Interview: Basement Era Audio

In this interview, we dive into the sonic world of Basement Era Audio, the ambient project of Ray De Los Santos from Ranson, West Virginia. With a deep love for texture, tape hiss, and spiritual resonance, Ray crafts music that heals, uplifts, and evokes memory. From noisy band roots to introspective ambient tapestries, his journey is both personal and profound. We explore his inspirations, creative process, and the role of faith and nostalgia in his evolving sound. Step into the basement, this is where emotion becomes atmosphere.

General info

Artist Name: Basement Era Audio

Real Name: Ray De Los Santos, 34

Location: Ranson, West Virginia

Social Media / Music Links

youtube.com/@basementeraaudio

basementeraaudio.bandcamp.com

open.spotify.com/artist/50OY1NSNpwSQJ5jecOpdwG

instagram.com/basement.era.audio

How long have you been making music?

I've made music as long as I can remember, I recorded a handful of songs in 2010 when I was in college. In 2015, music became way more central in my life, and I have only become increasingly enamored with making, recording, and sharing music.

Do you release music under a label or independently?

Independent

Creative process and inspiration

What drew you to ambient music in the first place?

I've always been a fan of listening to ambient music but it seemed like a completely alien form of music to make because I was primarily a guitarist for a long time, and during that time my focus was being loud and chaotic as possible. I moved away from my band and my new living situation left me a little more musically isolated and restricted in how loud I could play music, so I learned how to use Logic and started making dream pop with my wife. After a couple years of that, life shifted again in some pretty difficult ways and I made an experimental ambient EP entitled "Trying to Find the Voice of God in Sleep" as a way to deal/ process. Since then, I've stayed within the ambient genre and have fallen deeper in love with making it as time has passed.

Can you describe your creative process when starting a new track?

I tend to work with themes or parameters with each album. For example, I wanted Summer Gothic to be a "guitar album." By setting parameters for myself, I can start to hone in on certain tones or sounds that I want to work with for that project. I'm a very visual person too, so sometimes I feel like I have a movie playing in my head that kind of guides some of the music I make. That's also why I've been including visuals with each album release.

Where do you find inspiration? Emotion, nature, science fiction, or something else?

Inspiration is everywhere for me. Life is complex and beautiful beyond what I'm able to describe verbally, so I use music. It's also why I stopped writing lyrics and recording vocals. Some of the emotions I portray with my music are better experienced without lyrical guidance. The feelings are there, and I think to a degree, we all feel the same things, so the mind of the listener will fill the "lyrics" in in the form of daydreams and memories. Much of my musical inspiration is also biblically based, not just in subject matter (or as much subject matter as there can be in an instrumental), but also in song structures/album structures and more subtle details like that.

How would you describe your sonic identity or the mood you aim to create?

I was born in 1990, so tape his and wobble, VHS grain and distortion is at my core. I use it a lot in my music and inevitably, there's a kind of nostalgia that comes with that. I never want to make music that depresses. That's not to say I don't have melancholy songs, but I don't wallow in negative moods in my music for too long. I always try to balance the bitter with the sweet. I want to make music that uplifts, inspires, heals the spirit.

Are there any artists that deeply influenced your style?

Oneohtrix Point Never (especially Replica and R Plus Seven) and Grouper are the two main obvious influences of my music currently, but I grew up listening to Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Pixies and the way those bands experimented with noise and the looseness and fun with which they played is what made me fall in love with music.

Gear and setup

Are you using hardware, software, or a hybrid setup?

I use my guitars, a midi controller, and whatever random sounds I find interesting. Sometimes I record elements of my songs with a cassette recorder and experiment with that in different ways. Logic is my DAW of choice, and I use a lot of plugins, but mainly Soundtoys and Aberrant DSP plugins.

What’s your favorite piece of gear or plugin, and why?

A couple plugins that I use VERY often are Sketchcassette 2 and Digitalis. There's some that I use more sparingly but are SO MUCH FUN, such as Moon Echo by Audiothing/Hainbach (great for really weird organic sounding knocking sounds.... It's hard to describe), and there's so much great stuff in the Soundtoys effect rack.

Challenges

What’s been the biggest challenge so far in creating ambient music?

Battling my ego and coming to terms with my lack of business sense. I make music because I enjoy it and it is a therapeutic act for me. Our society has conditioned me to believe that every talent and every thing should be monetized, and so there's a degree of pressure to "make it" with my music but I'm not really interested in marketing myself or running social media accounts or any kind of artistic compromise. It's a struggle I see a lot of artists deal with. "I want money for what I do but what I do doesn't make money." And ultimately at the end of the day do I REALLY want money to be an element behind my music? (I really don't know.)

How do you stay motivated or inspired when you're in a creative rut?

I never really have a creative rut that lasts too long. I'm typically working on multiple projects at once. I have more inspiration than time. Burnout is an issue. Typically if I'm feeling burnt out, I'll just play video games for a few nights instead of work. I really like liminal space games. My favorite recently was Dreamcore.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

In the Bible, there is music in Heaven. Music exists outside of humanity and it is an art form that connects us to the divine. It is the mathematical language of the cosmos and it exists all around us. I find that especially within ambient and experimental music we are truly free to explore sonic palettes far outside what is conventional, and it has been such a lovely experience turning over the stones of sound and seeing what kind of dirty little grubs I can fish out the soil. Much love to everyone reading this. The path of the creative is tough, but we bring beauty and understanding to the world, so don't stop. Only you sing with YOUR voice, and as such YOU do it the best, so don't let anyone tell you what it should sound like, just sing dammit!