I’ve come to a place in time where I’m finally ready to upload my music to platforms like Spoity, iTunes, etc but one thing is holding me back; my “brand” is unrelatable.
As per my user name I produce under the name Data Strain, and I mostly make hip hop.
I like the name, but I feel it’s too unrelatable and gives the wrong impression (sounds like a dubstep artist name to me) and I don’t know if I’d be proud to carry this name for my official “debut.”
My brand is aimed at people like me who like left-field / lofi hip hop. I try to present a strong Adult Swim vibe because honestly A S has probably been one of the most influential things for me in all aspects of my art.
What’s a good way to find a more natural, fitting name? Or am I simply over thinking things and I should carry on as I am? I know the name isn’t the biggest thing, but often times people misunderstand it, or think it doesn’t quite “roll off the tongue” so to speak.
If you’re not confident in it, it’s probably not right and the lack of confidence may come through in various aspects of your work in the future. That said, spending time naming things can be a red herring that takes away creative energy from other things you might prefer to do instead. I worked in game development for 20 years and the most draining decisions were the names of characters or projects.
If you’re having trouble thinking of a better name, something that might help could be to write words you like the sound of in a big list as you hear them. Don’t over think, after a while you’ll have a bunch of names to draw from. You can mix them up and create new ideas etc
First off, well done, Sleepless sounds really nice and well produced.
I think your artist name sounds really all right and it doesn’t give me a specific association. Perhaps it sounds more IDM’ish.
Why don’t you let the track titles do the talking? They can certainly be framed more toward your designated context, since they’ll allow you so much flexibility since each track lives it’s own life. At least your artist name is easy to remember.
I see others are replying so won’t know if there’s overlap:). But 1) finding a legit amazing band name is really hard. I’ve spent so much time doing this since being in bands starting at 15. In the last few years Ive had several for fun group texts threads with some of my close friends just stream-of-consciousness firing off band names, laughing at the joke names etc. EVERY SINGLE name we came up with that we all actually liked was-after googling-found to already exist. So, it’s hard.
2) think of how many bands out there you like have actual good names. You’re telling me right now if you came up with “adult swim” on your own you’d be blown away by its fit for you? Cool if so.
3) your name seems entirely fine. At least you didn’t name yourself “HotWork” or worse yet “Coldplay” Hahahaha.
Name is cool sounding to me! Much cooler than my own, in which people mispronounce all the time. Like others have said, let the music identify who you are under your chosen name. Then in due time, people will associate Datastrain with YOUR distinctive sound. Or change it. It’s all up to you. I like your name though.
I would go with something organic sounding, from nature. Maybe something obscure you find from leafing through old botany textbooks. Anything machine, computer, or information technology related is way too on-the-nose.
I think DATASTRAIN is quite a good fit for you style of music as it leaves room for speculation and underlines the very atmosperic, uncertain vibe i get from your music.
You can really tell how you supposed to be called on first sight.
DATASTRAIN
DATA STRAIN
DATAS TRAIN
DATAST RAIN
I think that‘s a very good thing.
I like you‘re track very much. Reminds me of a mixture of Flying Lotus, DJ Shadow and Forest Swords.
Data Strain is a fitting name for a Lotus inspired lo-fi hip-hop project. If you are trying to break into more straight forward hip-hop it is also suitable, or you could shorten it to like D-Strain or something like that which maintains the original name.
This. The name is much less important than how that name gets associated in the listener’s mind with the artist and the music.
As a for-instance, Daft Punk took their name from an early bad review, now the name is synonymous with cool robot helmets and a recognizable style of incredibly danceable retro-electro-funk that is neither daft nor punk.
I love the name “Botany”. I think it’s very organic and perfect for lofi beats.
A name is important. It instills an idea immediately.
I met a lofi producer who goes by the name of “Sleepdealer”. Super sick name and really nice guy.
It’s weird how names sometimes come to us like Daft Punk came to them and other times we have to think. Don’t think too much and something will come up! (Like Botany!)
For me, I was really into writing lyrics and MCing so I was reading the dictionary and came up with Philo Krynx. I thought long and hard before finding something that fits me. Phi comes from the Phi number ratio, Philo means love of learning, and Philology means the science of language. Krynx comes from a mix of larynx and pharynx which are parts of the body.
Edit: accidentally pressed send lol
His Most Darxxxellent is for the hard, fast and dark style of beats I like to produce. is my MC name so… Philo “” Krynx His Most Darxxxellent is my full name and Xtra Sensory Perception of Accuracy spelled XSPA and pronounced ekspa for short is my label. Hahahaha if I ever make anything ready to be released like you (hopefully before the year is out) I will use all of it or some of it when and where I choose. Like I said, it took a long time but it feels right.
is my MC name so… Philo “