Speaker Honey! Say here name! Because you know you will need it a lot! We are more than excited to welcome this fierce, creative artist to our SNOE family. And she joins in with a big HE-LO. “I Can Do It EP” consists of two hard-hitting, visionary originals and a fantastic remix. And now she took some time to chat with us!

Hi Speaker Honey, so nice of you to take the time to chat with us. Tell us, how would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?

Hello! Yes I am excited to chat and answer some questions in celebration of the release of my new ‘I Can Do It’ ep.  I would describe my music as a new take on electronic music that incorporates a fusion of techno, house music, bass, and experimental elements.  For anyone who has not heard my music, the best thing I could say is, well, that my sound is very future! I enjoy making tracks that have strong, driving ideas and trippy vocals / FX.  Also, I am happy to say I really do have a unique ‘sound’ now, and can not wait to continue this theme in future productions.

What does your name mean?

My name, Speaker Honey, actually came from an experience I had when going to University at U.H. Hilo (on the Big Island of Hawaii).  I had been working hard on my productions while in school, and knew I was looking for a name for the project.  One day I was at a friend’s house near campus, and one of their roommates who was in the agricultural program, brought home this MASSIVE jar of fresh honey.  After insisting that we try some of the honey, he began to explain that they had to evacuate a bee hive that had developed on campus.  The hive was inside of a speaker cabinet in the main campus center.  As I was eating the honey, I thought ‘…Oh…the frequencies of the sound and music had made this honey so delicious…this is speaker honey!’.  At that moment I realized I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the name Speaker Honey! And I looked online to see if any other Speaker Honey already existed…and it was completely untaken. Instantly I purchased the domain speakerhoney.com, and claimed the username on all social media platforms.  The name really resonated with me, because I had grown up working on speaker cabinets with my dad.   I have spent so much time around speakers in my life, and I could not be more stoked on the name today — I’m sure I always will be. 

We love your new release. What was your inspiration for the EP?

My new ‘I Can Do It’ EP was really inspired by the idea of live shows and events happening again here in the West Coast USA.  I wanted to create a few songs that represented a very positive and driving, ‘let’s just do it’, energy.  These tracks also reflect a lot of experimenting with many new production techniques and plug-ins I had acquired during quarantine.  During lock down, I spent a lot of time listening to new music submitted by the community.  I think a lot of these works showed me new ideas and ways to think about electronic music.  I realized that I enjoy blurring the lines, and these two tracks really represent this idea.  I hope to make more songs in the future that reflect similar yet also unique vibes.   

Tell us a bit about what you have been up to lately?

It’s been really great lately, because I have been enjoying a balance of tour life, and also home life.  I have been fortunate to have been booked for many shows since the opening up of California and beyond.  Most of the events have been around weekends, so I have the weeks at home to work on new music and enjoy beautiful San Diego.  I have also really gotten into a new production groove, and have really fun ideas in the works that I am excited to finish.  The events have been all so special too. I have been more inspired than ever to keep pushing hard towards this path and beyond! 

How much time do you spend in the studio?

I have a home studio that has been growing over the last 5 or so years.  I am really fortunate to have such an awesome work space and computer that allows me to produce music pretty much whenever I feel like it is the right time.  Though I have this accessibility, I tend to produce in long bursts of time…if that makes sense.  Sometimes, I won’t produce for days, and other times, I will sit down and produce for days in a row.  Some of my best songs have been produced in sessions where I am so inspired, that I literally don’t go to sleep, and continue producing into the next day just to finish the song.  It really depends on my mood and energy levels! I have been working to make a more consistent studio schedule for myself, and have incorporated a new planner to help track my projects and goals.  I think a combination of both schedules will help me lock into a productive groove.

What is your favourite toy for making music?

I am really stoked on my moog SubPhatty.  It has been really useful in adding strong analog sounds into my mostly digital projects.  I love synthesizers, and this one really hits a lot of the tones and frequencies I look for when I want to add something.  The synth really builds a lot of character in my projects.  I have been exploring the VST control’s for it as well, and it is awesome that the synth allows for midi integration so that I can record the analog sound, while still having the ability to adjust my progression after I have recorded in the parts. 

Is there anyone special you would like to spend some time in the studio with?

Well, it would be really cool to spend some time with Whebba and Anna, because it seems like they have really dialed in their home work flow.  From watching online, their home studio is filled with very organized analog and digital gear. Their videos show a level of understanding of these pieces that is really inspiring and something I would want to learn.  Anyone can always improve on workflow, and would love to learn from artists like them. 

What is the one thing you can’t be without in the studio?

I am really flexible when working on my music.  I can work on songs on my laptop with no headphones or in my main studio with treated walls, nice speakers, and three desktop monitors.  If anything, the main thing I need to produce music is Ableton.  I am hoping to one day have enough gear that would enable me to also make songs outside of the computer, but for now, I am ‘inside the box’.  When really sitting down to finish a song, I do require good sound treatment & have spent a good amount of time dialing in the room at our condo. 

And what is the one thing you do not want in your studio?

I never want other music playing in my studio.  If I can hear other music coming from somewhere, it really really distracts me from my workflow.  I am surprisingly ok with people talking in the room, but if anyone plays music on their phone, or turns on music loudly in the other room, I really lose my focus.  Luckily, because the room is sound treated well, it does get silent when I shut the door and curtains.  This typically cuts out any outside music. 

What are your guilty pleasures?

This question is funny, but I guess my guilty pleasure is watching T.V. shows in between production sessions when I need ‘ear breaks’.  After I work for a few hours, I really enjoy going in the other room and watching something funny like Rick and Morty or Futurama.  I honestly love cartoons, and get really relaxed after watching an episode (or two 😉 ). 

What is your favourite Norwegian word? 😉

Hmmmm….I honestly have to look this one up. But I think it would be ‘Laks’, or smoked salmon. It’s delicious lol. 

You can check out Speaker Honey’s new EP here:

And we just got a fresh mix from her for our SNOE Affairs series, enjoy this ride of grooves and wicked synths: