Student Spotlight: Warden

This month’s student spotlight introduces you to Warden, an LA transplant from the Pacific Northwest who brings a blend of quirkiness and horror to dubstep. Warden also talks about his music and the industry in a short interview.

We are proud of our students and their accomplishments. Each month, we connect with Icon Collective students and  alumni  who have taken programs in  Los Angeles  or  Online  to showcase their hard work and success. Their achievements offer a glimpse into what’s possible after pursuing music education at the Collective.

Icon Graduate Warden is a Pacific Northwest native currently based in Los Angeles. He attended Icon Collective in 2013, where he developed the sound that embodies his signature style today. Don’t be quick to put this passionate young artist into a category or genre. His music style is often difficult to categorize. Warden’s broad influences range from metal and dubstep to techno and hip-hop. In the years since graduating from the Collective, he’s also earned releases on labels such as  Fool’s Gold , Buygore , and his own Malmaison imprint. It’s clear that his diversity knows no bounds!

Last month, Warden released his debut EP, “ Ascension ” which received rave reviews from across the blogosphere. He also runs his own podcast “ Getting Weird with Warden ” and “ Warden Weekly ,” a personalized Spotify playlist that allows fans to follow along with his ever-growing musical taste and inspiration.

Between a tour with Borgore and collaborating with clothing brands Nightenjin and Finley , it is becoming clear that Warden is the true bass medium.

In the following short interview, Warden talks about his music and the industry. He also shares some experiences studying at Icon and what’s on the horizon for his career.

Thank you! It’s been nutty seeing all the support; I love it. With this EP, I wanted to showcase a couple different sides of myself. There’s this super melodic side of me as well as this aggressive “just wanna headbang” side of me. There’s also a cynical, sarcastic side of me that just wants to make fun of everything. So I guess they should expect a lot more of all those things.

I loved every second of it. It was such a huge growth point in my career and [in] becoming the person I am today, honestly. I have so many amazing friends because of Icon, and it also made the transition to LA so much easier. I always tell people Icon taught me to focus on being different. In dance music, there’s a lot of oversaturation, so I always try to take a basic dubstep tune and make it weird as hell. I want people to hear my songs without knowing it’s me and saying “oh this sounds like Warden.”

New music is always coming, but you should also scope my podcast Getting Weird With Warden and check out my Spotify playlist Warden Weekly. It’s a weekly playlist of just whatever music I’m listening to that week. ALSO! I was on the road with Borgore in the Midwest from October 17th to the 21st! Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan kids came out to say hello and bang their heads with me.

Lost somewhere between Techno and Dubstep, this rising star uses all forms of bass to communicate to the party. Welcome to Warden’s World!

Connect with Warden

https://twitter.com/Its_Warden