Meet Taylor Raburn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Raburn.

Hi Taylor, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Ever since I was a kid, my dad would put on electronic-influenced music like Madonna and Depeche Mode. I didn’t realize it then, but it had a huge impact on me later in my teens and early twenties. One of my best friends, Nico, introduced me to artists he had been listening to, Deadmau5 and Kaskade, who were playing at this big festival in LA called Electric Daisy Carnival back in 2010. He invited me to go with him and experience something new. Ever since that day, I was hooked with the dance music community and interested in producing the music myself.

After working countless hours on my craft, within the first two years of producing, I was able to land a few smaller label releases as well as radio support from one of my favorite artists at the time, Above & Beyond, and many others. I got tons of support and success under my first alias producing a “signature” melodic progressive sound (as many people would say) but over the course of seven or so years I got a bit burned out of the genre. I cultivated a lot of great relationships during those years but it was time for a change. I then decided to develop my new love for house music into another alias and experiment with my “sound” again. I started the most recent project, LaughTrax, in 2019 and I’m currently still working towards that sound. I’ve gotten a few label releases and won an original song contest but I’m still working toward something bigger. Unfortunately, the onset of Covid stunted a bit of momentum but I’m slowly but surely building it back up again.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Around 2017, due to excessive loud production sessions in headphones (at least so I think), my left ear started to become very sensitive to low frequencies and just loud sounds in general. It feels like my ear is fatigued and has a slight fuzziness and pulsating sensation the more I listen to music without earplugs. It still persists to this day with even more sensitivity which is why I have to wear custom earplugs whenever I am producing. It’s a very unfortunate scenario but I still try to make it work. Maybe someday I can figure out a way to heal it or at least decrease the sensitivity.

I’d say between 2013 and 2017 was the peak of my success and consistency as a producer with my first alias. Ever since I switched gears to a new alias, it has been a challenge adapting to a totally new genre and community. It sometimes feels like learning a new language because there are so many subtleties and differences between genres. Another struggle I’ve been experiencing is the marketing/social media aspect. It’s just tough to always think of new and interesting content to provide in the world of TikTok and short attention spans. I hardly ever go on social media myself so that’s part of why it’s difficult to stay relevant and interested.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have a degree in Marketing actually but I haven’t used it much in my professional life. I’ve been questioning even getting a job in the industry because there aren’t many jobs that have interested me. It’s definitely been a tough crossroads lately while working on music. I had a fun job being a wine tender at Malibu Wines before it burned down during the fires in 2018, but ever since then, I’ve been hustling with gig work like Uber, UberEats, and DoorDash. It has been pretty solid as a job for me currently while I figure out my music life. I’d really want to work towards being a mixing engineer. I’ve always been dedicated to the craft and I just generally gravitate toward it. I know it’s a competitive field but I’ve put thousands and thousands of hours into it already creating my own music so I know it’s possible.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I feel like I got pretty lucky in life overall just from the life I get to live and the support I’ve had since I came into the world. I’m not living a lavish life by any means but I’m still living and in decent condition, so I’d say that’s pretty lucky. On the flip side, I feel like I never knew what I wanted to do with my professional life. I always saw others going after something specific and they had all these goals and a roadmap. I just never could understand how they knew so confidently on what to do or where to go. Sometimes I wonder if that’s where the bad luck came into play because I’m still figuring that one out.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laughtraxmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laughtraxmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxnfjKsdqRx1Mb78XuMnKGQ
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/laughtraxmusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6AzQDaRPLYaarn0qIqo2e7?si=o6QSG9A_TSWOzayB40s9Zw&dl_branch=1

Image Credits
Bailey Goldstein (club photo)