Tonto is the brand I have been building since 2016. It started with content creation, video production and editing, then moved on to fashion design in 2018. Today, Tonto is my artist name, I have produced 11 musical projects, and multiple music videos. I published, distributed and advertised them all myself. As I have progressed, the expectations I have of my performance, content and quality have grown significantly. My most recent album, BYNOMEANS, was released in February 2023 to the world.
DISCOGRAPHY
I've been making music independently since 2017. Music has always been a huge part of who I am, and learning to make and master it has been the greatest journey of my life so far. I make hip-hop out of Mount Maunganui, New Zealand and take pride in my work. I don't necessarily see an end goal with my music, I just wish to keep evolving and enjoying the process.
TUNNEL VISION
Poster Promotion
As part of the promotion for the release of BYNOMEANS, I decided to design some posters for distribution around my hometown with Phantom Billstickers. I decided to go with posters as I wanted to see how effective they are, to put the album in front of some locals, and because I thought it looked really cool. .
It's how you move
It's how you move is all about encouraging the listener to move and dance, and to push myself to explore new genres. This is the first house song I made, alongside the first time I have used artificial intelligence for content.
The visualizer uses AI to create movement in the original artwork I used as a prompt. There were some interesting results, but I decided not to be too picky and just see how the program would respond.
​
Overall, I believe I have achieved my goal of making something really groovy, and am left excited to see what comes next.
Tonto Tees
In 2018, I created Tonto Tees, a line of hand-drawn, extremely limited t-shirts. I sold these t-shirts through social media and at a local market. The shirts sold out quickly, inspiring me to create another line that sold out within days.
What's next?
I believe it is extremely important to keep evolution as a main focus for my art and my music. The next thing must upstage the last.
The next album.
For this next album, I want to go back to the roots of hip-hop: chopped samples, raw and distorted drum breaks, and scratching with powerful rhymes. It is difficult to say what this might sound like so early in the process. But I like it already.
Mixing
For the last six months, I have been learning how to mix music with a DJ Controller. It gives me a new perspective on music and its possibilities and I can't wait to see what else I can learn from it.
Mongo
I want to branch out into a new way of connecting with music. Mongo is a combination of house music production, DJ mixing, and freestyle rap. It is a way of combining all of my skills into one, with a look into live performance.