Meet Anthony Smets of 818Productions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Smets.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I truly believe that my career started by my parents playing Beethoven, “5th Symphony” on their Sony Walkman at a very young age. As much as I would love to remember this moment, they told me that as soon as they put on those headphones, I went from playing around with my toys into a complete trans, completely stopping what I was doing only to be drooling and staring off into space. They knew then I had a love for music. I gotta say they were right.

Years later, I remember buying my first iPod Touch, in love with the fact I could carry music on the go. Then, GarageBand came around on the App Store. I started messing around with it, producing beats on that tiny screen until I moved onto getting a computer a couple of years later. I soon got into a phase where I loved DJ’ing so I started a small business where I would DJ parties, weddings, etc. It was fun, but I knew I wanted to do something else with my music passion that I had.

Months down the line, my best friend Danny Lesh purchased me a microphone while my parents got me two small studio monitors for my 18th birthday; and I have to say that if it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would have ever got into recording. That being said, I started messing around with recording trying to figure the best EQ’s, plug-ins, and other assets to make my music sound good. The first hundred of times were not as good as my work today, but it was a process. I can tell you that I’ve failed many times in getting my work to sound right, but it was my passion for music that kept driving me to get better. Soon, people started noticing my sounds were shifting as I started figuring out how to space my sounds out, tighten vocals, and create a piece that people can actually listen too. I knew then I was getting ready for my first big project. However, it stopped for a while.

College came around and I moved to Wisconsin to play football for St. Norbert College. I was able to meet amazing people over there and it was some of the best times I have ever had until it came to end with me getting a concussion during practice. “It was time to give football up,” I remember the doctor telling me. I knew then, I couldn’t stay out there and I was torn because I had built great relationships with my friends, yet I had to come back home to LA to get my career going. With my friends over there being extremely supportive, they understood and wished me the best which gave me the drive to get back into what I was doing before.

A couple of months later, I released my first album in stores called LATE NIGHT FILES and people loved it. From there, musicians and artists started contacting me asking if I could engineer their projects, maybe produce a couple of so songs, I was ecstatic. I knew then I was on my way. So that’s exactly what I did, I started collaborating with these amazing talented musicians and artists, perfecting my craft each day by taking in ideas that I was not already aware of. It was great because I kept learning and then came along my first job opportunity in the industry.

Today, I am proud to say I work for an independent label known as P Music Group, which is ran by the man himself, Michael Paran. Michael and his wife Jenna Paran welcomed me in with open arms and allowed me to grow into the creator that I am today. Today, I have with worked with artists and producers such as Charlie Wilson, K-Ci Hailey from the Jodeci brothers, Nas, Hit-Boy, The Stereotypes, and so many others. And as each day goes by, I am always learning something new, which I am blessed for because it keeps me humbled and excited to keep perfecting my craft.

God works in mysterious ways and I know he has a plan for me. So if there is anyone I would like to thank for helping get to where I am today is God, my family, my friends, my supporters, and PMG. Because without them, I wouldn’t be able to be where I am at today and I feel it only goes up from here.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Following this dream was never easy and to be completely honest, what made it difficult to pursue it was having to do everything on my own. Yes my family helped, but only to a certain extent. They wanted me to experience the adversity of being in the real world and there were times where I let this adversity walk all over me. It was frustrating.

Getting to where I am today didn’t happen over night. In fact, what frustrated me the most was doubting myself all the time; always in my head telling myself to quit, I wasn’t good enough, or how I wouldn’t make it. I wanted to hit the ground running being a perfectionist, but in reality that was never possible. Unfortunately, it slowly got to a point where it was impacting my mental health.

There was a point in my life where I hit rock bottom, and I never thought I could reach the top. Thoughts of negativity surrounded my mind, impacting my personality, the way I carried myself, my love for music, my relationship with family and friends, it was a terrible feeling. However, I never lost my faith and I constantly prayed. I knew that this was the path that God wanted me to experience in order to keep me humble and not lose sight of the ones who truly cared about the person I am. My only question was when it would end?

Well, that period of time soon came to an end when the little things started to appear. Friends calling me out of no where asking how I was doing, family coming over just for some company. It was the little things like that and they all me told me one thing. Write about how I was feeling and turn it into a song. So, I did and I gotta say that was probably the best advice I have ever taken. I was so caught up on trying to write about what other people would like, rather than to focus on my own experiences. For this, I believe it was a blessing because I was so caught up by what others thought. Yet, God knew it was time to hit the reset button and focus on my well-being. So to answer this question, it was never easy, but it was worth understanding why it was not.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I specialize in Multi-Media. So not only do I just focus on music but I also explore other assets in the industry such as editing, cinematography, graphic design, marketing, and the overall business in this field itself.

I would say that what sets me apart from others is that I don’t only focus on producing and audio engineering. I focus on all other facets in the industry as well. I know the business, the marketing skills, the other creative aspects such as visuals, social media promotion, DSP promotion, and other things in which I can do myself. Because it’s more than just making music, you have to know the business and other creative aspects to get your music to the next level. Especially in today’s age, it’s extremely competitive.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up in my family was a blessing. My little brother and I were raised in the San Fernando Valley, and our parents did an amazing job making sure we would be the responsible and respectful young men we are today. I was the type of student to make sure my report card would be all A’s. Nothing less. I grew up playing sports such as baseball, football, soccer, track, golf, and so many others. I am glad I did because discipline came from playing them. I was also extremely grateful to have my dad as a coach for all those years, teaching me lessons in life everyday. Even though he was hard on me in sports, especially when he would yell at me, I knew he did it to teach me to give it my all in whatever I did. As he would say, “Focus Anthony.” My mom, on the other hand, always cracked down on making sure I was doing well in school. She has taught me responsibility and accountability. I am extremely blessed for my mom to teach how to be selfless and loving because as she would say, “Treat others as you would want to be treated.”

So combining my mom and dad’s lessons together has me into the person I am today. I am grateful for them and I love them so much for it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ajsmets?igshid=wl994kah5d3l
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajsmets?lang=en

Image Credit:
Anthony Jordan Smets

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