Featured again?! Onic! You're amazing! Congratulations my dearest friend!

I'll take this opportunity to let you know, how much I enjoy your collaborations: They are breathtakingly beautiful and deserve all the attention they can get.
Onic's style is absolutely stunning; in fact so much so, that I don't think I can put into words how much I look up to him.
And the vocals you provided are one of a kind; don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I sincerely hope there will be more in the future. Cheers!

You bet! Your collaborations are definitely worth featuring!

I'd be hard pressed to even say "self-taught". Since 2009 I've just thrown shit at the wall and fiddled with knobs until it sounds good. I don't know a lick of musical theory lol.

As someone who likes to do a lot of theory-based composing, I can tell you: You'd be surprised at the amount of duty I keep throwing at the wall. LOL
I think that just playing around with random ideas, pushing buttons and turning knobs often times is a process, I wouldn't recommend leaving out. You often stumble across great sounds by just doing that.
Chance can be a scary thing.

I know a lot of musicians, many of which make quite good music, without knowing any theory. As Jelly said, sometimes experimentation is the best approach

Another very interesting episode of the spotlight, Ikodo. I try to keep track of as much music here on FA as I can, but sometimes a few post posts slip under the radar for me. And now I'm happy you brought BlazetheDerg 's and profoctopus ' pieces to my attention. I must admit, I'm not especially drawn to these styles, but the pieces you presented here are very interesting indeed.

Regarding your question: I've never actually had any schooling in music. On one hand, I sometimes regret never having taken any lessons and I think about that fact from time to time. But I suppose it's never too late for that.
Then on the other hand, I can't deny the fact that I'm also kind of proud of everything I've taught myself. I don't actually have much interest in anything else but music, so I like to be good at at least that, lol.

On a side-note: Snow in the desert? What sorcery is this?! I live in Germany and this winter I think we've had about... Two days of snow, or something; at least where I live. Something's fishy.

Even after putting these spotlights together for close to a year now, lots of talented musicians still slip under my radar. I discover new musicians with each and every episode.

Like you said, it's never too late to take classes/lessons, but I definitely understand the satisfactions that comes from accomplishing things on your own.

In fact I have learned everything by myself. I don't have any proper education behind myself, but if I were able to say something to my younger self I would say: grab some lessons, theory, train more even if it's boring.

Why? Because I have accumulated too much issues with technique and overall skills. Now I have to work much more to get rid of them - that often leads to frustration and resignation.

But I keep trying. It's never to late - to be honest.

I think of getting some serious lessons to improve my skills. In fact it's never good to settle down - there's always a room for improvement :)

You speak words filled with lots of wisdom. I tend to lean towards teaching things to myself, but I'm finding more and more it really is worth learning from professionals, or people who are farther along on their life journey than myself. Even though I am currently taking some theory classes, I wish I had done so much earlier for sure.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed!

I think you make a really good point. Classes and lessons are great, but they won't mean anything unless you work hard and apply the knowledge, so in the end, its the effort you've put in that matters much more than anything else.

Thanks for the feature :D

Don't usually do mainstream hip-hop but glad you enjoyed it!

You bet!

Sometimes people make their best stuff when they step outside their comfort zone :)

Thanks for featuring Arrival.

No problem!

Woa, only had time to sit down and listen to this now! And as always, so many great and interesting picks. Wolfdeer's piece definitely caught my attention.
As for your question, I've been having piano lessons for about 9 / 10 years by now and quite a while ago now I attended classes at a music school: some theory, but mostly practice. We'd play all sorts of percussion instruments, but mostly xylophones and vibraphones (ever heard of the Orff orchestra? All it means is that the xyls and vibs are divided into sopranos, altos and basses). I had great fun, and I can safely say I wouldn't write anything at all nowadays if it weren't for the great teachers I had, the lessons, rehearsals and end of year concerts!
My teachers' philosophy was basically "learn it by doing/playing it" and I've always thought that the silliest thing one can do with music is to reduce it all to theory.
So no, no degrees or anything, but I can say I've been playing and listening to music for quite a long time.

Glad you enjoyed!

And I totally agree with you and your teacher's philosophy. Theory is helpful, but it means nothing if you don't apply it! :)

Each track presented is interesting, and the electronic experimental piece is rather....ear grating and pleasing at the same time. It's hard for me to explain how, but it is for me.

To answer your question, I've graduated from McNally Smith College of Music with a degree in Music Composition. Took classes on composing music, music theory, DAW set ups, recording, and piano classes. I took up to 10 years of piano lessons, 4 years of guitar lessons, and even took band class for one year along with a few extra curricular jazz band.

Sounds like you have an awesome base of knowledge to draw from :)