A Belmont sophomore is stepping outside the boundaries of traditional music and is producing inspiration-driven beats and collaborations with just one tool: his laptop.
Kyle Buckley– who goes by the stage name Pink Slip– is an Atlanta native who began experimenting with the production side of music during his sophomore year of high school.
When he discovered he could capture everyday sounds such as a click of a pen or the “ahh” of a voice, Buckley was inspired to use the endless possibilities to create his own beats and produce a sound unique to his style.
“What’s cool about what I do is that I don’t need to rely on a band, and being in a band or being a singer-songwriter is amazing, but it is overdone. Everyone is doing the same exact thing because what’s next? Unless you’re writing hits, what new sound are you bringing to the table? I want to be able to collaborate with those who are the hit-writers,” said Buckley.
By getting his inspiration from the music he listens to– from rap to rock and classical to jazz– Buckley utilizes his knowledge of production towards his creativity and drive to be different. He finds the outliers he thinks are next big thing and creates music with them; Buckley has collaborated with many Belmont musicians such as Ashley Leone, Chloe Gilligan, Blake Ortiz-Goldberg and Zach Taylor.
“We are part of a collective of musicians here at Belmont. We are basically focused on hip hop, electronic and really any kind of music that we’re feeling. We are just really trying to make this organic music that isn’t the same thing that we’re hearing over and over again,” said Zach Taylor, a Belmont sophomore musician.
Taylor is a songwriting major with a unique sound Buckley regularly collaborates with.
“Zach’s sound is what I want to work with– people who are on the next level and pushing the boundary. We vibed on our love for music, beats and similar inspirations, and we have been very successful together,” said Buckley.
Buckley and Taylor have recently released a song they produced. The tune started out as a beat and lyrics Taylor created. Buckley then added his own beats, creating a whole different sound. From there, Taylor put his lyrics over the new beat, and the result became known as “Wa$ted.”
“‘Wa$ted’ is a really unique song because Zach’s sound is very laidback and soulful, but this song is totally the opposite. It features 808’s and is very Atlanta and hardcore,” said Buckley.
With Taylor on vocals and lyrics and Buckley behind the music and production, the song became an instant hit with more than 60,000 plays on SoundCloud.
However, SoundCloud is not the only place the song can be heard. “Wa$ted” will be featured in a party scene of a movie produced by James Franco and starring Nick Jonas.
Among the many collaborations and successes that Buckley has achieved, he remains true and is constantly humbled by one thing – the 10,000-hour rule. Malcolm Gladwell explains in his book “Outliers” that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice for one to achieve mastery in his or her art or field.
“I am a firm believer in the 10,000-hour rule because I am not the most talented, but I know that I put more hours and effort into what I do that anyone else, and I think that it is finally starting to pay off,” said Buckley.
Check out more at https://soundcloud.com/pinkslipmusic.
This article was written by Jordan Griffith.