It’s tough to get yourself heard in the current music climate, with everyone being bombarded constantly online, but we think Melbourne producer Guard just might have a leg-up in that area.
Considering his ability to craft some seriously good slow-burning electronic jams, it’s surprising to hear that the South African-born producer is actually a professional meme-maker by trade. Those crack-up images you see shared on Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites? There’s a pretty strong chance that one Joel Gardner was behind at least some them.
So, how did it all lead him to music? Well, three years ago, Joel began creating memes that mashed up humour and pop culture on his first Instagram account, dopegrounds, eventually building more and more popular meme-based accounts like tindervsreality, among others. These days, Joel’s combined followers total well over one million, giving him a huge platform to work with to promote his own music.
Using his social media exposure as a jumping-off point, he then began crafting intriguing electro-pop gems, and sharing them with his audiences, the latest being the glistening ‘Pineapple Crush’, which sees Guard taking a suitably tropical approach to electronica, pairing cold island rhythms with a creeping Halloween veneer.
With his enterprising nature, and some serious production chops, we can see Guard doing pretty well for himself.
Check out Guard’s new single ‘Pineapple Crush’:
