Sleepydemxns Interview
Despite our name, Music Mondays has touched every side of independent art you can think of. This week we sat down with an Editor known as Sleepydemxns and its one one of the most unique MM interviews to date. We hope you enjoy this conversation we had with Sleepydemxns as we discussed everything including inspirations, editing process and much more in this exclusive interview.
5/12/23
Zomb: First things first, where are you from and how old are you?
Sleepy: Well I live in North Carolina but was born and raised in Atlanta and my current age is 25 now
Zomb: Tell us a little bit about your childhood, what was it like moving between ATL and North Carolina? What were your early years like?
Sleepy: It wasn't bad for real, my childhood was pretty normal. I had been living in North Carolina since I was 3 but my family all lives in Atlanta. My mom was married to my dad at the time who was from North Carolina, so when I was 3 I moved with them. Early years I spent a lot of time with my mom mostly and step dad for a long time. I didn't really have many friends because I moved around a lot from city to city.
Zomb: Yeah sometimes those early years can be interesting if you’re moving around a lot for sure. Who were some of your favorite artists growing up? Who were some of your favorites to listen to in your early years? Furthermore, what were some of your favorite cartoons and anime growing up? Tell us about some of your early memories with media.
Sleepy: So when i was young my dad really loved music he used to DJ at house parties from time to time loved doing it so he helped me find a love for music putting me on to people like Biggie, Tupac and Wu Tang Clan so that's who i listened to a lot. Some of my favorite artists growing up tho who i listened to was Soulja Boy, Lil B The Based God and Outkast. My favorite cartoons I grew up on were Johnny Bravo,Courage The Cowardly Dog and Danny Phantom. My first anime was really Dragonball Z at an early age along with Inuyasha and Gundam. I have been around anime for as long as I can remember and used to love watching shows like Naruto, Dragonball Z, Inuyasha and Akira.
Zomb: Such a wide variety in taste, that’s something I kind of predicted based on your taste as a creator now. So many good names there especially with the anime’s mentioned. So we’ve nailed down some of your early influences, when did you first get exposed to editing and creating montages/amv’s? When did that first start taking place?
Sleepy: So I remember watching an anime one day while listening to music on my phone and thought it would be cool to see what would happen if I changed how it looked. I thought it would be cool but never acted on it till 2019 when I was talking to one of my friends about creating a business trying to make some extra money, he wasn't really on board with it but I decided to give it a try. I started teaching myself how to edit off my iphone even though I had little to work with. So one day I posted and people were saying it was pretty good for my first time so I kept going from there with it alot of people always told me I had a taste for music when it comes to scenes I wanna work with.
Zomb: It’s crazy what a small idea can spark, that’s a very interesting start. So eventually after you started posting, when did you start taking things seriously for yourself editing wise after 2019? What drove you to stay consistent at that point?
Sleepy: Well i had a lot of fun creating and then i found out one of my friends made music on playstation that's how i met him and he was telling i could do something big with his music at the time so he put on a lot of lofi artists and started working with them. I had a lot of fun.
Zomb: That’s actually so interesting, it’s super rare that I see creatives meet over something like gaming and actually bond. When were you first exposed to the underground creative scene and how did you find your lane within the scene with your edits? Who are some of your favorite underground artists?
Sleepy: I think my first exposure was when my friend who was friends with lofi artists sad boy prolific who was coming up a lot. And he wanted me to edit for him. A small song he did.
Zomb: Love early starts like that, following those years eventually you started developing more and more of a style. Who are some of your favorites artists you’ve worked with and what are some of your favorite edits you’ve created so far?
Sleepy: So some of my favs right now is jx zero and oliver francis is the biggest one. My favorite edits would probably be my genshin ones. It was my first time making video game edits and loved making them.
Zomb: Such a stacked library from you, tell us a little bit about your process in 2023. What is your editing process like and how long does it typically take you to pump out an edit you’re satisfied with?
Sleepy: It takes me a very long time with them, edits take almost 2 or 3 weeks. Some edits I really do think about a lot for real.
Zomb: Editing can definitely be a very tedious process. What are some of your plans for the summer and 2023? Any drops you’re looking forward to or goals you wanna hit this year?
Sleepy: My plan this year is to keep editing and growing as a creator. I really feel like a lot of people do it for the money. Yeah the money is nice and all but i feel like i'm different based on how i put a lot of emotion into my edits. I do plan on dropping a huge project full of amvs in the summer and hopefully connect and get to work with a lot more underground artist. I've always dreamed of going on tours with artists I've worked with as their video editor. It means alot to me becoming a creator and doing something I love and turning into a business that I hope I can fully do full time one day.
Zomb: Sheesh absolutely well said, it’s so refreshing to hear an editor have this outlook. I think there’s a whole section of the underground community you can tap into and do amazing work with. One of my last questions for you is outside of editing, what are some things that keep you sane when you aren’t creating?
Sleepy: For me it’s music. I listen to it constantly, it keeps me sane and when I'm not doing that I watch anime to help me think of ideas I want to make next.
Zomb: Definitely a wonderful answer, sometimes it’s all about the simplicity you know? My last question for you is who or what are some of your current inspirations in 2023?
Sleepy: Yea it is fr i always been the kind of person to never know what to with a lot of attention my account grew really fast when i started hitting 1k followers in 2020 so it was a lot of pressure for me and some my inspirations are probably my friend carmen and my other editing friends.
Zomb: Yeah those early years can definitely be filled with a lot of weight on your shoulders for sure, before we log off do you have any shout outs or words of motivation?
Sleepy: I always tell people you can do or be anything you want in life. I failed a lot when it came to what i wanted to do as far as editing but when I tried it i loved it ever since. So I always tell people to go for something they wanna do in life even if they feel like it's not gonna work, never know until you try.
Zomb: Absolutely well said, huge shoutout to Sleepydemxns for taking the time to sit down with us and we’ll absolutely keep our eyes peeled for new content from you!
Follow Sleepydemxns: linktr.ee/sleepydemxns_
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sleepydemxns_/
Twitter: twitter.com/sleepydemxns
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@sleepydemxns7062/featured
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@sleepydemxns
Written By Zomb Slays: linktr.ee/ZombSlays