On this episode of Mind Massage, ESTA takes us on a sound journey using some of his favorite items such as his synthesizer, water bottle, FRITOS & more!
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MusicTranscript
00:00This is Esther, and welcome to my mind massage.
00:07I'm going to take you on a sound journey using some of my favorite things.
00:23I chose this today because it's a synthesizer.
00:35It makes a bunch of wacky noises that help me make a bunch of ambient sounds on my album.
00:52I started making music in high school. I was around 13 years old.
01:02I really wanted to be a DJ, but it was way too expensive.
01:08So I just downloaded Fruity Loops illegally and made beats.
01:14I moved all over California, so my influence of music is kind of all over the place.
01:20I really love that because it exposed me to so much.
01:26But LA hip-hop definitely inspired me a lot.
01:31Three of my biggest musical influences may have to be J Dilla, of course.
01:399th Wonder, for sure, early on.
01:43And I would have to say Kanye on his production.
01:51This is my enormous hydro flask.
01:55I bring this everywhere with me.
02:00Yeah, I fill it up with ice. It lasts me a long time.
02:04Bring it to the gym.
02:07Go get you one. Stay hydrated.
02:14If I could bring one album with me on a deserted island,
02:20it might have to be Justified by Justin Timberlake.
02:23It's just everything to me.
02:26Production, songwriting, song arrangement. It's all.
02:31If I could switch lives with anybody for one day,
02:35any NBA basketball player, because that's a dream I've always had.
02:40It's way too short to do that, so I'll probably choose that.
02:45If I could time travel to any era,
02:49I would probably choose just to be a little older in the 90s
02:53and to really experience it.
02:55Because all my favorite music, sports, basketball, cars,
03:02it's all from that time.
03:04So I would really love to experience it
03:07and experience when all my favorite songs first came out.
03:11I think that would be really cool.
03:32This is a magazine I ordered from Japan.
03:36It's all about Mercedes tuning and rare parts that I still hunt for today.
03:45And this is my whole mood board, even for music sometimes.
03:52Just a bunch of cool Japanese tuning cars, rare parts and everything.
04:04I got really into cars the past few years,
04:08but I was always around it because my dad, he's a motorhead.
04:13He used to street race when he was younger and still races motorcycles today.
04:19My whole family, I've always been around it.
04:24If I could automatically learn one skill,
04:28it'd probably be to speak any language or all.
04:33I feel like that's a superpower.
04:36If I could have dinner with any historical figure.
04:40Oh, Kobe.
04:42Kobe's my favorite human and my biggest inspiration.
04:49My hero since I was a kid.
04:51Yeah, I love anything Kobe.
04:56These are my keys.
05:02This key is for my baby that I built in the last three years, a 93 SO500.
05:12And I love it so much.
05:15And this is my new toy.
05:17I got a 99 E55.
05:20And I also love that, but not as much as my first baby.
05:24And I got this Mercedes E-Class keychain, but I like the E because Esta, of course.
05:31My debut album named Francis.
05:34The inspiration was just to have fun with my friends.
05:38Everyone I collaborated with I've known for some time.
05:41And I just really wanted to amplify what they bring and bring my sound and their taste to a new place.
05:53And have fun while doing it.
05:55I really just wanted to showcase my friends.
05:57If I had to choose a favorite on the album, it changes every week.
06:04But I think it might have to be Too Fast because it was made with some of my closer friends.
06:10And I just really wanted to highlight their gifts.
06:14And I'm so thankful they were down to do that.
06:17If I had to choose a favorite on the album, it changes every week.
06:24Because it was made with some of my closer friends.
06:27And we worked on it in multiple places.
06:31Palm Springs or at my place or at the studio.
06:36It was just all organic and just hanging out.
06:40One artist that I would love to work with is SZA.
06:45I love her beat selection and all of her music.
06:51I feel like our sounds align.
06:54Yeah, I feel like it could be really fun.
06:57One concert that I've attended that really blew my mind was actually watching Kendrick Lamar.
07:08But he was opening for Pactive.
07:10He was the first opener on the lineup.
07:13I believe it was Kendrick Lamar.
07:21Pactive.
07:23Oh, that was for Dom Kennedy.
07:25So it was Kendrick Lamar, Pactive, and Dom Kennedy.
07:28And that was at the start of when I was really trying to take music seriously.
07:34And that really inspired me.
07:36Especially seeing where Kendrick is at now.
07:39I actually really love these chips.
07:43I feel like they're very underrated too.
07:46When I was younger, I would go to the computer cafe to play Counter-Strike.
07:51And this was my snack of choice.
07:54I would eat this and drink like a terrible soda.
07:58Like a Joan soda or something.
08:05I'm going to eat one because I do love them a lot.
08:13These buzz.
08:17I'm actually a chip addict.
08:20So eating one is very difficult without trying to finish the whole bag.
08:27My top three favorite snacks.
08:32They're probably all chips.
08:34I love chips. Anything.
08:37Anything flamin' hot for sure.
08:40Anything kettle.
08:42I love me a good salt and vinegar with a sandwich.
08:46But yeah. Top three.
08:48Chips, chips, and chips.
08:50If I could eat one cuisine for the rest of my life,
08:55I would probably go Japanese.
08:59I feel like it's not as crazy as Filipino food.
09:04So I might get hate for that.
09:07But Filipinos understand.
09:10High blood pressure is not it.
09:14One thing on my bucket list that I haven't gotten to do.
09:21L.A.'s hip-hop scene had a lot of talented artists that didn't get the proper shine.
09:26And I would love to make a project highlighting all of them.
09:31Like Taran and AOMORI.
09:33Overdose.
09:35Pactive.
09:37KC Veggies.
09:40So many really dope L.A. artists that were big but I feel like could be bigger.
09:47If I could give any advice for aspiring producers,
09:52it would be to experiment.
09:56Experiment.
09:58Just keep having fun.
10:01I caught myself early on trying to emulate other producers too much.
10:06It kind of made it difficult to find my own sound.
10:08So I feel like now when I experiment,
10:10it takes me to a new place.
10:12And I feel like that's when you really find your sound.
10:16My best self-love advice
10:21would probably be to slow down.
10:27Don't panic too fast.
10:29It's never that bad.
10:32I'm a really anxious person.
10:34So that was a bad habit of mine.
10:36But learning to slow down and gather my thoughts has really helped a lot.
10:43Thank you so much for coming to my mind massage.
10:45Go stream my album Francis now, please.