Introducing SONICdream; A Music Label For Unconventional Artists, From Slushii

By Anna “Monty” Montoya-Gaxiola

Photos by Donovan Johnson

Earlier this month Dance/Electronic DJ, music producer and songwriter Slushii sat down with The Chic Daily to talk about his career and his new label SONICdream in the hours before his performance at the Goldrush Music Festival.

Slushii’s DJ presence dates back to 2016. Since then, he has continuously proved his relevance to the EDM community through his performances at Goldrush Music Festival, ULTRA Music Festival Miami, Tomorrowland Belgium, EDC Las Vegas, HARD Summer and more. Now amassing over 3.4 million listeners on Spotify, his music has continuously attracted a large audience.

The Chic Daily asked Slushii what led to him beginning his label, SONICdream.

“A lot of labels have structure behind them and I'm a very, kind of just ‘off the wall’ type of person, so SONICdream is very similar to that where it's just like me releasing my music.”

Slushii added that he never truly planned on having a label, “It’s a new experience, I know nothing about being a label head so I'm kinda using myself like a lab rat to study how it goes,” he said.

SONICdream is a home for “unconventional and fun artists.” For example, a collaborative piece like “a six-minute long jazz dubstep song,” shows the versatility that exists in SONICdream. The purpose of the label is to create music and “throw stuff out there,” Slushii said.

The creative freedom that comes with being a label head has given Slushii a whole new outlet on what it means to explore his options in music production.

“It's so cool, but it's crazy how like, that's become a privilege again, you know…maybe I get five or six of my friends and we just make a techno album or something…I don't have to pitch to anybody,” Slushii said. “So we just do whatever we want. And that was always the goal was to just do what I wanted to because, in the past, I've had kind of constraints on what I could and couldn't make. So now I can just spread my wings and just do whatever.”

Although he’s grateful for this new experience and musical direction, he also paid tribute to his partners along the way.

“I still work with all the labels, I still love Monstercat, I still love Mad Decent, and I still work with them,” Slushii said. “You know now there's an extra kind of, I see it almost like not even as like a competition type thing, it's like an extra platform for releases that don't fit a specific mold. I don't even know what it is right now, you get to define it for yourself essentially.”

Slushii went on to explain the love he has developed for the EDM community. He shared an anecdote of one of his fondest memories in the last few years as a DJ.

“I was at Tomorrowland one time, and I was eating lunch. And I'm with my team. I just played the Monster Cat stage that year,” Slushii said. “And I had like, an hour to eat until I played. Sitting there, I feel something like massaging my back. I'm like, oh, I turned around, It's Tiesto and he’s like, hey, buddy,” Slushii said. “Just lately, like random stuff, like that happens just all the time. It's essentially like the DJs we all kind of just like, run around and it's like an airport, kind of. I love that, that's what the scene is, you know, it's like you could bump into Slander one day, and I'm like, ‘Oh, my God’ everybody is kind of, on the way to the next festival, the next thing, it's really crazy how that happens.”

He describes the EDM community like “high school when you'd see your friends.” If you want to experience a taste of a Slushii set, be sure to catch him on his tour later this year in a city near you.

Make sure you stream Slushii’s newest song “I Tried It” on your preferred platform.