All Bright Interview
All Bright is a DJ/producer from Cleveland, Ohio who’s now in the Columbus DJ scene. He was introduced to DJ'ing through his cousin and explored the possibilities during Covid. He began DJ’ing fraternity parties and realized that he wanted to take it a step further and pursue it as a serious career. He began doing gigs at local nightclubs, and through networking, he’s come to the place he is now. He recently released a new track on SoundCloud titled “Enough.” He is very excited to explore new sides of the production industry. In his younger years, he loved taking charge of the aux chord and showing his friends music he was listening to. All Bright was also a performer once, taking part in his high school show choir.
We got to sit down with him recently for a quick Q&A about his musical career.
Question: What’s it like being a DJ/artist in Columbus?
All Bright: “Columbus is cool and everchanging. When I first started there was more of an EDM culture, but right now it’s kind of weird, mostly 2000s throwback music. When I started, it was venues like Dahlia’s Nightclub which were keeping up with the EDM culture- there were big shows all the time. Now the focus is mostly on bar music rather than clubbing music. It’s rare nowadays that people show up specifically for the DJ unless they’re friends with the DJ, it’s mostly going to a bar and coincidentally liking the DJ. This is why I’m super passionate about DJ’ing because I know there’s room and potential for EDM culture to return, whether it means throwing cool events or as an artist, being the guy who came out of Columbus.”
Question: Do you have any advice for aspiring artists/musicians trying to make a name in Columbus?
All Bright: “Get to know people as friends! I see so many people who only talk to other people that are in positions of power. Basically, their main motive is just to get something out of the other, that’s the whole basis of conversation. I got to where I am because I made friends. DJ communities are extremely accepting and welcoming- the best way to thrive is to be part of these communities because everyone just wants everyone to do well and be happy. Don’t feel like you have to do exactly what everyone else is doing. When I started, it was all house and dubstep stuff, but I wanted to experiment with an older style of EDM, so I just tried it. And I think people were able to see that I was passionate, even if I sucked and was just getting started, people still saw that this was what I was into. I quote La La Land all the time- Mia says, “people love what other people are passionate about.” If you’re doing something you want to do, show people that you’re excited about it, and that’s how you’re going to get people interested.”
Question: What’s your most favorite venue/ event you’ve DJ’d at?
All Bright: “Last year, I opened for Cash Cash at The Forum… it was really cool. This was like 2 months after I’d stopped DJ’ing at frat houses, and I was offered to do their opening spot. It was the first time I got to play stuff that I wanted to. I was finally able to stretch the listening experience- people may not have known every song but they were there for the music. The Forum is also a beautiful venue, it has 2 stories, gorgeous visuals, and they had ivy along the stage. I would call it a decently hidden gem in our area… it’s probably my favorite thing I’ve done, and I was playing whatever I wanted to.
Question: When do you know when to stop editing/creating a song?
All Bright: “Never. I must force myself to finish projects. I’d listen to them and then go in and change 1 thing every day and then I’d play the 4 bars before and change that too. It’s never done… I could tweak something forever. The biggest part of this is knowing when to just be done because you can’t just sit on something for 2 years. But you’re always growing so it’s hard to not constantly change things so it’s definitely a challenge. There’s never a point where it’s going to be at its best potential. You have to let the world decide when it’s good. Get it to be as good as possible, and be proud of it, and send it out to the world with pride.”
Question: What do you want the public to know about your future and new releases?
All Bright: “Growth! I’m aiming for things that people have never imagined, and I want to change the game by being different. I want people to be able to help people express their emotions through music and the feelings behind the music I make. Ultimately, my career is successful if I make people feel like superheroes because they’re able to feel music and use it to help them understand themselves.”
Listen to “Enough (All Bright Remix)” here.