Tabletop Q+A: Bomb DeLuise

Bomb DeLuise is Jesse Smiley. He is a producer from Indianapolis who we recently found through the Tabletop community on SoundCloud. He's the type of producer who really makes a case for the power of iPads as well as SoundCloud. As you'll read below, he not only publishes his music through SoundCloud, but actively uses the widespread community to promote himself as well discover new music. Everyone of his tracks has comments from his 9,000+ followers. After the launch of our SoundCloud integration, we started noticing more and more tracks by this one artist and they were all quality. Just last month, he released the Flowers EP through Bandcamp which uses many of his Tabletop-created tracks. Pick it up and support this great artist. We figured it was about time to get in touch and talk to him about his experiences.




How did you first get into making music?
I have played the drums since I was 12 years old. I did the drum line thing, jazz band, percussion ensemble, high school rock bands, church  drumming... More recently, I've gotten into synthesizers, drum machines, and composition.  I taught myself to play the guitar and piano as is evident when listening to my music. I've been working really hard on the Bomb DeLuise project for the past year and I'm learning stuff every day. I still consider myself a beginner at composing songs.

What tools (hardware/software) do you normally use?
I have a little MIDI keyboard that I sync with GarageBand.  I incorporate some iPad/iPhone apps along with this 'super-professional' rigging.

You have over 9,000 followers on SoundCloud. How do you promote yourself?
I follow a lot of amazing artists, comment on a ton of tracks, and create a lot of new tracks.  I try to collab with a lot of different artists too. Hit me up!!

How has the SoundCloud community impacted your music involvement? Do you find it beneficial?
SoundCloud is just a wonderful thing. There are soooooooo many great musicians out there doing their thing all over the world. I'm on S.C. everyday. I've met some really cool people from all over the world, and I've just heard some of the best tunes that I would have never heard if it weren't for S.C. It has motivated me along the way to know that there are people out there interested in new tracks I'm making.

Are you looking for anything more out of the SoundCloud platform? Where would you like to see it go?
I'm always looking for SoundCloud compatible apps... so the more the merrier.

What other artists have inspired you?
I've gone through many phases. When I was a senior in high school and in early college, I really got into fusion and jazz, always loved Miles Davis and the Blue Note era. Then I got into a lot of funky stuff, like George Clinton and Sly and the Family Stone. As I got older, I started to mellow out a little more from that stuff and got into more chill electronic music with a whole slew of artists. Dilla and Madlib, hip hop instrumental stuff. I like some of the stuff that Clams Casino does.

How did you discover Tabletop?
I was on SoundCloud and they had Tabletop in a list of recommended apps, so I checked it and it seemed really intuitive. I'm always interested in new apps for music.



Are you using any other iPad music apps?
I like iMaschine and iKaossilator alot..

What about Tabletop made you make so many tracks with it?
Its really easy to crank out tracks effortlessly.  The interface is quite intuitive for the most part... Also, the process of putting a tunesketch together is rather fun..

How do you feel the app performs against other software?
Well, I use it more than any other music app.  So.........

We are always interested in what producers think are the benefits and drawbacks on the app. What would you to like to see happen with it?
My favorite devices are RS4000 and Gridlok. [Tabletop] would benefit from some MIDI interfacing, some vocal processing, and cheaper add-ons…more diversity in preset sounds. Other than that I really respect what you are doing.

One of the distinct aspects of your songs is a lot of pitched vocals. How did you come up with that? Any special tools?

I don't actually use a microphone other than the iPad one. I'll sample my own voice with Gridlok, so my neighbors probably think there's something crazy going on, making weird noises and messing around with the pitch, using delay, different effects. Just to see what kind of weird noises and subtle things that sound cool and that I can work with.

What's your favorite track, one that really stands out to you?
A lot of the Bomb DeLuise tracks I work on quickly, only a few hours and then I'm off to the next one. I don't plan anything out, it's off the cuff. I really like the song I did called "Flowers."