Ted Michaels (pictured *above*), also known as his artist name Sp!t, in his bedroom studio where he spends countless hours per week producing music. (Courtesy of Colin Beasor).
Accounting major senior Ted Michaels is an artist on the rise, producing his own music and uploading it to various platforms such as Soundcloud and Spotify for his audiences to enjoy.
Having taught himself Logic Pro X, a program used to create music, Michaels has spent and continues to spend countless hours in his bedroom studio producing his music. It is not uncommon to hear his creations echo and reverberate throughout the house while he tries to perfect the sound for which he is looking.
Going by the moniker “Sp!t,” Michaels produces music primarily in the trap, hip hop and melodic genres.
“When I first started [producing music] I would just start making everything, but I think I’ve found my voice, my style and now I have a certain type of vibe to my music,” Michaels said.
Michaels’ songs take varying amounts of time to create. Sometimes they only take a few days, while others can take upwards of a month. The lengthy process begins at different stages. In some instances, Michaels explained, he will start with the beat and then write the lyrics. Since he has developed an aptitude for the creation process, he has been able to start from other points and cater toward that aspect of the song.
“When I first started making music, I’d have to hear the beat first, I’d have to make a beat or a sample and then I’d base the rest of the song off that certain thing,” Michaels said. “At this point I will sometimes make the lyrics and then I’ll make the beat afterwards. Just depends on what hits first.”
Perhaps the most impressive feat by Michaels, which is integral to his independent production process, is him teaching himself the complicated Logic Pro X software.
Michaels explained that he began creating music on Garage Band, a free music creation program, producing five songs on it. As he began to learn how to create music, he made the switch to the more illustrious Logic Pro X.
“Once I learned how to [make music], I switched over to Logic Pro, which is like Garage Band’s big brother. My music got way better after that,” Michaels said.
Upon entering his room, it does not take one a long time to notice the passion Michaels has for his production of music. Equipped with a microphone, piano keyboard, two loudspeakers, acoustic panels (for better sound quality), a large television used as a computer monitor and his laptop which contains all of the software necessary to produce his music, Michaels turned his room into a fully functioning music studio.
Recently, on Oct. 2, his newest single, MARS, was released. In less than a week, MARS has accumulated over 10,000 plays on Spotify. Michaels has high hopes for this single, which has been reinforced by its early success.
“My new song MARS just dropped,” Michaels said. “It has over 13k [plays] in two days on Spotify so that’s pretty good. I have high hopes for it.”
Links to MARS:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6c0LhqSaDUD9CyDBQD04RL?si=JEhERn8JQh-RHb_QMYkMzg
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/mars-single/1533088498
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/callmespit/mars
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/track/156286305