Artist Profile: Compson Sound

Compson Sound consists of Hamilton senior Ben Li ’13. He started experimenting with music production the summer of 2011. His style of mash-ups primarily focuses on combining electronic dance tracks with
Top 40 a capellas as well as using samples from artists like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye  and Bon Jovi. He’s been a DJ at numerous parties and Late Nite events, including opening for 3LAU last month.
Although he only started eight months ago, it’s pretty evident that Ben Li is on his way to becoming the next big thing in the electronic world.

Why he decided to start Compson Sound:

“Music has always been a huge part of my life. I started playing piano when I was 6 and the guitar when I was 13 and was in a couple high school bands, but nothing serious. When the electronic music industry
took force in America I jumped on the boat as well. During my sophomore year my friends and I took a trip to Montreal; this was my first experience with electronic music. And I started working on electronic music since then.”

Where the name came from:

“I didn’t want to do a name with “DJ blank” because I think that’s really tacky and it doesn’t differentiate you. And also, I didn’t want to be known as just a DJ but a music producer as well — so coming up with a name was pretty hard. I really enjoy Faulkner novels and the name Compson comes from one of his most famous pieces The Sound and The Fury. I was originally going to go with that name but there’s already an ad agency for that name. The Sound and the Fury is based on the Compson family so I just kind went with it. I google searched [the name] and nothing came up. It’s got a nice ring to it.”

His advice for inspiring DJs:

“Work your a*s off. It kind of bothers me when people go into the idea thinking that this is really easy music to produce while it’s very technical. There’s a lot of intricacies and technical work that goes into it. It’s mainly about dedication while catching a few lucky breaks along the way and knowing how to set yourself out and be accessible to fans.”

His favorite DJs: 

“Currently there are two people I really like. One of them is Zedd. He rose up without a label, which is pretty much unheard of. His sound is very unique in a sense you can tell he took a lot of time in producing each track because there’s a lot of layers underneath and just a lot of stuff going on. I also look up to 3LAU mainly because he’s in a similar boat as many people [producing and DJing] during college. He’s the same age as me and we’re both trying to do the same thing.”

His non-musical inspirations:

“The Hamilton campus is a great place if you want inspiration. Sometimes when I’m stuck staring at the computer screen for a while, it’s just good to walk across campus and see some nature.”

Where he sees Compson Sound in the furture:

“I definitely still plan on doing mashups and mixes and I’m working on remixes and original productions right now. The jump from doing mashups and doing something of your own is really far. It’ll be a while in the making. In the springtime I’ll release a couple of remixes. I have a couple of shows [off campus] on the book for later in the semester. I’m still working out the details but I have some big plans for the future.”

The best thing about being a DJ: 

“One of the great things about electronic music is that it’s really easy to get into… with five piece bands its really difficult to coordinate practice times and balance egos within the band. But all I need is a laptop and software that does the music programming for you. Anyone can do it as long as you have the drive, passion and work ethic for it. It’s all about being patient, working hard and not giving up.”

The biggest challenge as a DJ:

“The flip side of it being so easy to get started is that so many people are getting started, it’s very hard to differentiate yourself from people who are doing this for fun or are not very good. You really have to find a way to differentiate yourself in terms of the stuff you make or mix. Just something new to bring to the table.
No one wants to hear anymore Carly Rae Jepsen mashups. It’s been done before and it’s over and easy to do. We get it. You really just have to push yourself beyond what everyone else is doing. Because it’s so easy to get caught up doing that when you’re doing mixes. When you hear someone else doing something that sounds good you inadvertently do the same thing. It’s a challenge.”

Be sure to check out Compson Sound’s facebook page!