Trusting His Vision: A Conversation with Buffalo Electronic Artist disctr4k

disctr4k (Photo Provided)

Buffalo artist Doxa Murego — known by his stage name disctr4k — is only 18 years old, but he’s been working at his craft, sampling and producing his own tracks, since he was 10.

Fascinated with house music and lo-fi HipHop tracks, he first started sampling Windows XP sound effects on his Android phone as a kid, which ultimately launched him upon a creative journey that in a relatively short span has attracted a massive fanbase and meteoric success.

“I used to really dig deep for low-fi house on Soundcloud. I remember one day I logged onto Soundcloud and saw this recommended track called DJ Windows XP, ‘I Cried Last Night,” Doxa recalled of his early days.

“At first, I thought, ‘oh that’s a funny little track’ and the cover art was one of the XP wallpapers, only black and white. I played it and was like, ‘oh wait, this actually sounds nice,’ and then the kick fully comes in, and this crunchy clap comes in and I was like, ‘Woah!’ Visuals started to pop in my head, and there was this vocal that was sort of muffled in the background. But it just felt so emotional to me and resonated with me so much. So, I was like, ‘I need to find some more tracks of this. Like immediately.’”

As Doxa continued to pursue his inspirations — (which according to his Spotify artist’s page includes creating electronic music ranging from deep house to ‘dnb’ to jungle) — he further mastered his art and in 2020, found himself part of a small scene in which people were making, “compressed sounds that made your head bop.” Four years later, Doxa then landed his first gig: a house party in Fredonia where he was one of a handful of DJs manning the decks in the basement.

Word of Doxa’s talent soon spread and after that Fredonia house party came his second show — a headlining spot in Orlando, Fla.

“I flew to Orlando, met the people there and I remember seeing all the places in Orlando because I never flew out of state before. It was a bigger crowd, and I was very nervous and I was the last person to go on. It was probably 12 a.m. when I got on and I just remember going up on there and pushing the cue button on the headphones, and they were so loud. They provided earplugs because I didn’t bring my own,” he recalled.

“I remember feeling so surprised when they said, ‘Next up, we have the last act of the night, the headliner, disctr4k!’ and everyone was clapping and I was like, ‘What? Headliner?’ I didn’t notice I was the first name on the flyer, and I remember on the way to the Airbnb they were saying, ‘A lot of people want to see you!’ and I was like, ‘Really?’”

 From there, more opportunity came Doxa’s way, including a memorable show in Boston where he met and played with some of his online peers.

“Not many people showed up because I think it was one of those things where they show the address later in the day,” he said. “When we performed, it was a bit of small crowd, but regardless, we were really hyped … We just did our own thing.”

Doxa said the juxtaposition of his life as a DJ while still a kid in high school created in him, at one point, a degree of doubt. But, he said, he was eventually able to overcome that uncertainty thanks to his audience and online friends who kept him afloat.

“Having that reassurance. People DM-ing you, saying ‘You got this!’ People telling you, ‘Go out there more…’ ‘Don’t ruminate about high school…’ ‘Move Forward…’ People actually care.”

It was the encouragement he needed, enabling him to continue in his work. And, he’s gone on to build an impressive portfolio, which despite his young age, includes the albums “Fidelite,” “Connected Reality,” “inner body movement,” “progression breaks,” “faceless surroundings,” the EP “DISTORTED SESSIONS,” and numerous singles.

Still, his drive and worth ethic notwithstanding, Doxa is quick to credit his parents for supporting his interests while growing up.

“One day when I was 11, I asked my mom, ‘hey can I use your laptop? I want to work on a project,’” he recalled. “And she allowed me to, and I remember using it and feeling so happy to be able to create things on a computer instead of an app on a phone. All I wanted to learn was how to make melodies. I needed to know how a piano worked, and from there on, it was just like a journey. I barely used tutorials, only if I wanted to know how to make a sub-base.

“It was trial and error,” said Doxa, “and trusting my vision of things.”