Meet 11-Year Old Aussie Producer Black Summer

By Nastassia Baroni

Get ready to feel inadequate, there’s a new producer making a splash in the Australian music scene and he’s only 11 freaken years old. Known to his mum and dad as Rhys, the Canberra EDM king makes beats under the name Black Summer.

Already boasting fans like Nina Las Vegas and Flume, the EDM prodigy told triple j he’s been making music for “five or six years now” – meaning he started at age 5, when you and I were busy learning how to tie our shoes.

“You’d hear Metallica blaring out of his room, then he’d be singing along to Pink Floyd, then he’s on the computer making electronic music,” explains his dad. “We don’t have a clue how to operate what he uses.”

Now Black Summer has himself a studio, set up in his dad’s home office, and has uploaded three tracks to his triple j Unearthed profile. One track, Toxic Nirvana (below), even has its own stop-motion music video made with Lego.

“I spend hours and hours and hours on this just to make the bass hits,” says Rhys whilst at work in his home studio. He’s already experienced some creative set-backs too, having not made it to the school talent contest. But the taste of success was not far behind, once he heard one of his songs being played at the school graduation disco instead. Naturally, groupies emerged.
 
He’s also sparked the attention of Canadian house producer Deadmau5, who tweeted about the young prodigy. “Doesnt surprise me. late to the game imho…. im pretty sure 7 year olds could grasp modern day EDM just as easily,” he tweeted, before adding, “kudos to him”.
 
Ok, so while this might seem like a slight diss from Deadmau5, who is quite public with his distain for the modern EDM world, he then acknowledged that what Black Summer has achieved at his age, is pretty impressive.  “WHEN I WAS 11… THEY DIDNT HAVE SOFTWARE AND PLUGINS… AND WE HAD TO… wait.. when i was 11 i was saving up for a bmx.”  
 

And as for any of the haters out there, Black Summer isn’t concerned. “Some people say, ‘oh this person’s better [or] the beats don’t sound good enough,’ and stuff, but just remember, I’m 11 years old.”

Watch: Meet Australia’s youngest producer

Watch: Black Summer – Toxic Nirvana

Nastassia Baroni
Nastassia Baroni

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