I’m Ben aka Kabes, 22 years old producer based in Nice, France. I've been a producer since a few years, and I started my first project “Kabes” in January 2019!
Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path?
I did a sound engineering school for 3 years (that I just finished this year) to be able to work in the music / sound industry. But what I really wanted to do was make music, instead of working for other artists and being their engineer. I was super lucky that I had a lot of free time during my 2nd and 3rd year of school, so I spent a lot of time working on Ableton on those 2 last years. I started releasing stuff randomly on Soundcloud in January 2019 (right after I finished my first track ever) and things happened super-fast to me. I have been reached by an amazing artist (and nowadays friend) only 6 months after I have created my Soundcloud account, to work with a pretty big label. Then, I realized that I finally had the opportunity to make music full time, so I just kept working hard and I can say things worked well for me!
Can you tell us about the process of making your work?
I cannot really talk about any specific process or workflow. I’m using ableton, and I’m honestly doing random stuff on ableton and synthesizers (like serum, granulator II..) up to when I find some good chord prog / loop ideas. And then I just work around it, develop a track, and if I like what it sounds like after working on it for a few hours, I try to finish it as fast as possible. I can’t work on something for months because I totally lose interest in it, and I start hating what I do super-fast.
How do you know when a piece of work is accomplished? What’s your number 1 habit?
This is a really hard question. In fact, I could work on something forever, but as I just said before, the more time I spend on a track, the more I hate it. So, I try to fix limits to my work, and I also try to compare it to others. I think having a reference is really important!
I don’t have any habit, besides using ableton (and Granulator II most of the time) haha.
What drives and inspires you?
Listening to music. The most inspiring thing to me is listening to music, listening to a lot of different stuff, trying to keep the small sounds / ideas I like in that music and try to blend them together.
What are you thankful for?
I’m super thankful for being able to make music. I know a lot of people don’t have enough money to buy a good computer, don’t have enough time to work on their passion, even if they would love to have this opportunity. I’m also extremely thankful to my parents for trusting me and giving me the chance to work in the music industry. They always supported me, and I am really happy to make them proud of what I’m doing right now!
Do you have a favourite book?
Not really, I know this is a shame but I’m not reading many books. I would say The Green Line tho because I loved that story !
What does your daily routine look like?
This isn’t crazy.. I just wake up, make music the whole day, do some sport, sleep, and then do it again and again haha.
What advice would you give to your younger self following your steps?
Try to be creative. I’ve listened to so many artists that are crazy talented, but they do not get attention because they do not bring anything new in their music. Doing “good” (talking about technical stuff) music is really important for sure, being original is even more in my opinion.
Try to work on multiple genres, to make your own sounds, and to express yourself in your music!
Why do you do what you do? Where can people find you? What’s your vision about?
I just want to keep being able to make music. For now, this is my only goal. I feel totally fulfilled in my life just by the fact I’m able to do what I love, and I honestly don’t want anything else for now!
My vision is only based on sharing stuff with others. We live in a wonderful era, we’re able to share things worldwide so easily. My goal only is to make people feel things thanks to my music.
10-How do you get in contact with the ROU / What does this movement mean to you?
HKMK contacted me because we both worked for a label (that was named 2DEX), and he liked what my music was sounding like. Then we kept a good relationship, he made me remix one of his tracks featuring LeftLukas. This movement is the opportunity for newcomers to share music with more listeners and to be part of a community!
What should people be ready for in 2020 (upcoming projects)
I recently released my first ever sample pack (99% sound designed and created by me)!
Follow Kabes on socials:
https://www.instagram.com/kabesmusic/