Genesee, whose given name is Tony Moras, wants to combine his guitar and singer/songwriter roots with an EDM sensibility to usher in a new genre of music.

Genesee On His Music

Genesee’s single “Always,” which exemplifies his new style, is dedicated to his girlfriend and their love for one another.

“‘Always,’ a song I wrote, it’s about my girlfriend who I currently live with, and, you know, our love. She has a tattoo right here [points to his rib cage] on her body, it says ‘always.’ And first off, that’s really hot,” Genesee said in an exclusive interview. “And so, I was like, ‘I just wanna write a song about that.’”

“It also just represents [that] I’ll always be there for her. I’ll always, no matter what, any problems we have together, no matter what we do,” Genesee added. “Because I’ll always love her…. So it kind of represents love and passion.”

As for the music behind the lyrics for “Always,” Genesee drew inspiration from trance and house music and added a vocal sound similar to Deathcab For Cutie or Postal Service.

“That indie, or almost emo style vocals, and I wanted to add that and see what that sounded like with house and trance music,” Genesee explained. “I don’t know, I kinda think it’d be cool for like if it hit the demo of the kids who like indie music that also like, you know EDM music, electronic, at the same time.”

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As for the name Genesee, the musician was inspired by the city he’s called home for 15 years – Los Angeles. In fact, his stage name is the name of the street he lives on.

“I’m a total L.A. hood rat. I’ve lived here for like, 15 years or so. I was like, if I could find a way to somehow just put the words ‘Los Angeles’ in my name would be cool,” he said. “If I would have lived on Curson, or if I would have lived on Fairfax or La Brea, I probably would’ve called myself La Brea. But I make all my beats here on Genesee, all my tracks and stuff here on Genesee.”

Genesee plans to release another four songs this month, and a handful more by the end of the year. He hopes to start performing his new tracks live in the near future.

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Q: What inspired you to write your new single 'Always'? -

‘Always,’ a song I wrote, it's about my girlfriend who I currently live with, and, you know, our love. She has a tattoo right here [points to his rib cage] on her body, it says 'always.’ And first off, that's really hot. And so, I was like, ‘I just wanna write a song about that,’ and it also just represents, you know, I'll always be there for her. I'll always, no matter what, any problems we have together, no matter what we do. ‘Always' is just a great word for, like… You'll find actually, probably throughout this interview, as I start to say the word 'always', you'll be like, ‘oh, always,’ but 'cause I'll always love her, and I always will. Like, everything – when we're arguing, or not arguing, or you know, in all different circumstances, I always will love her. So it kind of represents love and passion.

Q: How would you describe your sound? -

Inspiration for ‘Always’ and ‘1993’ and ‘Black & White’ synth-sounds are... I really got into a lot of trance and house music. So, I do still like Four to the Floors type of music, and I wanted to kind of add an indie-rock vocals over top of it, and that's kind of like what ‘Always’ and ‘1993’ have. I guess you could say, you know like, Deathcab [For Cutie] or Passion Pit, or like, not Passion Pit, Postal Service. Those, they have like, that indie, or almost emo style vocals, and I wanted to add that and see what that sounded like to house and trance music. I don't know, I kinda think it'd be cool for like, it hit the demo of the kids who like indie music also, that also like, you know EDM music, electronic, at the same time.

Q: How did you first get into music? -

I was probably around, ten years old I think I learned to play the guitar. I had a family who played music, too. I have an uncle who's an amazing musical composer who's produced tracks with like, pretty well-known rap artists. So I got into... I played a band when I was in high-school. I played bands when I moved out to Los Angeles, and like, I still have a guitar-roots background. But over the last two years, I got sober. I stopped drinking, and I kind of locked myself in a room, and learned Ableton. I learned the software program of all the digital pads and all the digital synths and frequency mixing, and I learned all the really cool things that you can do with the new-age digital world. I'm so for it. Once you get into it you see that there's endless opportunities. So, I don't know what people have against, if they have anything against EDM or if they love EDM. I love EDM. I think there's a real... I think it's here forever, and I think it's gonna be here for like, the longest time. There's so many cool sounds you can create with electronic music and synths. So like, when I create these songs, I used a lot of different just me type of stuff. But also creating with mini controls, like my vocals, I actually will sing into the vocals, will cut, will sample my own vocal, and then we'll use it in the pads and keys, and stuff.

Q: How did you get your music on Spotify? -

I love passion, I love projects. I love to make a project. You know, what I found about...I made a feature film. Produced it, wrote it, I was an actor. I really enjoy music, though, 'cause I feel like music is like painting, you know? It's just something I can do by myself. I can sit in my room and put it out there, so I have a lot of contacts in the music industry for like with publicists and stuff. I have a lot of ins and outs of the music industry, and I have, I'm grateful that I have a lot of friends that can help get it out on Spotify or Tunecore. And yeah, it's gonna be getting on other things, too. There's gonna be a lot to come. This is just the start, which is kinda cool 'cause I'm gonna...I'm playin' it out there right now. It's just a very cool flutter, but like I said I have a lot of cool friends in many places for directing movies, and directing stuff where I'm gonna get started working on the lyric video, all the way to the music video for all three songs. It's tough to know which one's gonna be, really, the single, 'cause I... Whatever the fans like, that's what they can have, you know?

Q: What are your plans after the single? -

Full album, yeah. I already have about four other songs that I have not released yet. I kind of just... I also know that like, October, they call it “Rocktober” for a reason. It's a great time for releasing music, just a little hint in the music industry to people out there [he laughs]. It's a great time to release music. I want to get these songs out right away. Why not? Let’s get the ball rolling. Then I'm gonna release the other like, six or seven songs as the year goes on. Then do the exact same thing, revamp a whole new album around it, and yeah in six or seven months. I will start performing probably very soon, too. I'm gonna try to keep my set very simple and minimalistic. I kinda want to try this EDM, electronic style more than the rock style on the live performance aspect of it, which I think, it'll be cool. You know, like, Robert DeLong does it kind of. He kind of has like, electronic, or you know he has a great electronic feel on stage, but also has that like, indie rock style.

Q: Where does the name Genesee come from? -

I live on Genesee, that street, right there [points out window]. That's Genesee, that's a street in Los Angeles, California. I love L.A. I'm a total L.A. hood rat. I've lived here for like, 15 years or so. I was like, if I could find a way to somehow just put the words 'Los Angeles' in my name would be cool, and I was like, “Where do I live?” If I would have lived on Curson, or if I would have lived on Fairfax or La Brea, I probably would've called myself La Brea. But I, I make all my beats here on Genesee, all my beats and stuff, all my tracks and stuff here on Genesee. It's right next to Melrose, too. So, Genesee's a cool street.