When you collab with the fingerprint scanner...
By Jamie Wu (guest blogger)
It’s not every day that you hear a song remixed to USC’s fingerprint scanner located in every freshman dorm on campus. But Michael Azuna, a junior from the Bay Area majoring in music industry and minoring in music production and known by his musician name AZU, did just that in the Spring of 2017. He posted this catchy and creative piece of work on the infamous USC Memes for Spoiled Pre-Teens Facebook page and it was an instant hit. Since then, the video has garnered over 3.5k views, coupled with high praise in the comments section. Trojans 360 sat down with him in an interview and asked about where the inspiration for the song came from. Check out the piece to find out more about how Michael came to make this creative piece of work!
How did you come up with the fingerprint scanner song?
“Lots of other people have been resampling things with other things. One artist that I draw my inspiration from is Mashd N Kutcher. They did a remix with their video "When you are bored on a plane”. That inspired me because they made something without nothing. And it was really sick. It was a combination of being inspired from them and being bored out of my mind that made me make that song. I’ve realized that people will get kind of stuck when they’re making music. So making that song gave me something to do during my free time. And I wasn’t too stressed about it. I ended up finishing it that night and then posting it. And I did more remixes with different sounds because people liked it. I did another remix with the USC marching band fight song, one with the fire alarm at the Village and another one with the Snapchat feed. I’m tempted to put them into an album.“
What inspired you to start making music?
"I first started when my uncle bought me a DJ control for Christmas in middle school and I started mashing songs by combining instrumentals and vocals. But when I found out I couldn’t make money from that, I started making my own music.”
Were there musicians that inspired you to make music?
“One musician would be Porter Robinson. His music is very electronic but also emotional. And also Skrillex because he’s very versatile. In a sense, you wouldn’t know what to expect from him and I like that about him.”
What type of genre would you categorize your music?
“Right now, I’m in a phase where I’m trying to find my sound. This is a process that a lot of people will spend years trying to figure out–what works and doesn’t work for them. And when I made the mix on the Facebook meme page, I was trying to have fun with it. Honestly, I was just messing around. The music I’m making now is low-fi and chill. It’s not super in the rave genre but rather it’s kind of more emotional.”
Is there a song you’re really proud of?
“Not yet. The point I’m trying to reach is to get to one song I’m really proud of. I think I’m close. A lot of the times you’ll make a bunch of tracks and then you’ll get a vocalist. Sometimes song-writing takes so long because I don’t know who to ask for vocals. So I think mostly time will help me get there. I can’t force it. It’ll just happen.”
How did you choose your musician name?
“Azu is my pseudo name I go by. I’ve been making music under that name. The name comes from Amizu but it’s a truncated version. My last name is Hazuma so "Azu” is a hybrid of Amizu and Hazuma.“
How are you involved with the musical community here at USC?
"I used to be a part of a music fraternity here: Mu Sigma Epsilon. This past summer, I was planning on doing 6 or 7 songs with the people I met there but the fraternity got disbanded. Now, I’m part of a different a group called LFO (looking for opportunities) Collective. I create tracks for them and they record it. Then we post it for free. We have 8 people and we’re trying to grow but right now it’s mostly just rappers and a couple of singers.”
How has LA influenced your music? What about its atmosphere is dynamic, new, and growing?
“Coming from a small suburban town, LA has changed the way I think about music. Everything happens in LA. And because of that I’m forcing myself to work harder here. Everyone’s a producer or actor so it’s more competitive here. My biggest challenge is working harder and getting ahead. Where I come from, no one does what I do. Now that I’m here it’s nice to ask other like-minded people for help. LA has given me more opportunities to be collaborative.”
Do you have any advice for underclassmen who want to write music?
“My best advice is to do music everyday even if you don’t want to. It’s like learning a new language where you have to get better everyday. Success doesn’t happen overnight. A lot of hours go into preparing for an overnight success. And also try not to compare yourself too much to everyone. Everyone’s going to be ahead at some point in time. Try to establish your sound in the beginning because it’ll makes establishing your brand easier in the future.”
Thanks Michael for your inspiring music and creativity! We’re excited to see you grow in the next two years of your music and USC career. Fight on!
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