We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nick Kauffman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Nick with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I think I get my work ethic partially from things my dad would tell me when I was a kid. He’d tell me that whatever i did in life I needed to be the best. That if I wasn’t the best I wasn’t gonna make it in that field. Following this advice definitely helped me build a strong work ethic but I think it’s also dangerous to be so easily over worked. I have a hard time taking days off when I know I could be working in the studio. The FOMO is real in the music industry.
On the other side of things, making music really is what excites me the most. Not every day in the studio is exciting but my most dopamine inducing moments are almost always in the studio discovering new sounds that pair together and working with new artists that I feel connected to.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I think being a music producer might be the most attention-keeping job in the music industry. I feel no pressure to hold myself to one kind music or sound. I only hold myself to a high level of quality in the music I make. Every day with a new artist is a whole new sonic pallet and I love that. Every once in a while, I’ll make music strictly for myself but I always get a little bored without collaboration.
I’m focused on finding and working with artists I can befriend and follow along their journey. Nothing is cooler than watching your friends succeed and grow. Los Angeles has proven to be the greatest place to find like-minded creatives. I’ve worked in studios internationally but LA is definitely where I consider home.
I don’t release music on my own (but who knows, maybe someday soon) but I’m beyond excited to have songs released in 2024 with artists such as Buppy, Xedrin, Jordan Everett, Peech, Kenji, Eleanor Kingston, GUS, NOAH NEVER, Tiffany Stringer, Jzzy and many more.
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?
Strangely, I think obsession is an underrated quality. I think whatever you do in life, there needs to be a level of obsession. Not just love or enjoyment, but let your passion really drive your life and you’ll go far. I let music drive me to move to LA in an RV and live in it for almost a year and I’ll never regret that.
Having an open mind is important too. Losing the ego. This one took me a while and I know I’m still working on it. Too often I’ll take someone’s advice unwillingly but follow through with it anyways. At least 80% of the time I’m glad I listened. No suggestion isn’t worth trying even if it feels that way.
I guess finally knowing when to take a break is very important. I recently talked about this with a close artist friend of mine who’s been struggling mentally with overworking himself. In my opinion, the best thing you can do is take leave your environment. Even in LA, a day trip to somewhere with no cell service and blue skies isn’t that difficult. It’s just difficult to plan the time. To anyone in LA, an artist I love working with named Genosky (great music, check that man out) recommended a place called Switzer Falls. I highly recommend the trip, I’ve gone back twice already.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Always looking for new collaborators! They’re easy to find in LA, but people come in go. The only ones that stay are the ones that I develop real friendships with. I’ve loved diving into the hyperpop/alt pop realms recently and would love to work with any rappers who want to explore it as well.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @nickaxelkauffman
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6PTJZtsbxkFfNsgK7EhmoS?si=ee32a06a06614528
Image Credits
Photos taken by Ashley Crichton
