We recently connected with Dylan Banks and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dylan, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I was very fortunate to have both of my parents instill a hardworking ethos into my early development. I truly feel blessed that both my mother and father were my biggest supporters growing up, and always encouraged me to follow my passion and work tirelessly to bring it to the finish line. I also grew up playing drums and my private instructor, Jeff Wilkinson, was a pivotal mentor and still one of the hardest working and self disciplined people I’ve ever met. I definitely feel his approaches to attaining goals has always been a bedrock of my artistry.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a musician, composer, producer, DJ, performer, teacher and organizer here in Atlanta. I was raised here in ATL and went to school at Georgia State University and attainted my BFA in Music Composition. My musical journey began young, taking lessons on both drums and piano starting in elementary school. I have been involved with curating events in ATL since 2008, but began the Volta Laboratory Social Club in 2013, which started as a bring your own vinyl listening event at the old Edgewood Speakeasy and then began to put on more events with live performances and DJs, which led to the creation of VLSC Records in 2017 with some fellow collaborators Colin Mulligan (Mull), Daniel Sabio (The Glad Scientist) and Eric Reynolds (Flohr).
My main focus as of today has been my song writing and producing, along with DJing and peforming. I go by either Dee Belvedere (started 2017) for my DJing and more dance oriented endeavors, and also my birth name Dylan Banks (shout out to my mammy) for my more experimental electronic, pop, ambient and compositional material. I also teach private lessons on drums, piano, composition and music production, as well music theory and a few DJ students, including having the privilege to be an honorary lecturer for WRAS 88.5 students since 2024. As my alma mater, its been a great experience getting to be back on campus and working with upcoming DJs & musicians.
Something I have been putting my focus into this year specifically has been connecting with all of the great DIY and underground / experimental dance scenes in the Southeast. I feel not only ATL and GA, but the South in general is constantly overlooked in terms of contemporary electronic music, and we are bursting at the seams with talent here as well, and I feel its super important that we connect the region to collectively unionize and bring more eyes and ears on our neck of the woods. More info rolling out for this in 2026 too…
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1) I think the best quality you can bring to the table in authenticity. If the intention is ingenuous, none of the pieces seem to fit.
2) Trusting the process. Great art isn’t just churned out immediately due to natural talent. Being gifted can only get you so far, and I am more among the camp of the 10,000 hour principle. I think great things have to take the time and energy to mold, especially in the artistic media.
3) Making friends and collaborators that align with your visions, and working with your friends to not only help you materialize your projects, but also it’s imperative to show up and be there to help them realize theirs as well.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I would say financial endowment and sustainable infrastructure to the contemporary music scene in ATL, and the South at large. Venues and cultural institutions constantly have to fight just to keep doors open, and often are encouraged to not push musical pallets of patrons, but rather “go where the money flows” which often leads to chasing viral moments. And being in ATL’s scene long enough, you start to see the pattern of cool spots coming and going and the city seems to always think Music, Art, and nightlife/culture is disposable in order to pave paradise and put up another mattress factory or appease the likes of the newest transplants.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @hooch_boi_steez
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/thevoltalab/dee-belvedere-planet-8
Image Credits
ÆTHEROUH, Jordan Young
