Daily Inspiration: Meet Terra Marotz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Terra Marotz.

Hi Terra, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I began making original Electronic-Pop music at age 14 in my hometown in rural Northwestern Montana near Glacier National Park. Raised amidst some serious pastoral beauty, I grew up spending a lot of time outdoors from snowboarding to backpacking, rafting, fishing, and swimming in lakes.

I was obsessed with music early on thanks to my parents’ record collection. I was completely captivated by music like Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Janet Jackson, and Sade, and I knew I wanted to create music forever.

Becoming a music producer took root when I struggled to find kindred spirits in rural Montana to start a band with, so I started composing full songs using a Roland keyboard. In High School, I met Luka, an influential friend who introduced me to artists like Bjork, Zero 7, and Goldfrapp of whom I had no idea even existed.

I was heavily involved in vocal lessons, choir, and theater, which ended up leading to a college scholarship for choir and classical vocals. As I was encouraged to attain a degree in something other than music, I put music on the back burner for a while while I pursued my degree in Environmental Science, occasionally playing some of my original music out here and there.

In 2009, I moved back to Montana after I graduated college while I worked as a Biological Technician in Glacier Park studying fish and amphibians. Later that year, I re-kindled my relationship with Electronic music production and started using Digital Audio Workstations like Logic Pro and Ableton Live to create music. My friend Luka and I started making music together and playing shows around our hometown for fun and wrote about 20 songs together.

After traveling the world, moving around the country between 2011-2015, and creating music I was too scared to release, my journey surged forward to central California and the Bay Area. There, I took an internship at a local studio, released my “debut” full-length album “MeltyPop”, and played a ton of shows.

In 2019, I decided it was time to *really* take this seriously and made the move to Los Angeles. Within three months, I landed a front desk job at Atlantic Records, which was one of the most exciting feelings I’ve ever had; eight months later, I was laid off due to the pandemic.

I went back to Montana to be with my family while we waited out the pandemic. Love brought me back to LA, and I ended up taking a remote job with a company called Finish More Music that completely changed my life and my mindset. A year later, Atlantic Records welcomed me back, where I got to reunite with some of my favorite people in LA and connect with a variety of industry professionals, from producers to sound engineers to A&Rs.

Today, I am a skilled producer with more than 10,000 hours of production experience in multiple genres under my belt, several remixes and collaborations, airplay on my favorite LA radio station KCRW, and connections I never thought possible. I DJ and produce pretty much every day, and there is much, much more music on the way. My mindset has changed drastically, and I have never been more dedicated to my craft and hopeful that I can do whatever I set out to do, no matter how long it takes. My journey is far from complete, and there is a lot of hard work ahead!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It doesn’t feel like it’s been a smooth road as I’m sure any creative can attest, but I feel very lucky to be where I am. As far as I know, I am the only member of my family who has ever been insane enough to pursue a music career. I don’t have family members who are involved in the entertainment business, and I didn’t come from money, so paving the way to be an artist and producer on top of working full-time has been a huge learning experience and pretty exhausting sometimes.

I have definitely struggled with mental health and social anxiety, which has prevented me from working more with others, even though I know that getting outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens! I have had plenty of thoughts of giving up, imposter syndrome, and just about any psychological quandary related to creativity imaginable. I sort of imagine my creative conscience like a sea of Negative Nancies with one small voice in the very back who rises above the rest and continues to cheer me on. I’ve even planned not to have children just so I can continue pursuing my passion in Electronic music and to be able to afford to stay in LA – I know this is a struggle a lot of people face in this city.

It’s also worth noting that being a female producer in a male-dominated industry can sometimes be a challenge. Generally speaking, I’ve felt respected and welcome by most men in the industry, and it hasn’t been a huge issue, but there have been plenty of times where I’ve been asked, “Who made your beats?” because I think it’s easy for people to assume that a man made my beats. Nevertheless…I persist.

I’ve recently adopted more of a growth and service mindset, which has shifted my interest more to the process of building consistent habits, growth, and learning how I can serve others rather than a specific destination or limited view of “success.” With steady work in pursuit of the goals I’ve set for myself, I have never felt more confident that I already have and will continue to achieve success how it looks for me, and I hope to help others do the same.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My stage name is TERABYTE. I’m a producer, singer, songwriter, artist and DJ. I specialize in Underground Electronic music. I’m known for my unique, eclectic, high-energy music and experimental and colorful aesthetic. I feel proud of my taste and my creative power, as well as my capabilities as a producer and writer (Though I’m always learning and still have so much to learn!) Being an experienced producer, singer, writer, and strong performer with a keen eye for imagery and design drives me to be amongst the ranks of some of my favorite artists.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The pandemic helped me shift my focus in countless ways. It really made me see how much I value my roots in Montana, my family, and how important natural settings are to me. I’ve always been a nature-lover, and after living in the city for a while and then coming home to Montana for the summer, I realized that I needed to build a life where I would be able to come back every summer to be with my family and serve my community there too.

Creatively, I realized that I wanted to become more involved in the Dance music sphere. Up until then, I had been creating more Indie Pop music with my own vocals (some of which I’m still releasing!). During the pandemic, I had a bit of a mindset shift in how I wanted to be involved in the music industry. I clearly saw myself as a DJ helping to curate a safe space where people could be themselves and have a good time. Community is everything, and I’m so inspired by so many other artists and DJs around LA who have made a name for themselves being part of these spaces. I know it is something I will be doing for the rest of my life.

I also found that I wanted to help produce music for and with other people, to feature other artists on original tracks, and to teach others how to produce music of their own in Ableton Live. I have played but a handful of shows since the pandemic as this has been a big creative shift for me that I’m still in the middle of learning and processing. I feel excited for what’s to come!

Pricing:

• Song Production – $500
• Ableton Lessons -$50/hour
• Event DJ -$100/hour
• Writing/Vocals – $300

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.terabytemusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeterabyte/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theeterabyte/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terra-marotz-b44211205/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theeterabyte
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theeterabyte
• Other: https://soundbetter.com/profiles/146583-terabyte

Image Credits
Personal Photo: Dino Carrillo Additional Photos: Tim Janssens Colin Mack Nair Dino Carrillo Maximillian Xavier Dino Carrillo