Meet Brayden Massie

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brayden Massie a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brayden, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
Avoiding burnout is something I’m almost hyper-aware of. I say it in this way because the feeling of creative/musical burnout is something I actually somewhat “fear” because I look at artistic/musical creation as the purpose in my life. I also get burnt out on things quite easily, so making sure I never feel that way in the creative space can be tricky, but I think I’ve developed a decent system for myself so that I can always find inspiration and act upon it when I want too. One of the biggest parts of my “system” is too simply “not do the same thing every single time”. For example, if you sit down and do the same thing over and over again, it will definitely get boring and feel stale, however, if you think of new methods to do that “something” in a new way, it might make it feel fresh. I treat producing music the same way. Instead of sitting down at my computer and always forcing myself to create something new, sometimes I simply sound design, master music, create templates, or even just playlist some songs I’m currently feeling inspired by. Even though these things may not feel as fulfilling to me as creating/finishing a track of mine, they still keep me involved in the musical/creative realm without giving me the feeling of creative burnout. It also allows me to potentially find new and exciting ways to create which I call “happy accidents”. Giving myself different options when choosing how to express my creativity allows me to still find tons of fun in the process of creating art.

It’s important to me to follow my inspiration when sitting down to produce. I don’t like to keep myself in a box, and I often like to experiment well outside my genre just because sometimes it’s where my head is at. Respecting my own creative flow keeps things fun and interesting for me even if what I create ends up being something I only listen to for my own enjoyment rather than commercial distribution. I believe that rushing, forcing, or consuming yourself in a specific genre/method of artistic creation, or anything for that matter, can become mentally toxic and actually be a disservice to whatever you’re trying to achieve. What advice would I give in a simple form? Give yourself time, options, and don’t keep yourself in a box. Be adventurous, keep it fun, and always look for new ways to do things. Find inspiration from others, be open to new ideas, find balance between life and your passion, but always work hard!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
The Mass.E project is my current artistic venture and name that I produce music under. The genre that I focus on primarily is techno, and I am currently in the process of producing an album. I also help run the record label SOL Records (@moveforsol) where we distribute house and techno music. My goal with the Mass.E project is to create a catalogue of unique techno tracks that embody my inner taste of the genre itself while creating a community that shares similar tastes to mine. Both the record label and I are very excited for 2024 since there will be tons of releases and new music from both, so keep an eye out if you’re interested in keeping up with either the label or me.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
In all reality I don’t have it all figured out, but if I were to pick three skills/attributes I’d tell people to focus on, they would likely revolve around planning, being a sponge, and having integrity.

What I mean by “planning” is simply that, plan your path. Obviously there are a lot of unknowns in the world, but I believe success is built by good habits. For example: plan your week, try to stick to that plan, work smarter not harder, figure out what others are doing and why it’s working for them. Going full steam ahead on anything without having a proper plan, or if you’re even “doing it right”, usually just leads to a longer road. It’s okay to try things and hone your rudimentary skills before you give something every ounce of your energy. I personally like to lift weights, and one thing my coaches always told me was to learn the technique first. If you learn proper technique, your lifts will increase exponentially and you’ll reduce risk of injury. I truly believe everything in life is like this. Prioritize learning the “technique” to whatever you’re doing, and then when you’re ready to “add weight”, get after it.

To further explain what I meant by “being a sponge”, the concept really revolves around learning. Learn from everything around you. Learn what NOT to do from things that have held you back. Be honest with yourself. Be your own biggest critic when it comes to work ethic and if you’re doing enough to achieve your goals. It’s important to give yourself grace as well, but it’s equally as important to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself. If you don’t know how to do something, seek the knowledge. If you want to network, get out in the scene. If you want to become better at your craft, look to those who are giving away free knowledge, it’s all around us nowadays, and TRY IT next time you’re working on your craft. Be positive when learning from others, don’t be pompous. I think there are learning experiences all around us everyday, and if you fail to assess what’s working and not working for you, I personally believe this, again, leads to a longer road. It’s okay to be wrong sometimes, because if you’re wrong, you can figure out what happened and next time you can be right. I personally believe that even the most intelligent people still learn from others everyday and that’s why they continue to push the boundaries.

Lastly, integrity is something I feel everyone should have, regardless of what you do. Integrity doesn’t always mean being honest to others, but also to yourself. It ties into what I said earlier, but integrity is important when giving yourself a plan or learning. When you do anything, be honest to yourself and get it done when you say it’ll be done. When you tell things to others, be honest, even if that means you can’t hangout or make time for them. When you set a goal, hold yourself to it. If you can be honest with yourself, I personally think it’s a little bit easier to be honest with others around you too. That honesty will carry over into professional relationships and I think people will admire your ability to be punctual, upfront, respectful, and always have intent.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I think the biggest challenge I am currently facing is prioritizing my time a bit better. I work almost 7 days a week outside of the music industry, so making time for music is something that’s been really tough on me lately. Days I have off are usually the only days I focus heavily on my music. I’m very ritualistic when it comes to making music or just working on content in general, and I think that part of me has been a hinderance to my progress lately. It’s easy to write off the day after work and just relax, eat dinner, and play some games for an hour or two. So, something I’m doing to combat that is what I talked about previously on being honest with myself. Dreams don’t just happen, you have to work towards them. Even if that means an hour a day, COMMIT THE TIME. This is a big thing for me right now and I’ve being doing my best to uphold my own standards and expectations when thinking about what I ultimately want to do with my life. I also don’t think I am asking much of myself when I think of committing a few more hours a day to my craft. So right now, I’m committing to doing even more, even if it’s a little as 30 dedicated minutes in a day, so that I am always taking myself a step further in my endeavors.

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