Naderi is a name you should know. Hailing from Sydney, Australia the producer and engineer has worked with some of the biggest artists in electronic music from Flume to Skrillex, Marshmello and more. Launching his artist project a few years back, he made a name for himself with an impressive official remix for Keys N Krates. With his remixes of Skrillex and Flume combining for nearly 5 million plays on SoundCloud alone, it’s safe to say he’s been making some noise.
2019 saw Naderi unleashing his first original ‘Too Much Smoke’ alongside Lil Traffic. Combining rap, heavy-hitting trap and future feels, the track showcased the perfect fusion of what Naderi has to offer. Most recently, he collaborated with Vincent for the massive banger ‘Wasted Time.’ With a promising 2020 on the horizon, we caught up with Naderi to learn more about him, his music and his plans for the future. Get familiar below.
What’s your favourite thing about Australia?
I love being outdoors whenever I get a chance and there’s no city blessed for that the way Sydney is. It’s just so beautiful but there’s also this super crazy futuristic vibe that Sydney is starting to get due to the melting pot of cultures that are thriving here.
I also love that nobody here gives a shit who you are, what you do and who you work with. They’re only interested in whether or not you’re a good person to be around.
Who is the most interesting artist you’ve worked with and why? What makes them special?
I’ve been crazy lucky that I get to work with some insane artists and at a certain point it’s like “I GET IT…you’re all fucking gifted!” haha but I really really love working with my friends Reo Cragun, Pauline Herr and Leotrix because we all just write so much good music together and there’s absolutely zero ego involved. We just want to make amazing songs.
I won’t lie, I had a couple of crazy opportunities over the last year or so to work with Skrillex and Marshmello so I took them. I’m glad I did because I learned so much shit…
How difficult has it been getting your own artist project off the ground?
There’s so many people that are supporting my crazy ideas that it makes me want to cry. I still have to go through the same challenges as every other artist though. My aim is to take over the world, one fan at a time, one song at a time, one melody at a time.
Your release schedule has been pretty sparse in 2019, have you been working on something big or does it just take you a longer time to create originals?
I won’t lie, I had a couple of crazy opportunities over the last year or so to work with Skrillex and Marshmello so I took them. I’m glad I did because I learned so much shit and made a tonne of amazing genuine friends through their teams.
Then there was this huge pressure to release music that met a certain criteria or standard because I’m friends with all these amazingly talented artists. In my head I felt like nothing I did was ever good enough (even though everyone around me told me it’s amazing etc.) I realised that I was comparing the beginning of my journey to the fully matured part of their journeys.
I then stopped hitting social media as much and just got busy with what I do best and that’s writing music.
If 2019 was the drought, 2020 will be the flood.
What are your release plans looking like for the next few months and into next year?
If 2019 was the drought, 2020 will be the flood.
You met with SoundCloud’s VP Jeff Ponchick fairly recently. What did you discuss? What’s your personal outlook on the platform?
Jeff is so smart that I feel dumb just being in the same room as him.
The discussions we are having aren’t just about fixing some software. Their platform has been responsible for a shift in culture and changing culture is what I’m interested in mainly.
Where they were, where they are now and their future are totally different things. There’s still thousands of artists getting noticed because of SoundCloud and every year there’s millions of new fans who are yet to discover music and I think they’re the people who they should focus on.
What do you do when you need a break from music?
I take my dog to the dog park. There’s this amazing dog park near my house which used to be a cemetery in the early 1900s but is now a dog park with tombstones. It sounds macabre but it’s a really beautiful peaceful place and for me, time stops whenever I go there.
What’s your favorite way to get high?
When I’m in California, I love to try all the different types of cannabis they have there. It’s still illegal in Australia so everyone in legal USA states is very lucky.
I also hit the gym everyday before studio sessions now and it’s changed how free I am with my music.
… I’m here to change the world with my own music now.
Do you ever get tired of being associated with Flume in the media?
I’m grateful for everything and any love I get from the media is amazing, but I’m here to change the world with my own music now.
Can you leave our readers with one piece of life advice?
Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself with your yesterday version and try and improve on that.
