Interview: Producer and Software Specialist The 6th Dimension
Joshua McMahon, a.k.a, The 6th Dimension is a Florida-based producer that creates futuristic soundscapes. Thanks to his Navy family, he went back and forth between Florida and Virginia. His production is a mixed bag of electronic distortions, video game-like soundtracks, and EDM noises. Outside of music, 6th is a part of RealmHaus: a creative consultancy that specializes in AR/VR, digital design, music & video production. The 6th Dimension represents the present-day intersection of technology and music. With hip-hop starting to ride the music video NFT trend like how Jim Jones and Migos did for their hit We Set The Trends, it's very possible that 6th and his RealmHaus team will create larger projects for artists in the metaverse. His latest beat project, Tapestries, is a result of when your old world falls apart and you create a better one tailored to where you want to be in life.
Jay: The popularity of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology indeed has expanded in the past decade. You experimented with VR podcasting for last December’s Hackathon, a social coding event that brings computer programmers and other interested people together to improve upon or build a new software program. What made you want to focus on virtual podcasting for the project?
6th: An absolutely brilliant developer Cameron Peele and I created the Sonar Sound Studio prototype with the idea of bringing people together in a unique way while further democratizing the media landscape. Retail space rental is expensive and so is audio equipment, but how great would it be if you could put on a $400 headset and be surrounded by your friends, family, or special guest and immediately start recording a talk show or podcast with any setting you wanted as the backdrop? There are so many voices and ideas out there that don’t get the chance to be heard for the simple fact that life is life and sometimes it’s hard. Money, distance, and time are all daily obstacles. In college, we meet many like minds and at the end of four years, most of us never see each other again.
Facebook is two-dimensional, and FaceTime is two-dimensional, but what if we could cut up like old times even if you live in LA and I decided that Richmond was for me? The capitalist pursuit divides us all in one way or another but this was made of a vision for bringing people together even in the midst of a pandemic. The world stopped in 2020, we were busy building ways not to stop with it.
We were given honorable mentions for Sonar Sound Studio by DevPost. They cover our project in great detail in their fantastic write-up.
Jay: Do you think there can be a VR music show or even a festival one day?