WARMER MIXTAPES #866 | by Seth Hall (Castaway, HOUNDS)/[The Sha]

I'm a 20 year old Music Producer from New Jersey, currently residing in Florida. I've been involved in Music since I was in the fourth grade, where I played trumpet and trombone in School's band. As I grew older I was very interested in Metal, specifically the Deathcore scene that was in my hometown. I played drums for about three years and started my first band after playing only for two weeks. My first band Castaway was a melodic Metal band. Fast forward about a year and I started a new band called HOUNDS, on the side I would mess around with FL Studio. Up until about a year ago is when I started to really take Music seriously and started thinking I could really make something out of it. That's when The Sha was born. It's my name jumbled without the two L's in my last name. It fit. The Sha is also an Algorithm, which goes hand in hand with the Glitch side of my Music.

1. XXYYXX | About You
I know I sound like a total hipster by saying that's my Top song, but it really opened the door for me as a Musician. It was such a mixture of so many different genres and elements that it really showed me that you can make any type of Music you want to, as long as it meant something to you. Also, being able to create such an extreme sense of Euphoria in a song, even to the sober mind, fascinated me to no end. I know a lot of people only appreciate XXYYXX for this one song, but this song really jumpstarted my wanting to make deep beats and go somewhere with it. I was shocked that a kid who was younger than I am is touring the World and living the dream. What have I been doing with my life?

2. Volumes | Intake
This song was really important to me in my early Adulthood, it's a song about Suicide. I had lost one of my friends and this song guided me for some reason. Volumes makes really beautiful Music, even since it's Metal. I think Volumes was one of the reasons why I wanted to make Music, the melodic aspect of Music can really take you back to any time and make you really think about Life. Poly rhythms were also really intriguing to me, and are used in my songs now. I'd have to listen to this song fifty times just to understand the drum beat.

3. Linkin Park | Nobody's Listening
As a kid I was REALLY into Linkin Park. I knew every lyric and would jam this shit on the bus on my way to School. It had a perfect mix of Hip Hop/Glitch/heavy riffs and I really believe LP was one of the reasons why my Music is the way it is today. It also made me appreciate Music more, not too many people had access to FL Studio or any programs to make Music, so all of the Glitching and Turn Tabling was all legitimate skill, which I really admired.

4. In Dying Arms | Monster
I don't know why, but this song has stuck with me ever since I first heard it on Pandora. IDA was literally the best melodic Deathcore band I had ever heard, and no one knew about them. I always took pride in hearing new Music before anyone else. This song is about being treated like a monster, like you didn't matter to someone. I really related to it growing up.

5. Earl & Wolf | Orange Juice
I remember hearing Earl and Tyler for the first time and was amazed. The I couldn't give two fucks aspect of their Music really showed me to not care what anyone else thinks as long as I liked my own Music. This song brought me back to Hip Hop after a long break. I was really into Biggie/Tupac/Eminem as a kid and after getting into the Metal scene I hadn't listened to it in a while. This song brought it back to me.


6. The xx | Together
I think everyone has their guilty pleasure. The xx was always mine. Tear jerking Indie Music. I've always had a soft spot for it. I remember listening to this song and just getting lost in the sad vibes. I never really appreciated the power in simple Guitar notes and monotone vocals until I heard this song. This song brought me back to a time of being happy with a loved one, a theme that is reoccurring in my Music. My song Her and my remix of MarshSound's Just Friends are two songs from an EP about loving someone that's no longer. I can thank the xx for inspiring me on that.

7. Seven Lions | Days To Come (feat. Fiora)
All I have to say about this song is DAT SYNTH. Such an amazing and Inspirational song. I was on a Dubstep craze at one point.

8. The Notorious B.I.G. | Suicidal Thoughts
Aside from the grim topic of the song, it really opened my eyes on how powerful a simple two minute long song could be. I'm a really big fan of the Old School Hip Hop type beats which are in this song. Plus, who doesn't like Biggie?

9. For The Fallen Dreams | Smoke Signals
Loved this song for the simple lyric ...Life is what you make of it!... I started making a lot more of my Life after this song. It will always be in my Top 10 of Favorite Songs Ever.

10. Sworn In | End
I can thank Music like this for the songs I've made that are angry. I always like to keep to my roots and I can gladly say that my experience with the Metal scene has paid off with it's influence on my Music. I used to deliver pizzas and listen to Angry Music all day. *shrug*