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Josh Masimore: A Completely Digital Sound

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DJ Masimore at Rondelet March 2015. Photo by Rice Campanile

Even if you haven’t heard of Josh Masimore, there is a good chance that you have heard him. As “DJ Masimore,” this rising junior from Martel College has curated the soundtracks for some of the largest Rice events in the past year, including Beer Bike and Rondelet. However, though Josh is perhaps more known to the Rice community as a DJ, his real passion is for electronic music production.

Josh’s interest in music production began when he attended Ultra Music Festival, an EDM (electronic dance music) festival held in his hometown of Miami, Florida, during his senior year of high school.

“I didn’t use to listen to EDM growing up, or to music at all really,” Josh explains. “My friends convinced me to go to the festival, and I was hesitant to go at first. Ultra was actually my first time really even listening to EDM. But I had such a good time that afterwards, I told myself that this is what I needed to do with my life…I needed to become an EDM producer.”

The inspiration he gained from the festival immediately prompted Josh to learn all that he could about music production. In doing so, Josh found that his biggest resource was the Internet; with the guidance of online tutorials and YouTube, Josh began his forays into the electronic music scene.

Listening to DJ Masimore’s remixes, which he promotes on his Facebook page, it is difficult to believe that he has only been producing music for two years now. The polished nature of his tracks is a testament to the numerous hours he dedicates to refining his craft. On top of studying for his major in Cognitive Science and minor in Business, Josh states that he spends at least 15 hours a week pursuing music production.

“Sometimes when I have a lot of weekend events, I spend more time DJing than sleeping,” Josh claims. It is clear that music is no mere hobby for Josh, but a consuming passion.

Josh’s most important pieces of equipment are his MacBook and a good set of headphones (of which he claims to have accumulated an impressive collection). For software, he relies on Logic Pro X, a Mac OS X program designed especially for music production. As essentially a one-man band, Josh also creates his own graphics and videos, in Photoshop and After Effects, respectively.

Album cover for DJ Masimore's remix of Talking Body by Tove Lo, designed by Josh Masimore himself

Album cover for DJ Masimore’s remix of Talking Body by Tove Lo, designed by Josh Masimore himself

When asked where he gets his inspiration for a new song, Josh responds that he gets new ideas just from listening to other artists. “When you start listening to a lot of EDM, you realize that everyone is just copying each other,” he cheerfully admits. Josh lists Audien, Dash Berlin, and Hardwell as his top three favorite electronic artists, and also confesses that Taylor Swift is his guilty pleasure.

Josh Masimore DJing at the Duncan Sensation public party February 2015
At the Duncan Sensation public party February 2015. Photo by Duncan College

Josh’s dreams for his music reach beyond his years at Rice. After he graduates with the Class of 2017, Josh hopes to enroll in Icon Collective, a digital music production school located in Los Angeles. In the nearer future, however, Josh plans to continue his DJ activities on campus, starting with the upcoming semester’s Welcome Back Day on August 22nd.

Josh’s advice to others who want to get involved in music production is to seek out resources on the Internet, claiming that in today’s digital age, it is possible for people to learn anything they want for free online. Though the pursuit of his dream costs countless hours of work, Josh finds satisfaction in seeing how his audience responds to his songs.

“It’s a really awesome feeling when I see people really getting pumped up and dancing to my music at parties,” he says.

You can listen to DJ Masimore on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DJMasimore

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