Video by Max Gilberg

As the sun’s last ray vanishes beyond the mountainous terrain of Marin County, the in-tempo thumping of electronic beats can be heard from the home-studios of senior Shayan Davaloo and junior Brener Arias. Both identify producing electronic beats as their passion, fueled by a yearning for creating original music.

Davaloo was originally inspired to play music at the age of five by a friend whose piano recital he attended.

“I thought hearing him play was the coolest thing ever. After the recital, I decided to start taking lessons,” Davaloo said.

Although Davaloo initially hated piano lessons, hearing his own musical style mature was an inspiration for him to continue practicing.

“The only reason I would go to piano lessons was to get better at making my music,” Davaloo said.

During Davaloo’s time taking piano lessons, his piano teacher began experimenting with electronic software music. Davaloo was captivated by the process of making electronic beats and began producing his own music. He began producing beats professionally at the age of 13 under the name “TH4T.” Originally, Davaloo created electronic dance music (E.D.M.) beats. However, that soon changed when he taught himself how to play the drums.

“Once I started working on drums more often, I started creating more rap beats,” Davaloo said.

Davaloo enjoys the process of making rap beats, especially those that require lyrics to be written over them. Recently, Davaloo featured himself rapping with rapper XO Louie over his own beat on his new song, “DAMN.”

“I wrote my own lyrics. I had so much fun and I never knew I could make a song like that,” Davaloo said.

Davaloo’s main goal, as of right now, is to be a rap producer.  

“I want to go up on a stage with famous rappers and be a hype man while my own beat is playing,” Davaloo said.

Arias, who produces under the name “RiA,” began producing electronic beats before he learned to play an instrument.

“I started picking up musical instruments after I started producing music but I never really stuck with any. I learned piano until I could create my own melodies,” Arias said.

Arias was inspired by E.D.M., Pharrell Williams and Kid Cudi to start producing his own music.  

“Listening to Pharrell Williams taught me how to experiment with my own music and do whatever I want to do with it,” Arias said.

Lately, Arias has placed an emphasis on creating original music rather than the acapella remixes he used to make based off of popular songs.

“I feel that remixes can take away from my music. I want people to know when they hear a ‘RiA’ song,” Arias said.

Music has played an important role in his personal life. Arias notes that his songs often mirror his mood. Arias’s song “Mary’s Interlude” is an example of how his personal life is personified in his music. He created this song after a close friend of his moved to Brazil.

“I haven’t talked to him in a while. I was thinking of him and I felt sorrow. When you hear that song you can kind of feel the things I felt,” Arias said.

Arias plans to continue creating music that he loves. Although he produces music as a passion, if he was able to make money off of producing, he would use it to fulfill his ultimate goal in life.

“I want to produce for an artist I respect and make enough money so my mom doesn’t have to work anymore,” Arias said.

SoundCloud links:

Brener Arias: https://soundcloud.com/brenerarias

Shayan Davaloo: https://soundcloud.com/th4t