Ian Erix – Horse of A Different Color

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) We describe it as electro punk pop. It’s Top 40 mainstream pop music, but it has some elements of EDM in it and punk. So, it pulls things from the punk world and the EDM world, but it is definitely pop based.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) The big pop icons like Michael Jackson were my biggest influences when I was little. But then there were pop punk bands that I really got into a lot like Good Charlotte and New Found Glory. The Top 40 Pop stuff I listened to on the radio, I just pulled from here and there. It’s just mish-mashed that I combined in my crazy head to come up with my own little take on things.

Q) You will be releasing Horse of A Different Color coming up in new year. Talk about the feel and vibe for the album?

A) It’s kind of like what I said about the electro pop punk vibe. It’s a change for me because it’s been a while since I put out my first album. I’ve come a bit full circle and switched things around. I started out as a DJ so I was in kind of this EDM dance pop world when I started and then I got really into the pop punk scene where I was doing this emo feel like Panic At The Disco, Paramore and Fall Out Boy. When I started, I was going into that direction and then we kind of flipped it around and kind of combined those things and became this electro pop punk hybrid of this pop punk feel with some of the EDM beats and sound. It’s a really good blend of sounds. It’s very pop, commercial and catchy. We use a bunch of guitars and a bunch of EDM beats. So, it’s a really cool hybrid. I think it is definitely unique to some of the stuff that is out there, but still something that would be played on mainstream radio stations. It’s unique, but not strange. It’s relatable!

Q) Your single “Shangri-La” recently reached one million views on YouTube. What do you think it is about the song that fans are connecting to?

A) I think it’s a super fun silly song. I always looked at it as a bit of a novelty track in a way. it’s a bit of tongue-in-check. It’s had over two million plays on VEVO and over twenty million views world wide. It’s starts super wild and we shot the video for it in Bulgaria. That was a really wild time. It’s a really fun, happy-go-lucky track. It’s about having a good time and the video is really fun. I think that definitely draws people in and is something for people to relate to and enjoy.

Q) I know you recently wrapped the quadrilogy of “Graffiti on My Heart.” Talk concept and significance of making it a quadriology.

A) I was locked in a bunch of legal nonsense that kept me from releasing my follow up album. It took a long time for me to deal with the label and management problems. I had to get around all of that. So, in the interim I had just been allowed to release stand alone singles here or there. I recorded all of this music over the last few years and every year I kept thinking, “Okay, my album is going to come out this year.” Every year I was kind of shut down because of all this crazy stuff going on. I was able to put out singles, but I wasn’t able to put out a full body of work. Now that we’ve gotten past that frustration and craziness I’m able to put out an album. Obviously, an album release is proceeded by a promotional track. I just didn’t want to put out another stand alone single again. I wanted to put out a bulk of the music and get people ready for a bunch of the songs. There were over thirty songs that I was narrowing down for this album to a sixteen track album. I had the idea of putting out a few songs together at the same time to wet people’s appetite and not have a stand alone single. I picked four songs that could create a visual piece together and I came up with this story that I think is cool. It kind of links together, but the four videos were shot with different stories all together. Each of the videos can live alone and you can watch them one at a time and get into them, but there is a story (a narrative) that each one links with a “to be continued…” So, there is a cliffhanger at the end of each video and the storyline kind of strings it together. It’s cool we can put these songs out together so it will almost be like a mini EP that will come out based around this quadrilogy, which will be followed by the whole album that hopefully will come out shortly after.

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your  music?

A) A lot, on the visuals and the music. With the videos, I’ve been very hands on. I wrote the script and the treatment. I’m very much involved in the directorial decision, production and editing process. With the music, I write all of the songs and I work with different producers and co-writers. But there isn’t a song that I have recorded that I haven’t had a hand in writing. As far as the musical production, I’m definitely very involved in crafting that. I’m very much hands on. I’m not the kind of artist  that gets songs handed to them, sings them and then just walks away.

Q) How do you plan to celebrate the release of Horse of a Different Color?

A) I’m probably going to get some sleep! Leading up to this, there were a lot of sleepless nights getting everything ready that I’d only have three or four hours of sleep! When we get to the point where everything is ready I feel like I’m going to crash for a week or two and just sleep. Then, after that I can party again!

Q) You will be portraying animated character in video game. How did that opportunity come about for you?

A) That came about in a pretty crazy way. One of my publicists I used to work with found out about the game and they were doing auditions. The developers of the game were looking for a pop artist to star as the lead role. They flew me out to Las Vegas and I had to go to Hong Kong to meet with the developers. I had to go through this audition process where they asked me a bunch of questions and I did some voiceover work. I thought it went well and they said they were going to get me a coach to put me through a round of training. Out walks this big, burly Arnold Schwarzenegger! I was thinking in my head, “For a vocal coach, he doesn’t really fit the classic stereotype, but don’t judge a book by its cover.” He seemed like a very strange vocal coach. Before I knew it, the guy was asking me all these physical strength questions. I realized they were about to test my physical endurance and he wasn’t a vocal coach! They put me through this obstacle course that I didn’t know they had there. It was monkey bars, a giant maze and all these physical challenges. They had me do this obstacle course because the video game was filmed via motion capture so it was basically all these stunts that the character had to do, which I had to so they could translate it into motion capture into the character. It was kind of crazy and I thought I could get through of it. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. I was never out of shape, but I don’t think I was in the crazy shape that I needed to in order to do some of those crazy things. So, I gave it my all and I ended up throwing up all over the place in front of the people judging me. It was not pretty and I was so embarrassed! I figured I lost the role. It was amazing how I got through those things, but I thought I exerted too much of myself. I left there with my tail between my legs thinking I was an idiot. The next day though I got a call saying the part was mine so I guess I did something right!

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) It used to be that everything was so much more mysterious. Fans would see you at a concert or meet and greet, but there was no direct line to them. I think for my generation it is a whole new world and you can really become part of their lives. You can become friends. There are people who started out as fans, but whose lives I know about now that I consider friends as opposed to fans. I feel like I get to know people on a personal level and they can get to know my life. It makes an important connection and you’re able to reach people through the internet that find your music that wouldn’t have necessarily known about you before. It’s definitely an important tool to reach out to people and stay connected with them.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your music?

A) Sorry for the long wait for the album! It’s coming, I swear! Hang in there! I get asked about a message or theme and one of the lyrics from my upcoming single “Tomahawk” says, “Say what you want, wear what you want and be what you want.” That’s kind of an important theme or message that I have to everyone. There is a cool little segment as part of the Graffiti On My Heart quadrilogy with part four (the last segment) that goes to “Tomahawk” where we kind of rally the Mutt Army (my fanbase) and we take over suburbia. We make it our own. I think that’s an important message of be true to yourself and stay true to yourself. Follow your heart, follow your dreams and stand up for what you believe in. Those are messages I like to put out there for anyone who is interested in listening to me.