Getting to Know… Restless Modern | Interview

After reviewing several of his singles, The Musical Hype requests the services of rising electronic artist and producer Restless Modern for Interview #8.

Formerly allergic to cold water…  Graduated with a degree in economics from Harvard University….  Controls the entire musical process – production, writing, singing, mixing, and mastering all by himself.  These are just a few of the totally awesome things about Jack Kieffer, better known by his alias, Restless Modern.  After reviewing several of RM’s singles (“Navigator” with MOONZz, “Haunted”, and “Free” with Party Ghost), and trying to ‘step up’ the interview section of site, why not ask this talented man a question or two…or nine? Without further ado, Interview #8 with Restless Modern!

Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype (BF): First and foremost, thank you for agreeing to answer some questions for us – you’re another valuable addition to our growing interviews section of the site. Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes you distinct or unique as a musician? How do you rock the audience’s socks off? 

Restless Modern (RM): No problem!  I think one of the biggest differentiators for RM is the fact that I control the entire process: I produce, write, sing, mix, and master my releases.  I also create the Restless Modern art and visuals myself (for the most part).  I also self-manage the project and put out my music independently via AWAL.  The fact that I am able to shape everything from the instrumental to the vocal performance ensures that the final product is as close as possible to what my original vision was for the song.  It also ends up representing a completely authentic and wholly personal work.

BF: Awesome! We love captivating and juicy backstories at The Musical Hype. How was ‘Restless Modern’ born, and what were some of the goals or the visions you had early on?  

RM: Restless Modern was born after I decided to switch aliases.  I was previously working under another name and trying to make dubstep/glitch-hop type music (with very limited success haha).  It wasn’t until late in 2017 that I started writing and singing on my own tracks – I started out just producing.  Early on, my goal was always just to make music that could stand up to that of my idols.  That’s still my goal now.

BF: Let’s dig in a little more regarding goals and such.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now compared to back then? 

RM: In some ways, yes – once things started getting more serious, I really dedicated myself to a more tangible goal: finding a way to make music full-time.  I’m currently making that happen in NYC, but I am always pushing to keep creating and building a fanbase that will allow me more freedom to put together the projects that I want to create.  I was also more album/EP-oriented in the past.  My primary goal is improvement, and I believe that the best way to do that is through relentless grinding.  That’s why I’m releasing a single every week for the next 100 weeks (roughly).

BF: Let’s move on to influences. Everybody is influenced by somebody else, particularly given how many legendary innovators have paved the way musically. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?  Would you consider your influences to directly influence what you do in some respect, or is it more of a passive, ‘in passing’ influence? 

RM: Some of my biggest influences include EDEN, The 1975, blackbear, and Bon Iver.  EDEN was a huge one for me, because I saw him as a proof of concept that someone could produce, write, and perform their own music successfully after having a background in electronic music. All of my influences started out as very “active” influences, but they are becoming more and more “passive” over time as I find my own sound and continue distinguishing myself from the artists I admire.

BF: Moving into the realm of creating, recording, writing and such, what is the songwriting and production process like for you? Is there a standard routine or a time line typically, or does it tend to vary from song to song? 

RM: Things are constantly changing as I seek to improve and evolve.  Generally, I’ll produce out the instrumental, write on top of that, record it, and then enter the mixing/mastering process.  All in all, it is now taking me about 6 or 7 days to start and finish the songs that I’m releasing. In the past, this would take me a couple months (if not more).

BF: Ah, the fun stuff, and we love fun!  What’s your craziest, most unusual tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance, recording session, life, or etc.?  Feel free to be creative. 

RM: The craziest thing that has ever happened to me in life was being allergic to cold water when I was younger (no longer a thing, but it was up until I was 5 or 6 years old).

BF: Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special? 

RM: My favorite record is probably “I’m Okay”.  That’s the first song I ever put my vocals on, and I made it at a time in my life where I made the decision to pursue music full-time.

BF: Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents, surprising tidbits, or something about Restless Modern the world may not know? 

RM: I graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Economics – but I have never really wanted to do anything other than make music.

BF: Again, thanks for sticking with these totally intense questions! Closing this interview/ ‘getting to know profile’ out, what are you currently working on and/or promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets – the juice – but there’s totally no pressure.  

RM: I’ve got 7 or 8 singles already finished and lined up with release dates.  The plan is to have a song come out every Friday – I’ve also launched RM Complete and RM Reach.  You can learn a little bit about those here and here.

BF: Congratulations Restless Modern – you made it through the gauntlet! Again, thank so much for sharing this awesome info about life and your musical endeavors.  Best of luck moving forward! 

RM: Thanks for having me!  Appreciate it ∆˚ 

RM Complete: http://smarturl.it/rmcomplete • RM Reach: https://smarturl.it/rmreach

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Photo Credits: Restless Modern