When college decisions approached, Michael Gould was unsure of what to declare as his major.
He went his entire life assuming he would become a doctor but the older he got, the more he realized his real passion was with music.
A freshman at San Diego State, Gould is now a global composition major with an emphasis in electronic music.
At 7 years old, Gould picked up his first instrument, the trumpet. The rest is history.
He now plays a plethora of instruments including the piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, trombone, tuba as well as many others.
He began producing music his sophomore year of high school and realized in his senior year the importance it played in his life.
As Gould creates music in his dorm room, his sound a mix between house music and electronic dance music, the passion for music he has is apparent.
He sat down at his desk while working on new sounds for a house track he’s making.
Gould replayed the same 3-second bit over and over again while trying to create the perfect sound and message through his beats.
Although he is restricted to a triple dorm room in the Chapultepec residence hall, he finds a way to overome the tight space and make music.
On top of the desk in his dorm room sits two KRK Rockit 5 speakers, a Komplete audio six audio interface, a Komplete Kontrol S49 keyboard, an Akai APC 40 and a blue yeti microphone as well as a guitar.
Although these devices may seem unknown to someone unfamiliar to music production, they are essential in creating the right sounds Gould is looking for while restricted to a shared dorm room.
“I have two other roommates so I can’t be blasting music 24/7,” he said. “I have to respect them even if I have an idea at midnight and they’re sleeping I can’t be working with the loud speakers.”
The current trend Gould is following with his music is EDM and house music. He said his main influence in the music world is Flume, an Australian EDM musician known for songs like “Never Be Like You” and “Drop the Game.”
Gould appreciated the DJ’s ability to bring electronic music onto the radio. He also admires Flume’s unique sound that anyone can recognize when they hear it.
“Each track I make is so different and I don’t really have a constant theme but that is what I am trying to do as I progress with producing and find my own niche,” Gould said about his own music production process.
Gould also works on new music with his friend Andres Beltran, a jazz studies freshman, who seconds as a producer.
The connection between the two made it clear that Gould was able to find people with similar interests through SDSU.
The duo bounce ideas off each other when producing new material.
“Gould’s music is just like him. It’s always super energetic and while it might be out of control for some people you can definitely tell there’s heart in it,” Beltran said.
Gould intends to get an internship this summer with a record label or nightclub while continuing to release music on his SoundCloud.
He wants to find time for music every day and be able to make it a priority in his free time.
His main goal in life is to make a living off producing music, and the passion and drive he puts into his music leads him on that path.
“Everybody likes music and so even though you’re not able to communicate with people in a lot of ways, with music there (isn’t) a barrier (because) it’s a common thing everyone enjoys,” he said. “Being able to have the message I’m trying to relay to the audience and have them be able to connect with me, that’s a really special feeling to me.”
