C+Locious, Music Producer

San Diego Hip Hop Producer, C+Locious

C+Locious is inspired. By his records, by the radio, by the sounds he hears every day. These inspirations can be anything—a drum break, a piano riff, the sound of his alarm clock. C+Locious takes these sound bites and crafts them into entire songs, fully orchestrated and ready for vocals to be laid on top.

C+Locious is a hip hop music producer. In his own words . “I create, arrange, format the music, engineer the recording sessions, and mix down the sessions so we have a product to present.” Music producers can also be responsible for managing talent, editing and laying effects on vocals, and rehearsing in the studio with the artist. In the hip hop world specifically, the music producer equals the beatmaker.

Interestingly enough, in hip hop, the producer can become more famous and better paid than the artist for which they work. Well-known and established hip hop producers, including Dre, The Neptunes, and Ryan Leslie have annual salaries into the millions. Top paid producers like Timbaland have been rumored to sell their beats for $500,000 a pop. The draw of fame and money is enough to lure millions of wannabe producers to start busting out their own beats and make a name for themselves in the industry.

More realistically, an independent hip hop producer will sell their beats for as little or as much as people are willing to pay for them. Websites like Beatswagger.com and 20dollarbeats.com are sites where you can buy and sell beats at a relatively low cost, and it can even be done through PayPal. Though at $20 a beat or less, it’s difficult to imagine anyone truly being able to sustain a living solely by these means.

With proper training and a musical background one stands a better chance at making music production an actual career. C+Locious has both. As a child he endured years of piano lessons and has played drums since high school. He also has intensive training in sound engineering and has interned with premier recording studios in San Diego. A trained music producer can fetch an average of $45,000 a year if employed by a studio.

C+Locious in his home studio, "The Beatcave"

Today C+Locious works independently out of his home studio, known to him and his associates as “The Beatcave” where he’s got his Mac with ProTools set-up, sound module racks, keyboard, five-piece drum kit, MPC 4000, turntables, and stacks of records. His biggest musical endeavor to date is the work he’s done with Broken Dreams, a lyric-driven hip hop act for whom he produces and occasionally emcees. Together, they’ve put out two albums and two mixtapes, and have developed a substantial following in Southern California. [Click here for more on Broken Dreams.]

Where most artists are fighting their way into the spotlight, C+Locious is content being in the background. “I like that, though” says C+Locious. “I like guys like Chad Hugo [one half of The Neptunes] who never gets the shine that Pharrell does. But people who know or care to know recognize that he’s as much a part of the duo’s success...” C+Locious also cites Black Thought of The Roots, JDilla, Pete Rock, and Premier as inspirations. “They never reached mainstream notoriety as far as pop culture like Dre, the Neptunes, or Timbaland,” he explains, “but are known as the best ever in the hip hop culture as role models.”

I should add that C+Locious was fifteen minutes late for this interview. When I called him, he was still tied up at the office gathering paperwork for a client. His client, in this case, was not a singer or emcee or musician trying to record at his home studio. In this case, his client was trying to buy a house.

As it turns out, C+Locious has a more conventional alter ego: Carlo Layug, Loan Officer. He has been working in the financial industry since graduating from USC in 2003—and it’s something that actually complements his musical pursuits: “The great thing about the day job I have is that it’s the kind of hustle where you create your own schedule, so I’m not locked down to a 9-5. There will be times where I can work on a music project for a day or two straight and not have to worry about going into the office.”

For as much as he loves what he does in the recording studio, C+Locious is not ready to rely on music alone to be his bread and butter. “Right now [the music] is obviously not paying the bills,” he says, “but it’s something that keeps me motivated and sane. The music is something I do on the side, and I will be content with it staying on the side if nothing comes from it, but I will continue to do it, hopefully with the quality output…I’ll be more recognized, be sought out more as a producer, and God-willing maybe one day I can make it something that pays the bills.”

Be inspired by C+Locious and watch him perform with Broken Dreams at Beauty Bar in San Diego, Saturday, July 31, 9 pm. [Click for more information.]

Broken Dreams, L-R: MoodSwingKing, C+Locious, BrekOne

Find out more about C+Locious and Broken Dreams:
http://www.facebook.com/clocious
http://www.twitter.com/clocious
http://www.myspace.com/clocious
http://www.myspace.com/brokendreamssd
http://www.famroyal.com

If you are looking for a place to record or would like to collaborate with C+Locious on your own projects, please contact him via any of the sites above.

And if you’re looking to buy a house, get in contact with Carlo at clayug@fullrealtyservices.com