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Last but not least is our newest addition to the Eurobeat Forever lineup, Neon Music, headed by Dominic Ninmark!

Eighteen year-old producer Dominic Ninmark, the youngest of the Eurobeat Forever family, is a music composer who works with various genres – mostly video game inspired music. Not only does he produce music but he also does graphic design, including having done the logo and artwork for the first volume of the compilation. Neon Music is a new name he goes under as an independent Eurobeat producer.

•  FLStudio 10 (DAW)

EBF: Hello everyone and welcome to the second interview for Eurobeat Forever. Today we have Travis Stebbins, founder and producer for Odyssey Music. Thank you for being here today, Travis.

Travis: Thank you for having me!

EBF: You’re currently based in Northern California. How do you like it there? Is this where you grew up?

Travis: Well, I’ve grown up in the general area all my life, so I can’t complain! There’s plenty to do and see, with a great music community. There are trees in one direction, the beach in another, and a big city in yet another!

EBF: Please tell us more about the scene.

Travis: Well, in Santa Cruz you have a thriving musical community and a lot of hiking/natural attractions (plus the Beach Boardwalk if you’re into roller coasters and the like). 

EBF: How long have you been making music? What got you started?

Travis: Well, my entire family is involved in music somehow, so I started by either singing or playing piano/keys with various family functions and leading worship for nearby churches. Eventually I started writing my own music on some abandon-ware MIDI sequencing software, and eventually, with my parents’ left-over MIDI module, started recording and publishing my own music to Myspace. As I started making more and more music, I found this weird dancing-type game at the local Boardwalk arcades, and couldn’t help but be charmed a little bit by the silly, nonsensical lyrics on top of rather surprisingly melodic and intricate music. I struggled for YEARS to get things to sound right in that style, and all of a sudden one equipment upgrade later, I was able to do it! I’ve been producing ever since.

EBF: What was one of your favorite songs to produce? Your least?

Travis: Hm. It’d be hard to pick a favorite, but I could point out some of the ones that either really clicked for me or were very hard to do.

EBF: Sure, please tell us about those then.

Travis: One of my first successful ventures into the genre was a song called “Cherry Blossoms”. Not everyone knows this, but the lyrics are EXTREMELY reflective of what was going on at the time, or some of the things I was going through. It’s very important to me. It was a little hard to produce because, for one, I was still learning the genre (“What? You mean there’s more to they rhythm/beat track than just the kick and open hat?”), and for another, it was my first attempt at making a Eurobeat song with meaningful lyrics.

One of my favorite songs to produce was “You Gotta Share” on Super Ponybeat Vol. 1. I was a BIG fan of Hi-NRG Attack at the time, and I couldn’t resist making a VERY Western-flavored song sound like one of my favorite HRG songs of all time, “Oh Oh Cowboy”. I also had a lot of fun creating the Piano-Banjo duel, I haven’t heard a lot of instrument duels in Eurobeat so I thought I’d try that out. In a non-Ponybeat context, “I Breathe Fire” was also quite a bit of fun to release, if a bit controversial for reasons I’m not at liberty to discuss.

I can’t really say I have a “Least Favorite”, but I know a couple other Ponybeat songs gave me some trouble, like the main theme and the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ theme. They all took several takes before I got them ‘right’.

EBF: Tell us what got you into making Super Ponybeat, Toho Eurobeat, etc.

Travis: I like Eurobeat, I like certain shows/games. When I like those things, I remix their tunes. P:

More specifically, Touhou has this fascinating situation that really lends itself towards high-quality remixes. In addition to being freely usable, they’re also actually any GOOD. (Think of it as an improved Public Domain for Japan…!) Ponybeat has a different story, but falls under basically the same category. I like what I hear, I remix it.

Actually, my remix work is worlds more popular than my original work. *gloom*

EBF: What got you into eurobeat? Tell us a bit about your favorite producers and artists.

Travis: Oh boy… long story! I mentioned earlier that I was charmed by a certain four-paneled dance game (are we allowed to use copyrighted names here?) and its silly, if musically charged, soundtrack. I couldn’t help but do some research on the kinds of songs I liked, and eventually found out that there was MORE of this “Eurobeat” stuff elsewhere. I was originally something of a Bemani purist, but as I discovered avex releases I began to focus on the more “Eurobeat-only” releases on Super Eurobeat.

Favorite artists/producers include Dave Rodgers, Frederico Rimonti, Morris Capaldi, Laurent Newfield (though those last two may be biased!), Bratt Sinclaire, Dejo, Niko, Robbie Grain, Kimmy, Kimmy, Kimmy, Franz Tornado, Fastway, Go2, Jager, Kaioh… oh man, we’d be here forever. AH! Neo. Can’t forget Neo.

EBF: What can we expect from your tracks on Eurobeat Forever?

Travis: My tracks are fairly traditional Eurobeat fare… so far. I plan on taking somewhat older-school Eurobeat production values (punchy and powerful synth brass and speed) and experimenting with new elements that haven’t really been tested yet. Fans of Super Ponybeat know that I like to mix in various genres (without permission!)… think like that, but perhaps a little more potent, a little more… I’m tempted to say Avant Garde? But then I get this image in my head of some guy who thinks twitching in place is art, so… probably not THAT extreme.

EBF: Anything else you’d like to add before we say goodbye?
Travis: To fans of Eurobeat in general, thank you ALL so much for following this new enterprise in Eurobeat! I’m so glad this style is alive and growing in places we never expected, it gives me a lot of hope for not just Eurobeat, but music in general. Genres stay alive by innovating, incorporating new things and testing things out, and the fact that people are interested in seeing where this can go is extremely… er, heartening? Whatever the opposite of “Disheartening” could be.

To cynics who like Eurobeat but question a non-Japanese-based release, I understand that many of you are used to things being a certain way. I respect that, I can understand that. But please give these fantastic producers and myself a chance to show that Eurobeat could still go in many wonderful and exciting new directions, and has the potential for a lifespan well beyond most genres I know.
To fans of my remix work: I’m honored you’re giving original Eurobeat music a chance! I think you’re gonna love what we’ve got for you.
And lastly, to haters, keep hatin’. We can’t hear you over all this music we’re makin’ and all these fans we’ve got.

EBF: Thank you once again for taking the time for this interview and I’m sure I speak for most of our fans and Odyssey Music fans when I say I eagerly await to hear your tracks on the new compilation.

Travis: Can’t wait! Y’all are gonna be STOKED on what I’ve got cooking for you here.

Cat. ID: EBFOR001 / Release Date: December 20th, 2011 / Purchase: Coming Soon!

Track-listing (Click to hear a sample)

1. Chistina Vee – Remember Me (DJ Bouche Euro Mix) (No Limit Zone)
2. Foxxie – Gays Gays Gays (Disko Warp Music)
3. Mortimer – Gas Love 2011 (Odyssey Music)
4. Saya – Breakin’ Tonight (Sugano Music)
5. Idris - Wonderland (The Paradise Last)
6. Neon feat. Lovisa – Neon Nights (Neon Music)
7. Tekondo – Hitotudake Freedom (EBF Mix) (Sugano Music)
8. Cougar – My Love Is Nineteen (Disko Warp Music)
9. Hydlide feat. SquaDus – Regret (The Paradise Last)
10. Rayo Light – My Number One (Disko Warp Music)
11. Eurobeat Forever Vol. 1 Non-Stop Megamix by DJ Skyblue

Special Thanks To: Dominic Ninmark for album art and logo design, Pete Ellison for mixing/mastering and DJ Skyblue for mixing.