Houston Musician ANTHERIUS Exclusive Interview on Music, Tech, and "Distant Christmas"

Mistah Wilson: Greetings, Antherius. Glad to have you here with us for this exclusive interview with ThaWilsonBlock Magazine. How ya' been?

Antherius: Doing very well, thank you, happy to be with you today.

Mistah Wilson: For our audience reading this, could you give us a background on yourself? 

Antherius: Native Houstonian, keyboard player all my life, musician wannabe before I actually went pro in 2004. To pay the bills, I have a professional career in process automation (hardware & software engineering, then business development past 15 years). Been involved with hi-tech most of my life, and technology is a cornerstone of my musical ambitions.

Mistah Wilson: How did you get involved in music? 

Antherius: I have a musical mind, but was never a stellar live performer. I was a weekend DJ at local FM stations while in college, so that got my hands “dirty” with mixing boards and various analog effects. When MIDI came around, along with lower-cost hardware and software technologies around 2000 – only then did I have all of the “complimentary” parts to enable me to start composing, arranging, producing, etc. My goal was to execute ALL parts of a musical work, from composition,

then arranging, mixing, and mastering – and today’s technology allows for this.

Mistah Wilson: Where do you find inspiration from when creating anew? 

Antherius: It’s more reaching a relaxed and clear state of mind (any peaceful location) for compositions to find their way into my mind. A few dirty martinis help (LOL). The original tunes usually find me (and wake me up) in the middle of the night.

Mistah Wilson: Who are some musical figures that have influenced the music you make? 

Antherius: I believe musicians are influenced by everybody; it’s a very symbiotic industry. For me, think instrumental rock with big accompaniment, so the Moody Blues, ELO, Chris Spheeris, Enya, 2002… – really, too many more to name…

Mistah Wilson: Are there any musicians you'd like to collaborate with? Who and why? 

Antherius: Either the artists and/or producers of Tangerine Dream, Moby, other composer/producers would be interesting, as I believe there are many out there could really “up my game.” Since I also engineer and produce my tracks, a little time working with other folks “behind the curtain” on the mixing/mastering side would certainly improve my skills.

Mistah Wilson: Tell us about your current and upcoming projects. What is your plan with "Distant Christmas"? 

Antherius: I was encouraged by my team years ago to “cover” music by others, to compliment my original compositions, and the Christmas tracks fell out of that plan. Music is a numbers business, so

the more I create, the better chances I get for market penetration – that is attain airplay and listeners in general. Next up for me is continuing a string of covers of 1960’s pop instrumentals, to be released as singles when they are completed.

Mistah Wilson: What do you plan on accomplishing through your music? 

Antherius: Music is an opportunity to be of significant emotional impact to listeners, to accentuate their day and to impact their general feelings (as popular music did for me on the listening end all of my life). So, now that I’m on the performing side, my simple goal is one of the same – that is to trigger positive emotions via my music to my listeners in some small way.

Mistah Wilson: Where can people follow your artistry online? 

Antherius: Best place is my facebook page “antheriusmusic” otherwise my website antherius.com.

Mistah Wilson: Hey, Antherius! It's been awesome! Thanks so much for coming through for this exclusive interview with ThaWilsonBlock Magazine. If there is anyone you'd like to shout out, now's a good time ... 

Antherius: Thank you, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to chat with you. I’ll shout out an “Early Merry Christmas” wish for everyone! Peace, @.