From his time as an Access Creative College student at Norwich doing Artist Development to producing the opening track on Fredo’s 2021 sophomore album ‘Money Can’t Buy Happiness’ and working with some of British Hip-Hop’s finest including Giggs and R.A, Arkz Beats (real name Daniel Buse) has made a name for himself as a driven, innovative and highly-skilled producer.
We sat down with him to understand more about his journey through the creative industry, what inspires him and how he turned his dream into a career.
How did you get into making beats?
The honest answer would be I have no idea. One day, I just decided that I wanted to be this top music producer who would make songs which get played on all big radio stations and ever since then that has always been my dream.
If I could guess, I’d say my dad was a major influence on me getting into making music in general. As we both share that passion for music, it’s easy for me to look back over the years and realise how he has played a massive role in shaping my career, especially by playing lots of different artists like Chase & Status, Tinie Tempah and Jamie T around me when I was young.
Music lessons in school were always really fun mucking around on the keyboards and not really doing the work, but just enjoying playing all of the notes on the keyboard. Early in my time at high school, my dad showed me an app on my phone where you could make your own music and render it out as if it was a proper song (I completely forget the name of it). The app was okay, but I must have been so bad at it. Looking back it was honestly so fun and such a great idea. If I had to put a finger on it, I could definitely link this memory to why I am making beats today.
One song I distinctly remember which may have had an influence on me getting into making music was “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd, produced by Mike WiLL Made-It. I can’t tell for sure if this was the reason for me really wanting to get into making beats but when I look back at the release date of this song, it was around the same time that I wanted to get into making beats (at first just as a hobby) and I always thought that the beat of that song hit so hard and was so catchy.
Another random fact which most people wouldn’t know if they were first introduced to my music is that I was a big fan of EDM music and in my early years of producing, I was switching between making trap beats, electronic style music like future bass and sometimes even house. Once or twice I even remember making a rock song. From doing this I learnt so much about working with different genres and I now apply all the skills I learnt from that period in my current production.
What’s the most important skill you learnt from studying at Access Creative College?
One thing ACC has helped me understand is how everyone is so different and that’s a good thing. It’s about learning to accept everyone individually for who they are and understanding their own actions are deeply important and not judging them for that in any way.
A skill which could tie into this would be networking. I connected with many different people over my time at the college and made great working relationships and genuine friendships which I am very grateful for. We all shared one thing in common which was our passion for what we were there to study in the first place and it is a really great thing. I recommend anyone in general to network and connect with people as much as possible in life because there is always something you can learn from a person.
What software do you use to create music?
I use a software called FL Studio to make my beats. I have had so much debate with people about which software is best to use and we would always argue about which one was the better one (only jokingly). I hear a lot about Logic being the most rated software but I just prefer to use FL as once you know all the tools, the process becomes so quick and efficient when making beats. I would add however that when it comes to recording vocals or mixing & mastering in general, software like Pro Tools and Logic are amazing for that. At the end of the day all the DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) and types of software will achieve the same result so it’s just preference.
Where do you draw inspiration from when creating music?
A lot of the time I do struggle with creative block or writer’s block so I am unsure myself. However, to get inspiration or motivation to make music I sometimes like to download new sounds and samples to use in my tracks, just because there might be a certain sound there that sparks emotion and inspires me to make something good out of it.
I also like to download new VSTs (Virtual Studio Technologies) and plugins as it’s eventually going to happen that you’ll get bored of using the same sounds over and over again, but if you make an effort to keep finding new stuff to use it will allow you to work more freely and experiment more with your ideas.
What did you do to turn your hobby into a professional career?
I set myself certain goals which I was very determined to achieve and I became obsessed with reaching them. I can only comment on what has personally worked well for me but I’m a person who loves structure and in some ways deadlines (maybe not coursework though). For example, I really enjoy planning what I am going to do over a period of time whether that is to make a certain amount of beats a day or something else related to my career. This really helps me to focus and treat my hobby as a serious career. Creating routines and schedules is amazing for time-management, staying productive and keeping on track of whatever you need to do, because at the end of the day it’s the mindset you have which overcomes any obstacles you’re faced with. If you’re able to always maintain a good mindset which can be with the help of routine, scheduling, setting goals regularly and making to do lists, you will remain very focused and determined with your passion and I feel it leads to a professional career in itself.
Manifesting my goals is also very important to me because I genuinely don’t believe in the typical view that only a small percentage of people can achieve success in our industry. It is false. I strongly feel if you never quit then you never lost the race and that anyone can and will succeed if they always keep going, adapting, growing, stay focused and determined and never quit.
Do you have advice for young people who want to become music producers?
The first thing I would say is ask yourself why you want to become a producer. If the first reason that comes to your head is to be rich and famous, it most likely will not work out for you.
Any career role in the creative industry is hard enough as it is to succeed, it’s inevitable that you will face many obstacles on the journey to your goals and I feel the best way to overcome it is to know why you’re doing this in the first place.
If you truly have a passion and get enjoyment out of what you do, you will succeed. I say this mainly because I personally believe you’re deliberately meant to go through hard times and struggle in some form or other because it’s a test to see if you are actually made for it and deserve it.
In these times, many people would be told to quit their passion and get a ‘real job’ or take a different career choice in general which is their own personal choice and I respect that choice, but it’s so easy to quit if you don’t have a strong enough reason to achieve your goals and I feel that reason is what holds it all together. I am at a stage where music is all I want to do in my life now and nothing else. It’s great to have luxuries and materialistic things like an abundance of money and other things which can come from music, however it’s not why I do what I do and I don’t think anyone should. It doesn’t make you happy or complete and instead will always leave you seeking more. However if you know what your purpose is and you stick to it every day of your life, then everything else will fall into place.
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