Written by Jim Ottewill

Dot da Genius is no stranger to traversing new musical universes. From years of music-making with best friend and American music hero Kid Cudi (known as Scott Mescudi) to launching his own HeadBanga Muzik Group, an innovative approach has led him to a colourful array of creative realms.

But none perhaps quite as blinding as the new Netflix series, ENTERGALACTIC.

“I’m a learner and a doer,” Dot says of his contribution to the animated project. “So as soon as I knew this was coming, I started researching and studying the processes and sounds I might need as a screen composer. It was vastly different to anything I’d ever done before.” 

ENTERGALACTIC certainly offers fresh stimuli for the senses. With striking visuals and bold rhythms and rhymes at the story’s heart, this immersive, animated series charts the story of a young artist named Jabari - voiced by Kid Cudi - as he attempts to find love and success. It’s perhaps the biggest step that Dot and Cudi have taken in their interconnected careers. A long-term studio partnership means they are not only comfortable when collaborating but can effortlessly push each other to ever-greater creative highs.

“Often when we work on a project, we’ll get in the studio and just make music regardless of what it might be for or before budgets open,” says Dot.

“It means the pressure is often off - which can be a key trick for producers. Artists can feel forced to deliver a great idea or record. But if you can introduce a layer of comfort to a session where they don’t need to be concerned about the outcome, then it allows them the space to be themselves.” 

Dot grew up in a musical family in New York where his father urged all his kids to take up and pursue an instrument. Dot was bestowed a piano and immersed in classical and jazz styles as part of his musical introduction.

“It was only when I got to high school that I started to appreciate other genres such as hip hop and r’n’b,” he explains. “Initially, I wasn’t really listening to music for the words. It was only when I heard ‘My Way’ by Usher that my mind opened up to this lyrical content.”

As Dot grew older and began studying at college, music began to slowly appear as a potential career. He cites the importance of Timbaland and Pharrell Williams as definitive inspirations who shined a light on this way forward.

“Watching these producers and seeing how they worked made me think I could do it myself,” Dot explains. “Hearing how they were able to create a living for themselves in music was really inspiring and pushed me to follow my own passions.”

At college, Dot had an EDM-loving roommate who enjoyed a certain level of success, often sneaking out of their shared dorm to play in nearby clubs. This friend lent him a copy of music software Fruity Loops, giving him this first opportunity to cut his production teeth. 

“I had other friends who were attempting to rap so we decided to work together, that’s when I realised it was something I could do,” Dot explains. “I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning and the growing process was painful. I self-taught as this was before there was much information available online. But it meant I learnt by doing, which was invaluable.”

Dot and Kid Cudi have been working on music together for more than 15 years since first meeting in New York. From their breakthrough hit, ‘Day ‘N’ Night’, their journey has been one full of twists and turns, taking in numerous albums, millions of sales and awards. ENTERGALACTIC, a series billed as from ‘the mind of Kid Cudi’, came from a mutual desire to dream up long-form visual stories to accompany a collection of songs. It’s been some time coming, stalled by the pandemic and other projects including Cudi’s ‘Man on the Moon III: The Chosen’.

“Initially the ideas felt elusive,” says Dot. “Cudi said he wanted to do an album attached to a visual series and we began feeling our way around different beats and sounds over many months. We spent over a year doing studio sessions, and this was before any animation or the story was concrete.”

Dot’s role, as on previous Cudi projects, was as executive producer. He was responsible for working with various music makers in a bid to concoct a sonic palette for an artist album. Alongside this record, he was tasked with coming up with a score in collaboration with fellow producer Plain Pat.

“Scoring was very different to anything I’d done before,” he explains. “We didn’t have completed animation to work on, we had to use our imaginations based on the director Fletcher Moules’ idea of the feel he wanted and where he thought the animation should go.”

“The greatest thing was how we got to play in arenas that we don’t normally touch,” he continues. “Just doing that sharpens your skills as a producer. There were many months of doing that, alongside plenty of back and forth with Netflix to get the right sound.” 

The soundtrack’s bubbles over its widescreen format, full of eighties synths and lush daubs of melody, all in harmony with the story. It’s beautiful and fun to behold and a feast for the ears and eyes. Realising its themes about love and its complexities initially drove the music forward and became more finely tuned as the animations were set in stone.

“Sometimes, the finished visuals would arrive and we’d have to try something different as we hadn’t previously worked out the full sense of the scene,” Dot explains. “It came together piece by piece so when it was completed, it was like, ‘Wow, what a crazy experience’.” 

It’s a distinctly different way of working to the usual artist material. While Dot was aiming to hit an artery of emotion (and he cites one of his favourite moments as the ending sequence where every last drop of fervour is wrung from the narrative), bouncing ideas off an artist is some steps removed from scoring to serve a story.

“Of course, it was a challenging experience as this was my first feature length score but it was fun,” he states. “Working with Fletcher, [producer] Mike Penketh and everyone else, they all made it feel very smooth.”

Dot studied electrical engineering during his time at college, a passion that he’s steered into his love for the latest music gear and technology. He works out of numerous studios including in downtown LA and Williamsburg in New York. Most recently, he’s built what he describes as a “state of the art situation” in his home. Featuring a wealth of hardware and vintage synths, Dot is always searching out new innovations to add.

“I am very much a tech-forward kind of guy,” he laughs. “Whenever a new piece of tech comes out, I try to fight it - but then a peer gets it and I have to know what it’s all about.”

A Moog Voyager, Juno 106, Prophet 6 and a huge collection of peddles (which he says are instrumental when “trying to create interesting musical landscapes”) are just some of the items he has in his possession.

“I’ve been in the game long enough to start with a lot of gear,” he explains. “Then I wanted to be a minimalist and produce with just a laptop and get rid of everything, but then I came back to double down and started collecting again. God forbid if anything happens to my house now.”

Dot cites the likes of Hans Zimmer and Trent Reznor as key influences for his compositional work. While these big names have set a high bar to aim for as a soundtrack creator, his close-knit relationship with Cudi has been pivotal in his life. He believes music makers need to devote time and energy to forge deep relationships with collaborators like this.

“I can say we are true friends,” says Dot. “When you have two people who are close, then you can really work freely in the studio. It allows him to express himself as he wants and lets me try new things - and sees him follow me too.”

Cudi’s evolution as an artist has seen him inhabit different musical spaces from raw hip hop to drill. But the casualness has played a part in some of their best material emerging. On his ENTERGALACTIC artist record, ‘Livin’ my Truth’ and ‘Can’t Believe It’ were made in Hawaii during some downtime.

“Cudi will come to the crib, I’ll be working on a beat, he’ll have an idea, we’ll record it and think nothing of it,” he says. “But then you start building up musical momentum, we have a couple of songs, it’s time, let’s assemble the team. Let’s try and make the dopest shit we can possibly make. That’s been the process of late…”

With ENTERGALACTIC now out in the wider world, Dot is hoping to take on more composer projects, whether that be in Hollywood blockbusters films or sound installations and beyond. He’s also keen to support the next generation coming through for whom the musical climate is a tough one to break into due to oversaturation.

“As a producer, the only way to stand out is by figuring out how to promote yourself in ways that you’re comfortable with and enable you to be forward facing,” Dot advises. “Producers can make a million beats, but if they just sit on your hard drive then it’s kinda pointless. You need to be constantly doing things so you’re planted in people’s brains before they even hear your work. That’s as important as being diligent and working on the music.”

For aspiring composers, Dot’s essential tips stem from how he works - by studying the greats and building a brilliant team around him. It’s an approach that has touched every chapter of his musical life beyond his soundtrack work.

“You definitely need to know what sounds can evoke certain emotions - and how to achieve them,” he states. “By building a collaborative group of musicians, you can work with what you can - as some scenes may require you to make music in a style you’re not versed in. Anyone involved needs to be focused on making magical moments come to life.”

ENTERGALACTIC is out now, and the soundtrack is available to listen to here.