Take a Ride on the Mothership with Rob Marion

Yooo–zzisco here! I had the pleasure of sitting down with my former classmate, Rob Marion. This dude is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, he’s very down to earth despite his fascination with space, and he has some of the funkiest beats around–enjoy!

Get to Know Rob Marion

When did you start making music where every song was at the same level as far as quality?

I started making music in fall of 2017, but I’m still not at that point. I think that’s an unrealistic expectation. I’m not saying I’m right but that’s how I view it. So, I’m still working on that (laughs).

What’s your favorite hue?

Lavender

You’re driving from LA to Madison WI and you can only listen to one of these artists catalogs, which one do you choose? Kodak Black, Soulja Boy, or Cardi B.

I don’t really know much about Kodak Black, so I think it would be a great learning opportunity.

What’s your favorite cake?

Yes.

Working with Box of Cats & Insomniac Records

Having released with Box of Cats and Insomniac, how do you deal with low points? Like when you have a creation that is not the best quality. 

I think having a good relationship with your creativity is important. Specifically, not being too attached to your ideas. I think it’s easy to get over judgemental of your creativity and weighing your natural tendencies versus your expectations that you think of in your mind. Those things don’t always go together, so when you view that from a detached almost existential perspective, I think it takes a lot of the pressure off and the judgment stays at a lower level. So, I kind of laugh it off if I make something that I don’t particularly like. If I had fun doing it, great, but I’m totally confident in hitting the do not save when I close Ableton, if necessary.

What are the characteristics that you value when working with labels?

I really love informa(ish)l but consistent communication. Box of Cats gets back to you quickly, they are fun, friendly, and welcoming. They don’t take themselves over seriously, which aligns with the vibe of the music that comes out. So, it feels authentic. Communicating is easy, and that to me, is what stood out. I know that’s vague but it’s more of an intuitive thing. With Insomniac and Box of Cats, both did a terrific job of communicating well. 

Rob Marion is a Good Person!

What drives you to be a good person?

It’s important to be mindful of how you carry yourself in the studio environment, because people want to work with people they like in the music industry. It’s incredibly important to have the vibe be right. In order for that to happen you need to be a decent person. Especially if the room is full of nice people and there’s someone who’s annoying or negative, man it really stands out. It’s such a quick way to be uninvited back. 

What advice would you give to someone who indirectly creates problems in the studio?

Surrounding yourself around good people is probably the most important thing. If you’re around good people who are genuine, friendly and honest with you, they’ll kind of influence you and course correct you naturally, I believe.

Rob Marion’s Brand

How would you describe your brand?

Letting things happen and embracing the natural elements of creativity. I think creativity is one of the fundamental elements of humanity. There’s so much you can learn from embracing your own creative spirit. My brand is about not being too much of a brand in a way. Justin Jay really inspires me where he told this story about how his brand is not having one, which I thought was brilliant! It just goes to show that what you put out is your brand. That’s how I like to think of it.

How motivated are you in using your vocals?

The want comes from just the natural curiosity of being an artist and wanting to express  yourself more authentically. I’m really inspired when I hear (within the house music scene) artists who have these DIY vocals–they’re some of my favorite tracks, so it’s really inspiring. In my experience, labels are much more likely to be interested in tracks with original vocals as opposed to a splice vocal. 

What do you like about doing your own animations?

Syncing up the visual to the music. You’re cutting out a piece of the music and finding little pieces of the story in the visual art that sync up with it. Instead of having a cool visual loop and then having the music in the background, which is fine. But I’m trying to take it one step further and have the visual connect with the music and react to what’s going on–being more complementary than supplementary.

What’s the deal with Octopus?

I just love them. They’re so fascinating! I love aliens and I’m so fascinated with this idea of life on other planets. But in my opinion, they’re the closest thing we have to aliens and they’re right here on earth.

Mothership & Alien Flow

What’s so fascinating about Aliens?

I think it’s more than just the aliens. It’s this idea about life, space, and exploration. Space is so unknown to us, I have many questions about space, one of which is about life. I think we know there’s the capability of life in other areas, whether it’s this galaxy or another. I mean how could that not be fascinating? The idea of discovering or being discovered by another life form from who knows where. Are they ahead of us, behind us, will we even see them, or know they’re around? There’s just so many questions about the unknown and space that are naturally fascinating. 

What’s the inspiration behind your two track EP with Box of Cats? (Mothership and Alien Flow)

I have all these fond memories of going to music festivals and shows and seeing all the alien imagery they had. Just how fun and natural it felt with the music and the people with their outfits. For Alien Flow, I was just imagining this vibe of being in a dark rave, the lights are flashing, people are dancing and someone just jumps in the middle of the circle with goofy glasses on. Me and my friends used to rock these alien glasses and we would do these silly dance moves. Just dancing to bleeps and bloops, that is the Alien Flow! No one understands it, no one knows what it means, but it just feels right and fun.

For Mothership, I originally meant it to be like a pickup line, like let me take you for a ride on the Mothership. I took out some of the lyrics to make it more open-ended, so you can make up your own mind about what it is, which is more interesting for me. It’s just fun!

What else do you want to say about your upcoming release?

Just a big shout out to Box of Cats for supporting weird house music like they have been doing for years. It’s been great working with them, as this is my third release. I’m thrilled at how receptive they are, how fun and welcoming they are, and how awesome their catalog is. 

How do you celebrate when you get a new song signed or when you have a track release?

Going out for a bike ride by the beach. There’s something about the ocean that puts things into perspective. 

Experience at Icon Collective & Sony Music

What were some memorable moments from Icon Collective?

My class and I were in such a unique situation with the pandemic. Everyone was figuring things out on the fly. There’s a few things that I took away. The first one is that you are your resume in the music industry. How you carry yourself, how you treat people, and your work ethic that you demonstrate consistently. In my experience, that’s helped more than a well-crafted resume in an application.

Another one would be, the difference between being an artist, music producer, DJ, engineer, etc. So often now you have to wear all these different hats. Learning to be an artist and embrace your creativity and develop your creative habits is different from being a producer and learning how to produce. At the beginning, you may not be able to understand this. So, Icon did a tremendous job at teaching you how to do both in their own ways.

Tips on getting invited back to sessions?

There was a Q&A at Icon that highlighted 3 keys to get invited back to sessions: (1) be a positive person/good hang, (2) show up on time, and (3) be undeniably good at what you do. As long as you’re nailing 2 out of 3 keys, you’ll be good. 

How has your experience been working with Sony Music?

It’s been awesome. I love being here. It’s the complete opposite of what Icon’s experience was like, so I’ve got the opportunity to learn about a whole new side of the industry. It’s been interesting just observing the way things move and how folks like to operate.

What is your role at Sony?

I’m the Assistant Studio Manager at their Recording Studio. We have a schedule of sessions, and within each session there’s multiple contacts for the artist to make sure everything is ready and prepared so when they come in they can get right to work. Coordinating with rental companies and the equipment. What kind of mics do they like, what’s their vocal chain–we’ll patch everything up, get Protools up and ready, etc. From there, I’m really just a point of contact if they need something. If their engineer couldn’t make it or needs to step away, we can tap in. We also maintain the gear and meet with project managers for music videos, photoshoots, and other non music related events.

Gold State Warriors Number 1 Fan, Rob Marion

When Kevin Durant was on the Golden State Warriors and playing for the Warriors was he the best player on the team?

When he was playing for the warriors, yes he was the best player but he wasn’t the most important to the team’s success. Iykyk.

What’s your favorite style of beer?

Depends on the context. Right now my favorite style is an IPA. But if it was 79 degrees and we’re at the beach, I’d probably choose something else. Or if it was 61 degrees and we’re at a cafe in Brussels I’d have a different favorite at that time.

How would you describe the universe in 3 words?

Live, Laugh, Love– just kidding (laughs). Let it happen!

Celebrity crush?

Dua Lipa

What’s your favorite dinner?

Warm fluffy sourdough bread with oil and vinegar, San Francisco Clam Chowder in a bread bowl, the main entree would be lamb with roasted potatoes and asparagus. For dessert, some NY Cheesecake or gelato.

What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?

It would be great to inspire people to embrace their natural creative spirit. I think there’s something so liberating from detaching your mind from your creative work. Instead of trying to think your way through your idea and expectations, just embracing what’s coming out naturally and figuring out how to put that together rather than the other way around. Instead of thinking your ideas into existence all the time, let the idea happen by listening and have fun with that shit.