Dreaming in 8-Bit with CeliacBoi

Welcome to the fifth edition of the IMF Artist Profile, a series dedicated to the Indie Music Feedback community. The goal of this series is to take a look at the personal lives of some of IMF’s biggest contributors, giving you a peek into who they are as human beings. We’ll pull back the curtain as far as our guests allow and hopefully we will all walk away with a better understanding of the music these individuals are creating as we learn more about them.

When I made the first announcement in IMF Discord about starting this series, CeliacBoi (or Cactii Dreams) messaged me with an incredibly polite and unassuming DM asking if I would consider doing a piece on him. To be completely honest, I had not yet had the opportunity to meet him or to check out any of his work. I’m open to talking to anyone here so of course, we set a date about a month away and I got back to work on whatever I was doing at the time. Well, I am here to tell you that you should not be sleeping on CeliacBoi like I was…Tuning in to his SoundCloud, I was treated with a variety of aggressive, yet super pleasant and upbeat tracks. A vast majority of which have a clean 8-bit influence. Probably my favorite tune, Square Power, has such a bright and exciting sound. The first time I heard it, I felt like I was just dropped into a Nintendo game with the best powerup already activated. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what CeliacBoi is capable of.

As an avid contributor to IMF, CeliacBoi’s biggest passion in the community right now is joining as many of the projects and collaborative activities as he can. Contributing to a number of various IMF projects, CeliacBoi shows no signs of slowing down. Look for his latest collab on the most recent edition of IMF’s Round Robin, where he mixed and mastered “Cutting Edge”.

CeliacBoi, or Agustin, a 22-year-old producer born and raised in Argentina, is an avid Cacti collector, a Bassist, and a Guitarist who creates his music under the persona of Cactii Dreams. Despite pouring so much energy and time into his musical career, Agustin is also a fulltime student studying to be an Electronic Engineer after having realized that his passion was not being fulfilled in Medical School. Augustin has played guitar for about 7 years and he’s been producing his own music for 5 of those years. Agustin came to IMF looking for a community of musicians, feeling like he needed people with similar tastes to invest in what he was trying to do. He also mentioned to me that his close-knit group of friends and family tend not to be producers or have much interest in it in general, which I find highly relatable. So now CeliacBoi is here, he’s digging into the community, he’s highly active during the events, and he’s developing a crisp and clear sound that I really enjoyed diving into this week. I told Agustin that I was extremely glad to have this opportunity to meet and talk to him, as I think we’d be fast friends. His demeanor is so calm and genuine, and his music is extremely uplifting.

Now onto the questions:

Baaz: What are some of your biggest musical influences? In contrast, what are some musicians you would never want to be mistaken for?

CeliacBoi: My influences are all over the place. I listen to a lot of fusion jazz, heavy metal, future funk, and experimental music, but for the most influential I would have to say Sungazer. On the other end, I wouldn’t mind any comparison so long as people are noticing what I do.

Baaz: You were recently a part of IMF’s Round Robin Collab project with the track “Cutting Edge”, which you did the Mixing and the Mastering for. Great track BTW! This isn’t the first project you’ve done with IMF members though, in fact, you’ve been involved in at least 6 projects. Genre Spin, Round Robin, and several Sample Flips. Which is your favorite and why?

CeliacBoi: I like them all because they offer a challenge that is rarely seen. From what I have read before, limitations breed creativity and as a musician or a producer, I see all the things you learn as colors in a musical palette…from theory to sound design. The sample flips provide me with a way to express myself in a constrained environment while also teaching me a lot along the way; like how to turn a burp into a kick and a snare. All of that said, I’m definitely biased towards sample flips, I love to do those! For the first one I did, j00lz and I did an additional handicap of using the sample for the drums and melody for everything in the track. I had so much fun that I ended up doing another one the same way.

Baaz: What’s up with Cacti? Why the fascination? I say that with all sincerity and love, as I am an avid collector of succulents myself.

CeliacBoi: I just like them! They thrive in really aggressive and dry weather, like the one I live in. I also think it represents the music I like, both aggressive and kind of cutesy in a way. They also come in a lot of different types which appeals to me as a collector.

Baaz: I myself have a huge interest in traveling South America someday to learn more about my neighbors and to experience the rich and beautiful history of so many different cultures. What about Argentina do you love the most and what do you think the biggest misconception is among the rest of the world about either South America, or Argentina specifically?

CeliacBoi: You should travel to South America! The culture of each country here in SA is very different between Chile, Argentina, Brazil…so if you have a chance to visit them all I would advise you to do so.

I really like that there is a culture which is enthralled in music. Tango and Folklore are household genres here, but a younger audience doesn’t shy away from trap beats or rap in general, which is seeing a bit of a boom in popularity here. You see kids rapping in their houses with their grandparents listening to old school tango and I like that dichotomy a lot. Here in Argentina, music is very much ingrained in everything we do, the bar is set high but it just makes it more fun.

As far as a misconception, I would say that we are not mean or mean-spirited people. There is a bit of an image that we have from other countries that stems from the prideful or disdainful, *like we are the best!* and you can definitely see that, but it is almost played out in a sense. We are just as likely to argue with someone that we are better (I feel this relates to sports culture in a sense) as we are likely to do anything in our power to help you out.

Baaz: If you could perform your music for any audience in the world, who would it be? Is there a venue you’ve always wanted to perform in?

CeliacBoi: Since most of my influences and idols are alive today, it would be a dream come true to be able to perform alongside them. Whether it’s playing bass with Cuco or performing in an EDM powerhouse like Illenium at an event like Tomorrowland…The main thing would be the feeling of being in the same boat with people I look up to, the people who I think have it all figured out.

I wouldn’t mind a small venue either if I knew people knew what I do or the lyrics to songs I wrote. To me, it isn’t about the size of the audience as much as having an audience that is dedicated enough to take time from their day to listen to something I did. That connection is very much a driving force in what I do.