(Photo: Ralph Arvesen)

Justin Boreta is a founding member of The Glitch Mob. Their music has been featured in movies like Sin City II, Edge of Tomorrow, Captain America, and Spiderman.

In this post, we discuss The Glitch Mob’s path from unknown band to playing sold-out 90,000-person (!) arenas.  We delve into war stories, and go deep into creative process, including never-before-heard “drafts” of blockbuster tracks!  Even if you have zero interest in music, Justin discusses habits and strategies that can be applied to nearly anything.  Meditation?  Morning routines?  We cover it all.

The Glitch Mob’s last album, Love Death Immortality, debuted on the Billboard charts at #1 Electronic Album, #1 Indie Label, and #4 Overall Digital Album. This is particularly impressive because The Glitch Mob is an artist-owned group.  It’s a true self-made start-up.

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This episode is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What music do you listen to when you work? When you really need to get in the zone? Please share in the comments.

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Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

Learn more about the Grant Korgan story
This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin
Learn more about Ableton music production software
The Glitch Mob uses DropBox to sync up multiple machines
Get Universal Audio Plug-ins to emulate outboard gear
Check out the trailer for Sin City II featuring The Glitch Mob
ZYNCMusic helps artists get paid for their music
Check out this post about Kyle Maynard
Listen to In the Dust of This Planet by Radiolab
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
Learn more about the UC Santa Cruz Electronic Music Program
Selected Ambient Works by Aphex Twin
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Chemex & Aeropress coffee makers
Follow the The Glitch Mob and Justin Boreta:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Learn More about The Glitch Mob

Live

Pick up your own Glitch Baby
Playing to 90k people in Quebec with deadmau5
Playing on the streets of SF
On Attack of the Show
On Carson Daly
At Red Rocks produced by GoPro

Official

Can’t Kill Us
Becoming Harmonious (Description via Vice)

Movies

Sin City II
Edge of Tomorrow
Captain America
Spiderman

Commercial Work

Victoria’s Secret
GoPro
Gi Joe 2
Fiat
Audi 1 & Audi 2
Lamborghini
SOMA

Show Notes (Time Stamps Approximate)

World-class attributes of Justin Boreta
The Grant Korgan story
Unique attributes of The Glitch Mob and the feeling of being on stage in front of 90,000+ people
Defining “indie” and “artist owned”
The makeup and evolution of The Glitch Mob team
Tools and software of The Glitch Mob
What exactly is “mastering”?
Deconstructing audio engineering software and Ableton
How to have your music featured in massive motion pictures
The story of the Sin City II trailer
Justin plays Animus Vox [approx 36:30]
The fourth member, Kevin, and his role in the success of the business
Developing the creative process as success comes into play
Soliciting feedback, Justin Boreta-style
Describing a day in the studio for The Glitch Mob
Commonalities of the most successful songs
The importance of traditional instrument skills when performing/producing music
Justin plays the never before heard 6th version of Our Demons, followed by the finished product [57:30]
A rapid learning program for music production
The draft version of Fortune Days, followed by the finished product [1:03:15]
How many separate tracks are running in a Glitch Mob song?
What percentage of samples are custom vs. off-the-shelf?
Current revenue streams for The Glitch Mob
Favorite pastry, pre-show meditation, defining success, and advice for his 20-year old self
What EDM show should the uninitiated go to first, morning rituals, meditation and morning workouts
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? [1:40:20]
Justin plays us out with Can’t Kill Us [1:48:45]

People Mentioned

Boards of Canada
Kyle Maynard
Rick Ruben
Amon Tobin and Foley Room
Peter Diamandis
Daft Punk