Electronic music wunderkind Black Summer has released his heart-wrenching single 'Double Edge', featuring Australian vocalist Aston.
It's been a wild ride for the young artist, otherwise known as Rhys Toms, since he was Unearthed by triple j at the age of 11; and 'Double Edge' is yet another example of Black Summer's prowess as a producer."The song itself is quite personal, but I feel like we've all been there – a situation where we may have been attracted to the wrong person or someone who wasn't good for us," Rhys says.
"From my interpretation, it's a song about a toxic relationship and how it can be damaging but you keep getting drawn in at the same time."
If this is what he's capable of at just 16-years-old, there's no telling what will come next. Here, Rhys shares his five must-have essentials when it comes time to create new music.
1: My first and most essential must-have is my laptop and Ableton. It's really important to be able to take your computer and software wherever you go because you can get inspired from all sorts of things.
We go camping a lot and I'm a very visual artist, so some nice scenery or even some weird looking tree will often give me inspiration – it could literally be the most random thing.
2: If I’m back at home, a clean studio and coloured lighting is another important thing for me because the state of your workplace is a reflection of your state of mind. If it’s a mess and all over the place, I’m not going to work as well as I could because as weird as it sounds, the atmosphere you’re in is almost as important as what you’re making.
3: Another must-have are my snacks. Favourites would have to be Hot Cheetos, Dr Pepper and Mini Starbursts. I don’t have these every time I work, otherwise I’d probably end up having health problems but when I’m working on something important and in the zone I like to have those with me.
4: My studio monitors, which are Yamaha HS8s, and my Bose headphones are another must-have for producing music. It’s super important to be able to switch from quality headphones to quality speakers because music sounds very different on different platforms.
You get a whole, new perspective when you change over as it can reveal flaws you didn’t hear before. Unfortunately, I can’t play my speakers too loud though because I have cranky neighbours.
5: My last must-have would be to have creative people around or working with other artists because it’s so important to be able to have second opinions and be able to bounce ideas off with other people. It keeps you inspired because it’s difficult to stay motivated when you’re alone all the time.
