Meet Terra Marotz | Electronic Music Producer, Singer, Songwriter, DJ

We had the good fortune of connecting with Terra Marotz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Terra, how do you think about risk?
I think my entire career path has been a risk, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I think being the first of my family (that I know of) to try and pursue a music career has been nothing short of insanity, and although I love it, my art itself has never paid the bills. So I figured, what’s second best to making money as an artist? Well, maybe working in the music industry in a different capacity. Within a few months of moving to LA (which was also a big risk) I took a job at Atlantic Records. I have since moved on to another career on the publishing side of things that I hope continues to propel me forward and pay the bills in conjunction with my art – so work life balance is crucial.

I actually find the business side of the music industry to be quite fascinating and complex and I think it’s also important for more artists to understand the business side of music, it was never something I focused on and always held on to the narrative of “I’m an artist, I can’t understand this, I can’t do numbers, someone else will come find me and save me”…etc. But I’ve been taking all sorts of risks along the way, hoping that if I can just collect knowledge and skills from every corner of the industry, that maybe I can be indispensable in a rapidly changing industry.

I think most people would say “If you want to make real money, don’t work in the music industry” and they’re probably right, but working in the heart of the industry has shown me a group of people who work harder than most people I’ve ever met, and it’s all because we have this one thing in common – music has moved us to the point of shaping our entire lives around it – and it’s really inspiring.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Something that I think sets me apart from others in my field is that no matter how hard I “try” to make something that sounds like the music that inspires me, it always ends up sounding different, dare I say, a little “off” and not necessarily in a bad way. It all ends up having a distinctive “Terabyte” sound. I definitely wish I could make music like my heroes, and I have definitely considered making more commercial sounding music as I’ve seen a lot of people write pop music for other artists with a lot of success, but at the end of the day, maybe it’s a good thing that I have a different kind of sound.

The thing I’m most proud of is how far I’ve come as a producer, and especially in the last 2 years, all of which was due to making music production a daily habit.

One of my biggest struggles as a producer has been getting that big, polished sound that I love so much in the music I listen to. Even while working with mixing and mastering engineers, it seemed impossible to get my music to sound like other peoples’ music. I’ve felt a lot of despair over this actually. It may seem like a small thing, but the recording and production quality of my music always felt like it fell short. I had thought for awhile that it was because I didn’t have the money others did to give their music that final touch with fancy gear and I certainly didn’t (and don’t) want to be underestimated because of that. It was sometimes discouraging to see others who had only just started producing be able to make industry-standard music, and I felt like I was missing something that should have been obvious.

But, in the last 2 years, I have learned some very valuable lessons, one of which is great music doesn’t require lots of expensive gear, just a consistent habit and a will to keep learning new things – because the learning never ends. I have had some big breakthroughs, especially recently, thanks to all the super talented musicians, artists, sound engineers and mentors around me.

I really enjoy what I do, it’s my favorite part of my day. It’s not always a fun experience, sometimes there is a lot of frustration and anxiety involved, but at the end of the day, I love the process of getting better at my craft, and making music that I think is great hoping that others might be moved and have a good time when they’re listening to it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is a tough one! There is so much to do in LA and I feel like even after living here for 5 years, I have only brushed the surface.

If a friend was visiting that hadn’t been to LA before, you know I’d have to take them to the Boulevard and then to Venice Beach to rent cruisers for the rest of the night – obviously staples of LA, but I also really love Dockweiler beach because it’s less crowded and you can watch the planes from LAX.

The next day, we’d go downtown to the Fashion District, Santee alley to find some fun outfits and accessories, or at least to people watch and look at everything. Next it would be cool to go to Little Tokyo for Sushi or Ramen and also the cute stores. Then for dinner at ChaChaCha because the ambience and roof top views are beautiful and the food and cocktails are to die for. If it were Saturday, after dinner, we’d get dressed in black from head to toe, put on our chokers and harnesses on and swing through Bar Sinister at Bordners. Or also, there are so many great venues in town and we always have the best artists coming through that it would be no problem to find something good on Resident Advisor to attend pretty much any day of the week.

After some time in the city, might be nice to get outside a bit – if it was during the Spring or Summer I highly recommend the Bridge to Nowhere Hike in the San Gabriels, it’s a fun hike where the trail intertwines with the San Gabriel river which is so nice for hot dry weather – and especially with all the rain we’ve been getting, the river is really full. Or for a closer hike, I also love Sandstone Peak in Malibu. A perfect day is eating brunch at Cafe 27 in Topanga Canyon, heading up to the Sandstone Peak trailhead to do the 6 mile loop (best in the cooler months), and then pop out in Malibu to stop at the Pier beach and watch the Pelicans fish at sunset!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m incredibly grateful for the people who have been involved in my Terabyte project over the years, and wanted to give a special shout out to those who worked on my most recent album “Stranded” coming out April 26th. Thank you to Cirilo Rios, Jamie Caden, Connor Carroll, John Armstrong, Ali “AMAC” McGuire, Paul Bailey, Brian Baughn, Phil Horsley, and my little brother Nate Marotz, not only for being really great people, but for also being super skilled at what they do.

I’m also just going to include everyone I worked with at Atlantic – some of the coolest coworkers I’ve ever had, I learned a lot from them and they were some of the first friends I made in LA.

A shout out to my partner and best friend, Dino. He is also an artist and he continuously helps me see my potential, gives the best constructive feedback, takes photos and videos, helps me negotiate business and craft emails, and is all around my secret weapon.

Gotta give a big shout out to my family as they’ve been incredibly supportive- I feel lucky to have parents that actually like my music and listen to it!

And of course, to any one who is listening to the music – to the Terabyte audience, THANK YOU! You keep the dream alive.

Website: https://www.terabytemusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeterabyte/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terra-marotz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theeterabyte

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmWB4p1xiDfHfPYoNI8TRXw

Other: https://theeterabyte.bandcamp.com/album/stranded

Image Credits
Personal Photo: Tim Janssens 1. Kylie Schlegel 2. Loni Lonzo 3. Dino Carrillo 4. Dino Carrillo 5. Dino Carrillo