Kaptain: Achievement, Anxiety, and Learning to Feel

Kaptain: Achievement, Anxiety, and Learning to Feel

Kaptain (Stephen Kaplan) opens up about the deeper story behind his path — from growing up in a high-achieving New Jersey environment where self-worth became tied to accomplishment, to using academics, productivity, and certainty as a way to cope with anxiety and instability at home. He talks about being shaped by pressure, his parents’ divorce, and the belief that success meant being valuable, even as music was quietly becoming the thing that touched him in a more profound way than anything else. From there, the episode traces how electronic music, rave culture, and producing gave him a new sense of feeling, freedom, and belonging — even while he continued down the more conventional path of engineering, tech, and stability. What emerges is not just the story of an artist balancing a career, fatherhood, and music, but of someone slowly unlearning the need to solve himself through achievement and instead learning to sit with emotion, self-worth, and love in a deeper way. Link to live performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhWmJJjrIco [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhWmJJjrIco] Follow Kaptain: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkaptain/ [https://www.instagram.com/iamkaptain/] Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaptainmusic [https://www.tiktok.com/@kaptainmusic] Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kaptainmusic [https://soundcloud.com/kaptainmusic]

Fraxure: Chasing the Dream Without Losing Himself

Full video and shownotes: https://beyondthebasspodcast.com/episodes/fraxure [https://beyondthebasspodcast.com/episodes/fraxure] Fraxure (Peter Fithian) opens up about the emotional throughline behind his path — from growing up in Boulder. CO as a deeply sensitive kid with a strong bond to his family, to early heartbreak, feeling like an outsider, and falling in love with dubstep before he ever believed he could make it himself. He talks about being drawn to music as something that felt personal and different, teaching himself production from scratch, and the years of grinding through loneliness, breakups, college, and dead-end career paths while trying to keep the dream alive on the side. Then the turning point: after finally getting real momentum — shows, management, traction online, and the first taste of the dream — the pressure started to twist the project into something that no longer felt true. He breaks down what it was like to compromise his sound, lose touch with why he started, walk away from the structure that was pushing him there, and then make the decision to bet on a body of work that actually meant something to him. What comes through is a story about sensitivity, persistence, and the uncomfortable but necessary process of finding your way back to yourself. Follow Fraxure: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraxuresound_ [https://www.instagram.com/fraxuresound_] Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fraxureaudio [https://www.tiktok.com/@fraxureaudio] Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fraxureaudio [https://soundcloud.com/fraxureaudio]

Au5: Pressure, Pain, and Trusting His Intuition

Show notes: https://beyondthebasspodcast.com/episodes/au5 [https://beyondthebasspodcast.com/episodes/au5] Au5 (Austin Collins) opens up about the deeper story behind his path — from being an intensely sensitive only child whose early identity was shaped by performance, validation, and pressure to be exceptional, to finding refuge in sound long before he had the words for what he was feeling. He talks about discovering music through the Casio SK-1, hiding his love for dance music, using production as both escape and expression, and how isolation, depression, and not feeling safe to be fully seen shaped the way he learned to create. From there, the episode traces the turning points that changed everything: leaving college as music started taking off, the profound creative bond and loss of his collaborator Fractal, the long struggle between outside expectations and inner truth, and the slow shift toward trusting his own intuition in both art and life. What emerges is not just the story of a technically brilliant producer, but of someone learning that the music only works when it comes from what is most real — and that honoring that truth may be the deepest alignment he has. Follow Au5: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/au5_official/ [https://www.instagram.com/au5_official/] Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@au5_official [https://www.tiktok.com/@au5_official] Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/au5 [https://soundcloud.com/au5]

DRKR/Stryer: Leaving Success Behind to Start Over

Full video and shownotes: https://beyondthebasspodcast.com/episodes/drkr [https://beyondthebasspodcast.com/episodes/drkr] DRKR (Michael Stryer) opens up about the real story behind his evolution — from growing up as an only child in the Bay Area, obsessed with sports, hustle, and big goals, to discovering EDM in college and falling hard for the sense of community, energy, and possibility it gave him. He talks about independence, pressure, learning to outwork his limits, and the early years of grinding through school, jobs, and late nights until music finally started to move. Then the turning point: after building real momentum as Stryer — major labels, big shows, Lost Lands, Red Rocks, and a growing fanbase — something stopped feeling right. The music that was once authentic started to feel like a job, while the house sound he was making in private felt exciting, unfamiliar, and alive again. He breaks down the internal conflict of walking away from a project that was already working, starting over without guaranteed support, and choosing the sound that actually felt like him. Follow DRKR: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drkrsounds/ [https://www.instagram.com/drkrsounds/] Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drkrsounds [https://www.tiktok.com/@drkrsounds] Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/drkrsounds [https://soundcloud.com/drkrsounds]

Twopercent: When Music Became the Only Path Forward

Show notes and full video: https://beyondthebasspodcast.com/episodes/twopercent [https://beyondthebasspodcast.com/episodes/twopercent] Twopercent (Elie Tentori) opens up about the deeper story behind his path — from growing up in a creative environment and struggling socially, to finding an early sense of peace, identity, and expression through art and music. He talks about social anxiety, not fitting the usual mold, and how creativity became the place he felt most like himself. Then the turning point: college starts falling apart, his mom is diagnosed with cancer, and he moves back home into his parents’ garage during one of the lowest periods of his life. What follows is the shift that changed everything — using music as both escape and direction, taking content and growth seriously, and slowly building real momentum through consistency, mentorship, and belief that this could actually become his life. Follow Twopercent: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/twopercent_music [https://www.instagram.com/twopercent_music] Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/twopercentmusic [https://soundcloud.com/twopercentmusic] Get tickets to his headline show in Denver 4/30: https://etix.com/ticket/p/34746087 [https://etix.com/ticket/p/34746087]