FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Aero Chord Goes ON DECK with 45 Minutes of WTF

The 23 Grecian success story doesn't need sub-genres—just give him your brain and he'll do the rest.

Grecian producer and DJ, Alex Vlastaras, better known as Aero Chord, has one of those wide-eyed sonic palettes you can't completely put your finger on. Is it trap? Is it bass? Is it future-trap-slash-some genre that hasn't been invented yet? Whatever the name of what he's making, Aero Chord is making waves for his label, the Canadian giant Monstercat, and having just finished his first North American tour, the music he started making in his parent's bedroom is reaching more people than he ever could have imagined.

Advertisement

Support from both Skrillex and Tiësto, official remixes for 2 Chainz, and SoundCloud plays in the millions, are only among some of the recent milestones the 23 year old youngster has hit thus far, having just left his home country for a residence in Los Angeles .

In tandem with his brain particle-rearranging ON DECK mix, we caught up with Vlastaras to pick his brain on a number of things.

THUMP: What are some of the sounds that you're enjoying most at the moment? Is it true that trap is dead?
Aero Chord: I'm getting a lot of inspiration from hardstyle screeches and weird samples lately! I think trap (and bass music in general) has a bright future in front of it still, a lot of producers are pushing the envelope more and more.

Is it even necessary to have so many sub-genres in electronic music?
I never understood the obsession with labeling every piece of music with a certain genre. I know exactly what all those sub-genres are, and what distinguishes one from another, but in the end how the hell does it even matter?

What do you love most about recording on Monstercat?
I love that a single piece of music that I made in my bedroom can reach millions of people without me even having to leave said bedroom. It's almost like magic.

How and where was this mix recorded?
My parents' house in Oropos, Greece. It was actually pretty stressful because I didn't have CDJs so I had to do it in Ableton which takes a very long time. I tried to make it sound as close to my actual live performances as possible, and I think I got it!

How would you describe the mixes sonic palette, and your own music for that matter?
Recently I switched up my mixing and now like doing really fast transitions and backspins while switching from a huge variety of different genres. For example, in this mix I dropped a huge four track mashup at the very end that I pull off even better live. This mix in one sentence is: Fast paced crazy bass music with oldie throwbacks and hip-hop influences.

What do you friends and family back in Greece think about your career? Do you get homesick?
Everyone is really really happy for me and they always remind me of how far I've come because of the work I put in. I did get really homesick this summer , but it's only because Greece is really beautiful during this time!

Aero Chord is on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter