Name: Cush, aka Chris Hammond

Hometown: Blackpool, UK

When did you start producing music? I started producing in March 2010, I had been using Ableton for DJing for about 4 months before I decided to learn how to make my own music.

How did you first get into it? I first started taking a serious interest in production in late 2009, I was contemplating the switch from CDj's to Ableton for DJ purposes initially, but music production is something I've always had some interest in. And, after watching clips on Youtube about Ableton, it lead me onto other capabilities of what it can do. I sold my CDj's in December and went down the Ableton road shortly after.

Who are your influences? My main influences are Chris Liebing, Speedy J, Tommy Four Seven and Adam Beyer. In my opinion these are the pioneers of Techno, the way they perform and continue to produce so many great tracks time after time is something to admire.

What level would you say you were at when you subscribed to Sonic Academy? A total novice. I've sat and watched people make music in different DAWs to the one I use, Cubase and Reason for example, but never anything in Ableton.

What achievements/successes have you had since then? After just 3 weeks of learning music production, I had my debut track 'Thirzt' signed by Ritual Recordings. I followed that up with 2 releases in quick succession on Ritual with Distortion and Fish. Fish was played by Audio Injection on the CLR Podcast in July 2010 and the following day I had 2 of my tracks 'Posidinious' and 'Fuch!' signed by Bigger Than Jesus' label 'We are Genius'. My latest remix 'Paladin' was also featured by Morgan Thomas on the Reloading podcast.

In only a short time learning, I've had support from Audio Injection, Morgan Tomas, Gary Beck, Rene Walther, Bigger Than Jesus, Ed Mackie, Dr Hoffmann, Mike Wall to name a few.

How has Sonic Academy helped you and what have you found most beneficial from the site? For me, I'd say the attention to detail with the video tutorials. The way the tutors explain vocally and visually before and after. Not just for the genre I play and create, but many of the techniques I use have come from tutorials in other genres. Also learning about music theory has helped me get to where I am at the moment. The depth of the tutorials and feedback on the forums is also a good knowledge base. I continue to learn everyday and have recommended Sonic Academy to many other Artists...

What's next for you? I have recently finished a remix for Ross Alexander, the track is Paladin. It's a remix I'm really pleased with. It's true to my style but also keeps the identity of the original. I'm also working on a 2nd remix for Ross, both remixes to be released very soon. On the DJ side, I'm on the Blindspot show, Clubbersguide New York and Unity Radio in the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Where can we hear your music? Soundcloud or Myspace