Meet Maddy O’Neal, The Producer Supporting Pretty Lights on Dates Throughout the US

Maddy O’Neal is the refreshing change of pace the electronic music scene has been craving. Her soulful, jazz/hip-hop influenced beats instantly grabbed our attention when we discovered her at Fly Me To The Moon Saloon in Telluride, CO, during a Pretty Lights Live after party.

We were instantly entranced by Maddy’s energy on stage. Her genre-bending sound is uniquely her own and absolutely infectious. That’s probably why she’s opened up for Pretty Lights at Red Rocks Amphitheater this summer and has been a continued presence on his Episodic Festival tour. And we’re lucky she has been, or else we might not be aware of her music and we definitely would not have had the opportunity to meet her and ask her a few questions. Check out Maddy’s take on being a female producer in the industry today, why she produces the type of music she does and of course her nuttiest tour experience.

Q: What is it like being one of the few female producers in a male dominated industry?

Maddy: It is definitely interesting. I have said before its kind of like a double-edged sword. I feel like people are twice as likely to pay attention to you at first because you are part of that rare niche but also twice as likely to write you off or think or question what you actually do, so I feel like I have to prove myself a lot more. I know it’s definitely an important topic, but in my own mind, I try not to think about it too much because I want to think of myself on the same playing field as everyone else. I wanted to be respected as a producer in general, not a “female producer”.

Q: Was it harder to get your music noticed at first?

Maddy: Since I came from a male-female duo project, I feel like people were anxious to see/hear what I did on my own. I kind of felt more pressure knowing that there are ignorant people out there that were kinda waiting for me to prove myself but that pushed me a lot in a way even having that thought. That was part of the reason with this first release I do all of the production as well as mixing and mastering too. Even sang for the first time on my debut LP as well. I wanted to challenge myself, but it also was an opportunity to put any of those rumors to rest right off the bat at the same time.

Q: Who has been your biggest musical influence?

Maddy: Oh man. That is definitely a tough one… how much time we got? I can’t even say there is one person in particular, I think what brought me to where I am doing what I am doing is my open-mindedness, and seeing the way that producers have combined and defied genre boundaries. I grew up listening to a lot of indie rock and roll and blues because of my dad and brother, then moved to Colorado back in 2008 and that opened my mind up to this whole world of electronic music. I’ve been influenced by so many different things, I am just grateful I found an outlet to combine them all through producing.

 Q: How did you get into producing music/Do you play any instruments?

Maddy: Well, I grew up in a very musical family. My dad and brother are both in Rock & Roll bands and music was just kind of instilled in me as an important part of my life from early on. I dabbled playing instruments like the pain and cello growing up but never really stuck with an instrument because I was too distracted….It wasn’t until about 2010 when my brother got the Ableton software I use as a Christmas present and gave me a copy of the demo that I discovered my niche with it. I opened it up and started to mess around with mashups/ using samples. From that moment on, I was hooked and just dove in head first, using my ears and the more time I put into it the more I learned and began to develop a bit of my own sound.

Q: Why do you make the type of music you do?

Maddy: I think the most fun part about making the style of music that I do is the possibilities are really endless. I can take 4 samples from 4 completely different genres of music and collage them to work together in this crazy fusion where genre doesn’t really exist anymore. I can sit down and create a track all organically from scratch using electronic elements and synthesizers and go from there… it’s given me a lot of freedom creatively. But as long as at the end of the day I am making people feel something/ dance/ reflect, whatever that may be… that is the ultimate satisfaction.

 Q: What was it like opening up for one of the most anticipated Pretty Lights live shows at Red Rocks this summer?

Maddy: It was unreal. It still almost feels like it didn’t even happen, it went by so fast. Playing Red Rocks has been an absolute dream of mine since the beginning of making music, especially living in Colorado and being so close to the venue. It was kind of one of those all encompassing moments where everything just made sense. I posted afterwards, that it was kind of the first time that mu mom and brother really got to see what I do, and seeing the look on my moms face after the whole experience was really the coolest part- everything that I have been working towards the past 6 years finally made sense to her. That is really the best way I have to describe it.

 Q: Will you be playing with Pretty Lights again in the future?

Maddy: Yes, I am doing another date on the Episodic Festival tour with Pretty Lights October 7 in Nashville at The Municipal Stadium.

Q: What is the strangest thing you’ve ever seen happen in the crowd while playing a show?

Maddy: Hmm… haha I don’t know about the strangest but one of the scarier things was playing Wakarusa last year someone threw a joint on stage and it rolled underneath one of the monitor speakers. I looked over while playing and the speaker was smoking. I got a little freaked out for a minute.

Q: Do you have any shows planned for the East Coast? Particularly Philly?

Maddy: Not yet, but I really hope to get out there something in this next year… I’ve heard amazing things about the East Coast and a lot of the venues and people there. I can’t wait to be out there hopefully soon.

Her latest project ‘Introspect’ dropped about a month ago and features nine juicy original tracks. Listen here.