Walter The Producer took to the BMI stage on the opening day of Lollapalooza, and The Daily Illini sat down with him — the next day — on Friday to discuss his creative process and his latest album release.
Walter The Producer’s real name is Reid, but he created his stage name to prevent himself from being bullied at school. At 20 years old, he writes and produces his own music. Seven years after he first started making music, he has numerous singles released and two albums.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Daily Illini: Can you share a little bit about your journey into music production and what inspired you to start?
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Walter The Producer: I started making beats when I was 13, and my friend helped me download Logic and it was off from there. In high school, I started uploading beats to BeatStars.
The DI: Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations and how have they shaped your sound?
Walter The Producer: I mean, there’s so much … Steve Lacey, Tame Impala, Childish Gambino, Tyler the Creator … they’re all these huge inspirations for me. I grew up on that whole generation of music.
The DI: Can you tell me about your creative process, the process of creating a new track and walk me through your typical workflow?
Walter The Producer: I usually just make beats first … I like to start out making the music first, and then I’ll kind of just sit with it and write to that … Whatever comes easily, I just go with that and follow the thread. But usually, it’s the beat first and then the lyrics.
The DI: How long does it take for you to complete a song?
Walter The Producer: It completely depends. Sometimes it takes a day, sometimes it takes months. Sometimes, I can’t figure out how I would say something … Sometimes it’s just really easy.
The DI: How do you get the idea for a new song?
Walter The Producer: I don’t know, I don’t really think about it, to be honest. I just kind of just do whatever comes naturally.
The DI: You just released a new album in June. Can you tell me a little about the creative process behind that and what kind of themes or ideas you explored in that?
Walter The Producer: All of those songs were made over a six month period. The album’s name is “PLEASE HELP ME I’M SCARED,” and the reason why is because it felt like a lot of big things were happening in my life and I just didn’t feel happy … I felt like if all these good things are happening, why am I not happy? It was scary.
The DI: How do you think your kind of approach to producing and creating music has evolved since your earlier work?
Walter The Producer: When I first started out I just was trying to produce rap and R&B … I’ve been exploring more pop and indie music as a producer instead of just rap and R&B.
The DI: How do you feel like your recent rise to success and playing at Lollapalooza has impacted your music and your artistic skills?
Walter The Producer: I still have a long way, but it just feels more real. This is all I’m gonna do. It’s more of a reality. It’s really just all or nothing.
The DI: Do you have any favorite tracks or anything that stands out to you for any particular reason?
Walter The Producer: I like “WALLBOY,” it’s pretty sad. I like “WHAT MY BRAIN SOUNDS LIKE,” and “I’M SCARED.” Those are kind of underrated, but I like all of them though.
The DI: Do you have any upcoming projects or any collaborations you’re excited about?
Walter The Producer: I have a new single that’s gonna come out soon that I’m really excited about. It’s called “bad bad man.” There’s a lot of music I’ve been making, so I’m really excited to share it.
The DI: Is there anything else that you’d like to share that I didn’t touch on already?
Walter The Producer: Besides my tall, mysterious, handsome aura?
