dave bulera

“Buffalo, NY, native, Bufinjer, Dave Bulera grew up to the Big Beat sound of the 90s. His music takes you back to the days of The Chemical Bros, NIN, The Crystal Method, The Prodigy and Pitchshifter. #WEATNU DM was fortunate to get a moment with him in his busy schedule."  

Corbin: First and foremost I would like to say thank you for giving us at WEATNU an opportunity to give back a little to someone who has done some writing for our digital magazine and has contributed to the “gears of WEATNU".

Listening to your album Synical takes me back to the 90’s. The sounds used and the style of its progressions especially. What are some of your influences that inspired you to create this album?

Dave: It’s funny that the album takes you back to the 90’s because a lot of my inspiration is from the 90’s.
I am strongly influenced by Nine Inch Nails, Filter, The Crystal Method, The Prodigy, and The Chemical Brothers. All of which were at their peaks in the 90s and early 2000s. Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine was a huge influence in the direction of my music interest, and as I switched gears from listening to music, to making music in 1999, I was heavily into the electronic music genre, or Electronica as it was referred to at that time.

Corbin: With all the music projects you take on how often do you get a chance to sit down and write music for yourself?

Dave: I try to focus on my music first. Unless there is a deadline (which has been the case lately…), Sometimes when I am working on a project for others, and I get stuck, or frustrated with how things are going, I take a break from the project and work on my own music. This can be a double edged sword though because when things seem to be coming along good, I focus on it until it’s done, so this can put me behind on my projects. I have been working on my new album for over a year now, and my projects have pushed my release date back a bunch of times. At this point my new album is scheduled to be released in June.

Corbin: We’re looking forward to your new album. What is the name of the album and how different will it be from your last one?

Dave: Thanks. I’m excited about my new album. It will be called “Electrolysis". This album has been work in progress for over a year. The songs will be similar in style to most of my songs in “Synical" but show how my my techniques in laying out the songs has grown. I don’t focus on one genre in my songs. I like to use a combination of new and old to make things unique. Effects have been used a lot more in my newer songs to keep things sounding fresh and different.

Corbin: Will this be released as a WEATNU exclusive?

Dave: Yes, I plan on releasing it exclusively on WEATNU Records, then in July I will release it again through Music Kickup to get it up on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Deezer, MixRadio,Rdio, and Xbox Music.

Corbin: With only about a month left do see anything else getting in the way of the release of “Electrolysis"? Besides promoting the album where will Bufinjer be moving from here?

Dave: I still have 2 songs yet to be completed for a remix album that are due within two weeks. If I can get these done soon, I can get back to my music and complete the songs for “Electrolysis". If these remix songs take longer, I will have less time to finish things up for my album. I have already pushed this off 3 times, so hopefully this won’t be the case again. Originally I wanted to release it in January, but I did not have things ready, then I wanted to release it in March, but other projects pushed it further away. Then I was gearing up for May. I’m giving it another month to finish all things up. Because of my busy schedule, between working, and family, I do not get as much time as I would like to devote to my music projects.

At this point I don’t have any specific plans once I release “Electrolysis" as far as what is next.
I would like to make some new videos for the songs from “Electrolysis". I have one for “Deep Under" but that was done 6 months ago, so I need to get back into the video groove again. I make all of my own videos.
I also would like to continue my series of The History of Electronic Music for WEATNU Digital Magazine. It’s fun to learn more about the history, and share it with others as well.
Of course, I will work on music, and start preparing for my next album as well.
Some day I’d like to re-master and release my older songs, I have well over 80 songs that I’ve made prior to “Synical" that I have not released. That will be a major task for two reasons, it’s a lot of songs to work on, and I only have the MP3s to work with because I had a computer hard drive loss a while back, and lost all of my original project files.

Corbin: Wow Dave! Your story sounds almost exactly like mine only most of my old stuff is backed up on mini-disc and it’s becoming increasingly harder to find a MD player that actually works anymore. What programs do you use for your music and then for your videos? What about live instruments?

Dave: Wow, mini disks huh? Yea I bet it would be hard to find players for them! Haha.
I just got a new 1Tb external hard drive, so I plan on copying my music there, and I’d like to find a cloud storage big and reasonable enough to store all of my music too for safe keeping.
I have many different programs I use for my music, Ableton Live 9, FL Studios 10, Studio One, and Sony Acid Pro 7.

I feel most comfortable with Sony Acid Pro 7, so mostly I use that, my Novation Launchpad, and my iPad and my Novation app. Acid is what started my journey into making music, and I’ve used it for so long I know all the tricks and features well. I also use VSTs quite often. I have somewhere around 100 of them that I use for effects, tweaking, and mastering.
For my videos I use mainly After Effects and Movie Maker. I use a mix of video clips and after effect projects to make my videos.
As for live instruments, sadly I do not play any. I was always interested in the drums. When I was young I got a drum set for kids for Christmas. I was maybe 6 or 7. They were not quality drums, and I was a bit rough with them, and eventually I broke them. So there went any shot at the drums for me. I have also played around with guitar and bass, but never was able to focus on them and learn to play.
That is why I love electronic music, and being able to make music on my computer. I feel I have a good ear for music, but not being able to play any instruments, I would never be able to make music, without a computer.

Corbin: Your music seems to really fit well with songs I have heard on all the most famous video game platforms and new game releases. I don’t have time for video games any more but it is becoming more and more a demand to have incredible music on these games. Have you ever thought of trying to get a licensing deal with any of the large console companies?

Dave: Thanks I appreciate that.
I also don’t have much time for video games anymore, although I do spend some time playing video games with my kids when I can.
I’ve always wanted to get my music in video games, commercials, or movies.
Years ago I tried to deal directly with EA Games, but that went nowhere.
I do have my music with two licensing groups now, but unfortunately no placements at this time.
I’ll be honest, time usually hinders me to promote and get my music to licensing placements.
I know I should be better at that, maybe once things calm down a bit, and I get my new album out, I will look into more licensing companies.

Corbin: Ah yes, TIME the greatest thief!! There are only so many hours in a day and we must all use them wisely. Please take into consideration all that you do musically and I will ask you this, if you only had 1 hour per day to do anything you needed to in your musical endeavors what would it be and why?

Dave: That is a great question. Since I normally jump all over the place (I get easily distracted sometimes) that is a hard one to answer. I think I would spend the time to work on re-mastering my older songs. The reason why is so I can compile albums showing the progression of my music over the years.

Corbin: I was really expecting you to say what others might say, make music! You are very unique in your craft, in that you would choose to have the records of your legacy in a form that best represents your aim for a quality product that others may enjoy.
So as far as live music, this is the furthest thing from your mind?

Dave: I thought making music was too easy of an answer. I just want to share my music with others. All I can do is hope they can enjoy it as much as I do.
As for live music, I really am not cut out for that. I’m not an outgoing person when it comes to strangers. Once you get to know me that changes, but I’m not one to be the center of attention. Plus, the music I make isn’t cut out for live sets. I cut and chop and move things around to make it work for me. Yes I could use my computer and press play, or program my Launchpad to do it, but I’m more about production than live sets.

Corbin: I see you share a lot of other artists music across the Facebook WEATNU “Artists and Fans Movement" page and on Twitter. Being an advocate for other artists music is very time consuming but a necessary part of our movement. How do you think we can get others within the movement to do the same?

Dave: I believe that is something people do by choice. I have always been an advocate for my friends and fellow musicians. That’s why I started my website Connect4Artists, to help as many other artists as I can. All we can do is keep encouraging others to share and promote fellow WEATNU members. I don’t really know of a way to get others to do this other than to keep stressing how important it is to help. It can be time consuming, but if you just did a little bit every day or two, it would benefit everyone.

Corbin: Dave you literally just blew my mind! I had no idea you were responsible for Connect4Artists and I have been posting and promoting others across it and Facebook and Twitter for a while now. How well do you find artists across Connect4Artists help to promote each other?

Dave: I mention the site once in a while, but I kind of keep that separate from my music stuff. When I first started it, I devoted a lot of time to it, but as time went on, I had to spend less and less time on it. I still offer free promoting on the site. If artists share their links with me I post to the site, then share across twitter, facebook, google, and sometimes Youtube if the link is for Youtube. I have been able to connect with some artists there, and have thousands of likes and followers between all the social media sites. Unfortunately it really hasn’t had much attention on the website lately.

The Facebook account tends to have the most action, twitter next. I often wonder how many people realize there is a website. I think most think it’s a Facebook page and that’s it. I really don’t see too many artists promote each other there. It seems just as with WEATNU, artists are just too busy to promote others, and share with others. I try to share as much as I can, but time is always a challenge, so I don’t share as much as I would like. If I had the time, I would post as much as I could on my own to the website, especially for WEATNU artists, and share all of the great stuff, but I don’t have the time, so I have to only post when the artist gives me the links to post for them. If only there were more hours in a day!

Corbin: I had no idea that it was a website either…I never looked that deep into it. I’m wondering now if it is that same attitude towards WEATNU that people don’t understand. The many avenues that our movement provides and using each one to its fullest is the most beneficial way to gain exposure. Most importantly sharing the gift of this movement and all it is encompasses is the key to making artists successful through WEATNU. Why did you create Connect4Artists?

Dave: I believe that is part of the attitude. Not knowing is a big factor I’m sure. Being busy is also a factor, because people are in a hurry, and don’t pay full attention. I find myself doing that sometimes. I think this is good feedback for me though, because maybe I need to add the web address to the cover photo, and maybe pin info on the page to show the website info. I know this isn’t the case for WEATNU though. Almark has made many posts to explain what WEATNU is all about, and sent info to explain things. But to ask for help so often that everyone sees it, often seems like begging.
As for why I created Connect4Artists, here is the story…
I was on a website called Beat100. Some may know of it, but if you don’t, it’s a website where you post your video (and now audio) into the “Charts". You get votes to move up the charts with the intention to get to number one. To get the most exposure, you connect with others, and swap votes, and hope for the best. Well it turned out that the site manipulates the charts by giving “Artist of the day" awards which gives votes, and there are bonus votes that the site gives too. Plus you could “Buy" votes by “Promoting yourself" to move up the charts. Through the site I made many good friends, but we quickly discovered the site was fixed.

It favored certain artists, and pushed the ones that paid to the top. All very unfair. I even made it to first place, and was excited until I found out there was no cash prize anymore, and the “Worldwide Press Release" and “Exposure to officials in the industry" were all a big joke. I gained no new followers after winning, and had no interest whatsoever from getting to number 1. Then there was Artistsignal, with the vote bots, and and artists coming out of nowhere to win. And the hours spent to make and get votes. Also there was Citizen.tv (Now closed) with vote bots and favorite artist treatment. It all got to be too much. Contest sites are a joke. They provide false hope in boosting your career if you win.

A good friend of mine, and myself started talking about this. We know the whole reason for joining these sites was for exposure, and to meet fellow artists. But why deal with the cheats, and get nothing for all the trouble? We started saying we should make a site to help artists. Help them get exposure through promotion, help them meet other artists with similar interests. Provide helpful info, and maybe even help someone’s career. So Connect4Artists was born. It’s a great idea, great concept, but getting people to notice it has been a challenge. My original goal was to eventually get A&R and Record Labels to notice, and maybe be able to help artists with the right connections to boost their career. It’s still in its infancy, but it never took off like I envisioned. I still hope to grow the site, and hopefully make it a great tool for artists.

Corbin: Do you have any links to some of the newest material going on the “Electrolysis" album that you would like to share?

Dave: I have released a few of the songs that will be on “Electrolysis" on Soundcloud already. This has been a long process to put this album together, some of the songs have been out for a while. One in particular, “Josh’s Part" has been out for a year already. I’ve even had some of the songs playing on WEATNU OUR already. Punch Down, and Deep Under are currently in the rotation, and Altered Axis has played in the past.
Here are the links to a few songs that will be on the album that I’ve already posted.

Corbin: Where do you believe the independent artist will stand as far as exposure in the next 5 to 10 years?

Dave: I think it’s a very interesting time for independent artists. It’s hard to tell what direction things will go. Places like Spotify and Tidal help and hurt the independent artists at the same time. Offering streaming pay is nice, but the pay is so low unless you get tons of plays, you don’t get any money. But they are helping a bit with exposure.
I do fear how the music industry shuts down sites that are more listener based, and for the independents, like Grooveshark. Sites like these, Soundcloud, Reverbnation, etc., now have to make deals with record labels, and if the big labels pull their music, it can be a good and bad thing. Bad because it will pull listeners, but good, because it will allow more room for the independents.
I believe over the next 5 to 10 years, that the large record labels will dwindle, and smaller labels will take over the market. If this happens, the independent artist will prosper. And with the advancement of technology, it will become easier for independents to produce and distribute their own music. This will be good for individual exposure, but will make it even harder to get noticed because the market will be saturated. Time will tell, and as we all well know, things can change in an instant.

Corbin: As always Dave I just want to thank you for all that you have done for the WEATNU movement. Looking forward to the release of your “Electrolysis" album.

Dave: Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me.
I really appreciate it!

Corbin Roof – #WEATNU Digital Magazine

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