Ben Kolot is on scholarship for piano at the Lamont School of Music and is a Recording Production student striving to become a DJ in the future. Kolot, originally inspired by Lalapalooza, is striving to become a DJ in the Denver area, but to get to that point, he has to look into the little details in music, such as creating sounds that the audience will remember.
Being patient and paying attention to the detail (musically not playing it fast-hitting every single note and giving every sound meaningful detail is a world-class musician) is a side that Kolot works on to be a successful DJ
“People who don’t strive for that will play something fast and not really refine, and for me, I start really slowly. I make sure it’s perfect, I make sure dynamically it sounds well, and if I get carried away, I take five steps back, and three seconds forward” and slow down.
Kolot is a recording and production student at Lamont from Chicago with an emphasis on piano. He primarily produces EDM, Pop and dubstep.
Outside of music, his hobbies include being a car mechanic on the side doing car or motorcycle projects, and he aspires to be a future business owner. When it comes to music, he is striving for greatness.
He started getting into music production in high school when he started going to electronic stages, seeing DJs perform, and became fascinated by it.
“One group from my high school is Louis, The Child, and they are famous now. I was inspired by them. Senior year, I started making rap beats for rappers, and I had a project on that,” Kolot said.
When Kolot is producing EDM, he is making a sound from scratch, learning how specific sounds work. He even makes synthesizers to make a sound, combining the sounds together to make one sound, which can take hours upon hours of work for each project. It can become annoying for him because of his countless hours making these small components, but for his genre, it is important.
Kolot wants to be a DJ, and getting to reach that goal of performing as a popular DJ in the Denver area, he needs to spend time in the studio, dedicated to the craft.
“My goal is to be a DJ and perform at big festivals and shows around this area, and for me to get where I want, I need to spend hundreds and thousands of hours making sounds for the genre I make,” he said.
Role models are crucial for making musicians excellent at their craft. Mentors were a big part of Kolot’s life when growing up, and one was Amelia Desario, who had since passed away but was a teacher at the Chicago School of Music who taught when he was eight. Through him, Kolot learned about the little details within music and the importance of staying patient.
“Paying attention to detail in music and being patient with everything is one of the biggest things I learned from him,” Kolot said.
It’s not just skills you need to be a good musician. Kolot once thought being a good instrumentalist was the only way to succeed, but he realized the emotional commitment that is necessary.
“My opinion has changed recently. I thought you need to be a good instrumentalist, and, as of now, it changed for me and will probably change for a lot of musicians having a passion and idea … Nothing comes out of no passion, in my opinion.”
Most importantly, having a reason and a message behind producing.
Kolot is doing some of his best work with a song called “Hollow,” featuring DU vocalist Anika Erickson, which comes out on June 6.
In “Hollow,” Kolot learned you have to have a passion, a drive and reason. The lyrics reference people doubting you and not knowing your value, according to Kolot.
Music is complicated, especially EDM, and Kolot uses his resources at the Lamont School of Music to help with production.
What matters most is staying consistent and paying attention to the little detail will create the best music for the audience that is what counts.
“I can get far to a specific point, but I need help,” he said.
Erickson’s lyrics in the song “Hollow” is about not believing in yourself and not knowing the entire value of yourself.
The vocalist sings, “I feel half alive, and I might drop dead tomorrow.” Some people don’t know the value of themselves, and this song is about the “Hollow” side of the future.
“You always have to have a reason for what you’re doing. I find myself making a lot of music without any thought process behind it, just the purpose of making it”.
In the future, becoming a DJ and performing at various shows is Kolots goal, and as it is a long journey and takes time, he wants to become a world-class musician. Being a world-class musician will take looking at the little details behind every sound and note to create a wonderful sound for the audience.
