Always be curious and always be learning. Keep searching for knowledge of your craft and learn from people who came before you, your peers, and the landscape.
We spoke with LA-based musician Mark Redito about his newest album Neutropical, merch line with Uprisers, and his overall journey and growth as an artist.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Mark Redito, and I am an electronic music producer. I used to go by the name Spazzkid, but in 2015, I changed my name to my given name, Mark Redito. I am currently based in Los Angeles, but I was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to the United States 11 years ago.
How did you first get into music?
I feel like music has always been a part of my life. I started getting into music around grade school and grew up to my dad playing Beatles records. I became obsessed with music. When I was 12 years old, my dad bought me my first drum set. You can imagine how our neighbors reacted, but for me, looking back, it was vital to have been able to explore and experiment with music at a young age. High School was when I started to play in bands. I initially gravitated towards heavier and louder music and was involved in punk bands. Believe it not, I used to have a green mohawk.
Before moving to the US, I was producing and creating music for myself and other brands. In the Philippines, I was based in the Manilla indie scene before moving to the US. In Manilla, the music scene is quite small, everyone knows everyone, and it is a tight-knit community. It is inspiring going back and forth visiting Manilla and seeing all of the progress, and exciting genre-bending experimentation in the music scene.
Around the early 2000’s I started messing around with software. I was always curious about how electronic music was made and discovered that software, such as Fruity Loops, was a cheaper way to make music. That is when I started to get into production and learned music concepts and arranging. I moved to the US in 2008 for music school to learn even more about music recording, and the rest is history. I can’t imagine my life without music.
What is a challenge that you have faced, and how have you overcome it?
I feel like there will always be challenges, and they are just a part of living life. However, internal challenges are where I find myself stuck in. I tend to doubt myself, get insecure, overthink, and over plan things. When things don’t go my way, I get disappointed and frustrated. Releasing my newest album, Neutropical, actually took me two years to finish. When it was finally completed, I had doubts in my mind and hesitated to release it. I was always thinking “is this good enough, am I good enough”. At the end of the day, I told myself to just share it. I was trying to hold on to something that I couldn’t quite point out, but it gave me reservations to share my work. So me releasing my album and sharing it to the world was an internal battle that I overcame. There was a sense of relief, and I realized that this was the beginning of something. With an album release, there is opportunity that follows.
Why did you want to collaborate with Uprisers for your merch line?
I wanted to collaborate with Uprisers because this brand is very intentional in partnering with people that they believe in. I talked to Michelle (founder of Uprisers), and we instantly connected. I never partnered with a creative agency or collective before, so it was exciting for me, and I resonated with Michelle’s story and vision. I found that Uprisers truly cares about the social and cultural nuances that come with art. I am a believer of representation and layering various endeavors with my music, so building that through art and product is important to me. From the designing aspect to the pricing and fulfillment, everything has been taken care of. This has freed up my time so that I can concentrate on my work and focus on creating and building my community.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
Even where I am at, I am still looking for advice from other musicians and people from different creative fields. However, I would say, always be curious and always be learning. Keep searching for knowledge of your craft and learn from people who came before you, your peers, and the landscape. We are in an era where everything is moving so quickly. It is an artists’ advantage to be on the lookout and challenge the norms and the status quo. I would urge young artists to seek out additional routes that we can take to express ourselves and share our art.
I would also say, do it for the love of it. I think that with any creative work, you have to love it. Make sure that you aren’t doing it for the likes and affirmation because if you don’t get those, it won’t be sustainable. Creating takes so much time and effort, so if you don’t love it, it will be a waste.
What are your plans for the rest of 2019?
Aside from music, I am looking forward to going to Japan and will be there for ten days. Artistically I find a lot of inspiration from Japanese culture, and I hope to immerse myself in Japanese art and music.
We are planning another Asia tour around fall and a few shows in the US later this year. I am also in the process of collecting songs for a Neutropical remix album with artists in different continents and nationalities. I am very excited to see their interpretations of my music.
Mark describes his music in five words as pop, positive, uplifting, tropical, and experimental. You can listen to all of his music, follow him on socials, and buy his merch using the links below!
Shop Neutropical
Listen to Neutopical
Follow Mark on Spotify
Follow Mark on Instagram
Follow Mark on YouTube
Follow Mark on Facebook
