Breaking Barriers : Young Troubled Minds
Modern Life Mag has joined forces with the innovative app, Tradiio for our new interview series, "Breaking Barriers". This interview series will feature various artists from various genres and getting their insight on how they deliver their music. Our first installment for the series is Ohio based group, Young Troubled Minds.
Tradiio has established as an "Artist Accelerator", where it pushes the limit to discover new artists and help them reach new opportunities with studio time, label deals, and festival bookings. The UK based app has been recommended by Universal Music Group, Noisey, Sonos, and more. Tradiio allows the people who download the app to discover, invest, and have the opportunity to see the artists that they listen to. The trade-off between the listener and artist is mutual because both sides come out on top with various opportunities to experience the benefits outside the app.
Coming out of Cleveland, Young Troubled Minds deliver a sound that's influenced by 420 vibes but it's presented in a fashion where they carry originality and authenticity with their music. We spoke to the pair about their delivery, how does it feel to work with your sibling, the Ohio soundscape and more.
Read their interview below.
How’s Your Modern Life?
Life right now, outside of doing music, is kind of like a boring merry-go-round; same sh*t, just a different day.
How would you describe Young Troubled Minds in three words?
Highly Misunderstood Creatives
What are the core music values for Young Troubled Minds?
Honesty and pushing the envelope; we challenge ourselves to exceed our expectations. The first idea is not always the best one.
Who are some of your musical influences?
The list would be too long if we named everybody, but from this generation, some of our biggest influences have come from the following: Kanye, Outkast, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, PARTYNEXTDOOR and more.
The Cleveland music scene has seen the likes of Kid Cudi, Bone Thugs n Harmony, Chip tha Ripper, and more. How would you say you all are different from those who came before you all?
Simply put, we’re different because we stay true to who we are; nobody can be us. At some point in time you may even compare us to some of these artist for some particular reason, but even then our sound will be distinct because we stay genuine and that’s what will stand out.
What is the current state of the Cleveland music scene at the moment?
The Cleveland scene is “underconstruction” at the moment. There are a lot of great sounds coming out of Cleveland, but like anywhere, the trend is what dictates the sound of the city. Our flavor becomes very bland at times simply because we (as a city) don’t embrace our musical roots; something we’re trying to bring back.
You all just released your project, “One Big Session” in the earlier parts of this year. What was the mindset for you guys while making this project?
Well off top we were super baked! However, we set out to create a flawless project. We had the mindset to max out our resources, and create something that felt genuine and fresh.
You all are ambassadors for Tradiio in the area of Hip Hop. How has Tradiio help you further your sound and allow it to reach the masses?
Tradiio has helped a lot in expanding our music reach around the world. They have given us a platform that allows us to connect with everyone who enjoys our music. Overall, they’ve shown us a lot of love, and it’s definitely reciprocated.
What are three things you like about Tradiio and how would you recommend it to someone else?
Tradiio is dedicated, passionate, and innovative; we’d recommend them by showing people what they’ve done for us. in just a year's time.
What are three things you all like to have in a studio session?
Marijuana, good vibes, and innovators.
What are three benefits working alongside your sibling in the music industry?
It’s a blessing to be working alongside family; it’s easier to be honest with each other, we understand each other on multiple levels, and we can trust each other’s judgement.
What are three things that people don’t know about you all?
Firstly, some might not know that we do EVERYTHING between the two of us, including: music production, mixing, mastering, recording, photos, graphics etc. Second, we record in an apartment closet. Lastly, we both attend Kent State University; Au is finishing up his bachelor's in Psychology and Pro is finishing up his Master’s in Visual Communications & Design.
What are three things you want to accomplish this year?
2015 has been a very fruitful year for us musically. In continuing that success, we will be releasing another Ep entitled “Short Daze Long Nights” (coming later this month); we hope it will achieve the same attention as our previous release. Also, we hope to gain a greater following by the end of the year so that we can take 2016 by storm. Lastly, we plan to continue our journey as new artist, and look to grow to our full potential.
We've invested in Young Troubled Minds, have you? Check out their profile and more artists on Tradiio here, https://tradiio.com/young-troubled-minds