Artists to watch out in 2024: OFFAIAH

As 2024 dawns, OFFAIAH, a DJ/Producer with a profound musical lineage and a fervent commitment to dance music, is set to elevate his career to new heights. Fresh from electrifying the crowd at a New Year's Eve show in Thailand as part of Defected's 'Worldwide NY/23/24' events, he's poised to make global waves with his upcoming productions. His goal is to create tracks that not only enhance his career but also energise the dance music scene worldwide. OFFAIAH's approach to music production is organic and exploratory, aiming to incorporate the latest studio techniques into his work. This year, fans can look forward to multiple releases, including collaborations with techno luminaries Eli Brown and Layton Giordani, and a focus on balancing his intense studio sessions with his family life. Leveraging his extensive musical background and his proficiency in creating melodies and chords, OFFAIAH is set to bring a fresh perspective to his productions in 2024, while promising a steady stream of new music to his fans.

What are your primary career goals and aspirations as a DJ/producer in 2024, and how do you plan to achieve them?

As a DJ/Producer, my goal is to always be improving and always have the self-belief that my next production is going to be the one that has a world-wide impact, not just for the sake of my own music career, but for the benefit of Dance music in general - it’s only once in a while that a track comes along that is so special, so inspiring that it captures the imagination of the world and revitalises the Dance music scene on a global scale, and being part of that is something I hope to achieve in 2024.

Can you share some insights into your musical and creative resolutions for this year? Are there specific aspects of your sound or style you aim to refine or explore further?

I definitely want to explore some new sounds for the new year - exactly what those sounds are I cannot quite answer right now, as when I sit down to create new music, I don’t really go in with a hard-set plan, rather I get in the studio and just start jamming things out, just having fun, and eventually something will jump out at me as something to keep running with and develop - so it’s hard to predict what exciting new ideas I may stumble across, as music-making for me is quite an organic process - but I do keep my eye on all the latest production software and studio techniques and try to incorporate them in to the whole process as and when necessary.

With a new year ahead, do you have any exciting releases or projects in the pipeline that fans can look forward to? Can you provide a sneak peek into what's on your production horizon?

I do have a few new productions that you may want to watch out for - I’m closing out the year with a remix of Harry Romero - “Don’t Stop Rock” which is out on Incorrect at the end of December. Then Jan 2024 will see the release of “When I Push” which I’ve done in collaboration with Techno heavyweights Eli Brown and Layton Giordani, a release on Subjekt in February and then a release is penciled for March/April on Toolroom. More info on those to follow shortly.

On a personal level, what strategies or plans do you have in place to maintain a healthy work-life balance in 2024, considering the demands of a DJ/producer's schedule?

One of the things I want to focus on for 2024 is time management - I want to be laser-focused on spending a set number of hours in the studio dedicated to music-making. I am a family man, being the father of a very young family it’s very easy to get side-tracked and distracted from “work” - I call it work, but it’s really a labor of love for me. So, I just want to focus on quality studio time just have fun exploring new ideas, sounds and production techniques. I’ve set myself a goal for 2024 to release a minimum of 6 tracks for the year so hopefully that will keep me on track.

What do you believe sets you apart as an emerging artist, and how do you plan to leverage this uniqueness this year?

I come from a musical family - my father was a music teacher and taught me the piano from around the age of 4 years old, so music has always been part of my life. I believe that these deep-seeded roots in music help me when creating new productions and allow my creativity to go to a whole new level that just wouldn’t be possible had I not spent thousands and thousands of accumulative hours over the last 4 decades reciting and studying music. I plan to really focus in on this for 2024, and leverage my ability to create chords and melodies with relative ease to help bring a whole new level to my productions.

Can you outline any notable collaborations or partnerships you intend to explore in the new year, and what kind of creative synergy do you hope to achieve through these ventures?

As I mentioned, I have a collaboration with Eli Brown and Layton Giordani coming January 2024, and this may well give me more impetus to try some new ideas in and around the Techno genre. I also have a collaboration with David Penn which I’m looking forward to, as he’s quite well known for his piano riffs and chords, and the piano happens to be one of my favourite instruments, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out.

Beyond music production, do you have any non-musical ventures or interests you'll be pursuing in the new year, and how might they intersect with your music career?

I’m very much into sports and fitness and try to keep fit by working out a few times a week. A new hobby of mine is outdoor running, and I’ve set myself a goal of running a 5k in under 20 minutes in 2024.

What trends or changes do you foresee in the industry for 2024, and how do you plan to adapt and stay at the forefront of these developments in your career?

AI seems to be a hot topic at the moment, and there’s a chance it could start to play a bigger role in the music-making process as we move into 2024. I have been messing around with a few AI programs and it’s definitely quite interesting for me. I’m not sure AI is cable of making music to the same fidelity as a human can, (not yet anyway) as I like to believe music comes from feelings and emotions, something which computer code does not possess, but it CAN spark new ideas, things you would have never thought of, and can be used as another tool in the production toolbox and music-making process.

Looking ahead to 2024, what message or promise would you like to convey to your fans as they anticipate your journey as an artist to watch in the coming year?

As a father of 3 small children one of the hardest things to do is manage time, and I confess my attention has been geared a lot towards family responsibilities over the last few years rather than music production, but one of the things I’ve done is made a promise to myself that for 2024 I’m going to release a track every 8 weeks or in other words a minimum of 6 tracks for the year, whether that be remixes or original releases and I look forward to sharing that journey with my listeners.

OFFAIAH Online

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