Christopher Salinas

What do you teach at Loudlands?

Piano

When did you start playing piano?

When I was very young (around 4 or 5)

What's your favorite aspect of music or your instrument?

The fact that the piano can occupy every area of the musical spectrum: melody, harmony, bass, and rhythm.

Who are some of your favorite bands/musicians and why?

Aside from my favorite classical composers (Chopin, Rachmaninov), I like electronic artists deadmau5, Porter Robinson, and nuphory, and bands Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and Nine inch Nails.

What are some of your current and/or past music projects?

Various releases as Kassio Project: Eternal Rhythm (Audio/visual EP), Dryftcurrent (featured on Hypertrance 2 compilation), and I'm currently working on a collab with vocalist TASCHA.

How would you describe your music and playing style?

My piano playing is very classical in nature, but it is influenced by all of the other music I'm involved in. I'm a dance music producer, and I factor in various electronic influences and film/game/anime OST styles in my writing.

Can you please describe your gear of choice?

Computer. DAW (Logic / Ableton), ATH-M50x headphones, yamaha P505 digital piano.

Any general advice you'd like to give to beginner musicians or someone looking to get started?

Follow your intuition. Never let anyone tell you that something you GENUINELY feel about your art is wrong. Don't feel pressured to sound exactly like your idols, work instead on perfecting what sounds like you.

Aside from playing/making music, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

Computer graphics, visual art / graphic design, sometimes video games.

If you were battling a physically identical but evil android version of yourself on top of a skyscraper during a thunderstorm and someone miraculously intervened, how would they know which one was the real you?

By the way I move and the way I talk. Unless they got good training data on me and their AI model was spot on.