Industry / Artistmap | Industry / Wellness
ArtistMap by 6AM Presents: The Struggle Is Real feat. Tunnel
From creative blocks to networking challenges we dive in with ArtistMap Members to see how they deal with these struggles.
All artists at every level go through a variety of struggles. Some challenges are easier than others, some harder for others. Artistmap by 6AM Presents: The Struggle Is Real, covers how Artistmap Game Changer members deal with everything that comes with an artist's journey from creative blocks to networking struggles and how they overcome or work on them. These artists come from all walks of life and want to let you know that you are not alone and that "the struggle is real". This installment features Tunnel
American-born artist Ryan Miller is a prolific techno producer and live performer, releasing work under a variety of aliases (Tunnel, Darkcloud, FWD//, +) for record labels devoted to innovative techno and experimental bass music - labels such as Instruments of Discipline, The Brvtalist, Gegen Records, House of Reptile, Omen, Depth Request, FWDSLASH, and his own imprint, Webuildmachines.
Within the past decade, Tunnel has performed live across the US, Europe, and Asia, earning a reputation as a shaman of two unique dancefloor energies - the brutal and the beautiful. Performing a kinetic blend of sampled breaks, hard techno, cinematic sound design, and rhythmic noise, his hardware performances balance dance-floor focused function with raw emotion and hypnotic intensity.
Artistmap by 6AM asks Tunnel to share his story and how he deals with a variety of necessary challenges for the artist journey.
How Do You Overcome Creative Blocks?
My creative blocks usually come in the form of not knowing how to proceed with some aspect of a track. I reach a point where I know something isn't right or needs improvement, but I'm not sure what exactly. Experimenting can work. My process is highly experimental anyway, so trying different methods to generate a solution is something I do often. Also, giving my ears a break and leaving my immediate environment, even for 5 minutes, can trigger a reset or a new way of thinking and feeling about the piece. The trick is to forget about the obstacle or the issue at hand and ease up on the fixation of 'the problem.' The sooner I forget about it, the sooner a solution presents itself. The answer can often come through a question that I wasn't asking myself before, or I realize that I can research the issue and find an idea that I can use in my work. The most important thing to do when I’m truly blocked is to step away and reset my mind and energy.
Recently, I was trying to figure out how an artist I love achieved their sound. I spent weeks going over different strategies and processes to get closer and closer to a very specific aesthetic of sound mixing and sound design. Even after several weeks, I felt like I wasn’t really getting it. I was sort of there, but not really hitting the mark. So, I reached out to the artist directly and asked to meet with them for a technical discussion, a one-on-one seminar, basically. We scheduled an hour-long virtual meetup. I paid them a fee for their time, and I was able to ask them direct questions about how to achieve certain sounds and how they approach their creative process. It was one of the best investments I’ve ever made, and the artist turned out to be far more giving and supportive than I had imagined. Their humility and professionalism were inspiring.
How Are You Finding Your Voice as an Artist?
My voice is an evolving thing, a throughline that comes from my curiosity and my interest in sound and sound design, as well as the world as it is today. My voice is something that comes out naturally as I work. It comes out in my dedication to evolving my creative practice, the sounds I gravitate towards, the stories that intrigue me, the sonic contrasts that appeal to me, and the grooves that make me move.
My sound fuses elements of all my influences – Future Sound of London, 90’s techno from Detroit and Birmingham, Jungle and IDM, Classical music, New Wave and Pop, soundtracks and film scores, the Illbient scene in New York in the early 00’s, and the Berlin scene of the same time period, right through to today. Bass music, UKG, Industrial Techno, Footwork – you name it. I love aspects of it all, and my work attempts to pull something from all of it. Presently, I would describe my sound as 'experimental techno.' At the end of the day, give me a filthy Reece bass, a Braam or two, some IDM-inspired glitches and melodic lines, and an off-kilter drum workout, and I’ll consider my work complete!
Creating my own personal language through sound is something that has guided my creative process and live performances since the beginning of my music career. One of the best moments I’ve had sharing my music, my language, anywhere was at the Kit-Kat Club in Berlin for an event called Gegen. It was my third time performing at the event, so I felt quite comfortable playing there. I was performing a two-hour live set for the audience, a set that I knew backwards and forwards. And well, I just let them have it! It felt so good to share every detail with that audience, and they loved it. I just remember looking out at the audience, really stretching out a section, thinking to myself, "...they’re loving this." It was completely give and take, ebb and flow. I had the sounds. I had done the work. They brought the energy and a love of the dance. It was the perfect sort of symbiosis that is unique to live music performance, and the experience told me that my music, my voice, was beautiful exactly as it is.
How Do You Work Towards Self Promotion?
I try to view self-promotion as just sharing my work. It’s fun to see an idea out in the world. The process of creating isn’t always all that sexy – long hours in front of a screen, trial and error, patch cables everywhere with a lot of bleeps and bloops – but getting work done is pretty sexy! Sharing music with friends and an audience, that’s even better. So, I try to approach self-promotion as simply sharing another landmark on the path of a creative life. It’s not always fun. It's not always what I want to put my energy into. But, I do it to share the work.
I’ve been leaning a lot into Bandcamp and Instagram for sharing the work I do, and I hope to share more work on YouTube and TikTok in the year ahead. Sharing my work, or sharing details for an upcoming event, is easy with Instagram. Stories allow for direct links to tickets or an album. It’s easy and convenient, and I can post from anywhere. I realize TikTok is where I would find a younger audience, and that’s cool. I’ll get there eventually!
For upcoming producers or artists, just focus on the work and your creative evolution. Document that. Share that. That’s interesting. That’s you. You don’t have to be more than you are. You don’t have to ‘push content’. Just share what you’re working on. If your social-promo game is getting in the way of your creative time, then the choice is easy. Keep evolving your creative practice. You can take that with you everywhere. The posts can wait. But also realize, no matter what path you take, there’s always ‘have to’ stuff. There are days where anything can feel like work, and one just has to charge through. That includes the work of making social posts!
How Do You Network With Others?
As for networking in the industry, there is no substitute for meeting people in person. Go to as many events as you can. Support your local community scene, the one you feel drawn to and would like to be a part of. Everyone has a different social capacity for going out. For some, it’s every day, for others every weekend, and for some…once a month is enough. Do you! There are no wrong answers there.
I think what’s most important is motivation. Do I really WANT to support my local scene, or do I just want to use the local scene for my own self-promotion? Long term, finding a way to be of value and help the local scene push forward is the way to go.
Social media makes networking easier than ever, of course. I always want to start from a place of genuine interest in the artist or label and speak from my experience with their work. The rest usually takes care of itself. If they respond, you have an in! If they don’t, well…try again at a later date. If you don’t know someone’s work or haven’t met them personally, then do some research, so you can come from a place of personal connection. It’s well worth the time. I’ve found most artists worth talking to – you know, the ones that aren’t super jaded or have huge egos, and are open to new connections – are very approachable and appreciate the interest in their work.
And finally, throwing events is probably one of the best ways to connect with your community, other artists, and foster all sorts of opportunities creatively and otherwise.
I tend to work 99% solo. So, any collaboration is special and out of my comfort zone! Last year, I wrote and released a melodic breakcore/dnb/jungle album under the alias FWD// that turned into some of my best work. The project came out of a collaboration with someone I met at an event, one of the promoters for the 100% LIVE event showcase in Detroit, Jason Cook. We hit it off during and after our show, with lots of side conversations and kept in touch after the weekend. We decided to launch a project, and the material just started flowing. We did everything virtually, sending Ableton project files back and forth. I was based in Minneapolis, and he was near Columbus, OH. Hear it for yourself! FWD// on Bandcamp
I think collaborations and solo work have equal power, but one is not the other! I never would have made this album without Jason’s wicked breakbeat mashups as the inspiration. I’m thankful we both took the time to explore this material together, and that we stayed committed to the work and the process of creation, revision, mastering, shopping labels, and getting it out into the world.
