inspiration and model you are to me is bigger then anyone can imagine, as a teenager you are my idol and my biggest inspiration, as a artist and a person my graduated and love goes to you and your wife.
music and riddim is something I cant live without, so when I found your page I was hooked and was constantly waiting for the next track and being a middle schooler at the time was very difficult to make money to buy the packs and be a patreon, but to this day with a job now I will become a patreon and keep supporting you in every way possible!
(also im an artist and im always looking for business advice so I can make music my full time, I’ve been producing for almost 4 years now and I want to know the business side of the industry)
much love!!!
Diese Story inspiriert mich, schön dass du uns daran Teil haben lässt!
Ich feier alles was unter Labels wie Disciple oder Deadbeats released wird und alle Bassarmy / Bootshaus Events.
Hoffe du kommst gut durch die Kriese!
Ich bin stolz auf dich!
I am so pumped for Lost Lands. Somehow I stumbled upon this, I’m so glad I did. It explains why you were so kind when I met you this past summer on the Nexus tour stop. You weren’t even annoyed when I wanted a photo. I love your music so much, and love to see this growth. I hope one day to have a love like you and your wife do. Catch me in the valley being a little goblin. Keep making us the most beautiful, but nasty music!
infekt i look forward to you, and want to produce like you someday.
i am a young riddim producer starting my music future, and i would love to be a least noticed by you.
i will be realesing soon
soundcloud:
@kryptozz
appreciate you and your journey! do you offer lessons? would love to connect and chat.