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Artists

Famous Quan

Famous Quan

I’m a upcoming artist from New York and I love music! I am very versatile and believe the way to success in music and anything in life is to dream big, believe in yourself and have a passion for music.

My artist name is Famous Quan and I am currently on all digital streaming platforms, my last song is called different vibez and my next release is called love scars, which officially drops on all platforms October 1, 2021.

I believe to succeed in the music business it’s not hard at all including all the great social media outlets like TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, and Discord.

First, I want to say TikTok is a major platform and I think the way to success is joining TikTok Influencers growth pages and follow people to get a follow back. Using the promotion button which will pitch your music as sounds and increase follows and engagement. Once you have a thousand followers, that would be a good moment to go live and promote your music while earning money.

Instagram is a great place to market but you need to have awareness. You can use social media sites to help gain you a lot of fans and personally bring those fans to follow you on Instagram or other platforms.

Another great way to success is having a Public Relations service and Artist PR is a great way to help promote your work on Playlist, college radio, newspaper and blogs to plan a successful release. It is great to have your music on all platforms and have a website engaging fans to purchase merchandise to get exclusive music. If you haven’t yet checked them out go to Artist PR and submit your music for free. If you are accepted, you will have a lot of tools and resources to promote efficiency. It’s worth the money it’ll cost you’ll 200 dollars to get on big news outlets.

The distribution service I use is TuneCore to get all my music out. Another great way to promote the song is to provide teasers and play it exclusively from time to time for loyal fans.

Artists

Sydney Etter

Sydney Etter

The thing that excites me most about songwriting is bringing a musical idea or concept to fruition. Whether composing an original piece from the initial conversations at the start of a project, or simply working as a music director orchestrating previously composed music by others, the process of collaboration is something I’ve always been very good at.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been given opportunities to wear many hats, from rehearsal pianist on Broadway shows, to working as a session player/arranger in studio recordings for numerous artists and as a composer and music book writer on musicals. Vying for wide release on a national level. The common denominator in all these endeavors was the challenge of meeting deadlines and providing works that I am extremely proud of.If I could give any words of advice to any songwriter/composer is to make sure that any intellectual properties that you create are protected. Make sure to spell out contractually the terms of your participation and ownership before participating in any musical endeavor. If it is a work for hire situation, make sure that is clearly spelled out in writing. Make sure to copyright your works with the Library of Congress, and if the project is collaborative in nature, make sure that all of the participants contributions are clearly spelled out percentage wise, in a written contract. 

Having been in situations with people who have tried take advantage of my kindness in the past, I have learned the hard way, that not everyone you work with or for has good intentions.

Just make sure going into a situation that the terms are properly identified and agreed to IN WRITING. I can’t stress that enough. If you can afford it, have a Music Attorney look over any agreements before agreeing to them. If you can’t afford an Attorney, there are various music organizations that can help you this, but it may require a little research.


Remember, these intellectual properties are part of your family legacy and will live on after your are gone so they must be protected. They could potentially provide some generational wealth for your heirs. Having said that, Collaboration is a wonderful thing which can lead to some long-lasting creative relationships provided you handle the “business of music” properly with all of the necessary precautions.

Artists

Lamb Rabbit

Lamb Rabbit

LAMB RABBIT "Create music that rings true to you, from your heart. If your own music heals or hypes you up, changes are it'll do the same for others. But always create for yourself first and foremost."

Lamb Rabbit is a singer, producer, esoteric vinyl collector and DJ. Her warm, hypnotic sounds are genre-defying and disarmingly personal. Her debut solo album, Heart True, is out now.


She also produces, DJs and hosts the radio show UPPERCUTS on Half Moon, New York’s “most upfront radio station and hub” as cited by Boiler Room.

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Artists

NESS NÖST​

NESS NÖST

NESS NÖST is musician & multi instrumentalist Vanessa Nøstbakken, originally from Ottawa/Montreal, now based out of Vancouver, BC Canada. Vanessa has been a live performer for many years in theatre, and as a musician on stage. Vanessa’s roots are in folk, soul and jazz. In Montreal she was the lead singer for the jazz group “Swoon Quartet,” and toured with them in the USA and Canada. Vanessa moved to the west and joined indie rock band “Easy Ruckus,” with whom she recorded an EP. Vanessa continued developing her solo career on the west coast where she busked her way from the streets to the Vancouver music scene, playing in venues all over town with different artists/groups, and as a solo act. Whether it’s in the studio or on stage, making art and music is a huge part of her life. Vanessa is currently working on an EP fusing her folk roots with more electronic, harmonious melodies with many layers of the female voice.

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Artists

Lachi

Lachi

LACHI: "Don't silo yourself. Get excited about the music that's around you and the other artists in your space."

Lachi is an award winning creative artist and prolific EDM singer-songwriter whose works have debuted on national Dance charts and editorial lists, amassing millions of streams, and finding placements on TV, Radio and Feature film. Being legally blind, Lachi advocates for disability inclusion, equity and accessibility in the music and entertainment industries.

The host of new digital series from PBS’ American Masters “Renegade,” Lachi explores the contributions of people with disabilities and how they transformed America, as well, Lachi hosts a YouTube series “OffBeat” which documents her
journey as she loses her vision–speaking with disabled celebrities and checking off bucket-list items. Lachi co-chairs the GRAMMYs NY Chapter Advocacy Committee, sits on the NORA Project Leadership Council, and is Founder and President of RAMP’D, a coalition of accredited Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities.

Named a “dedicated foot soldier for disability pride” by Forbes, a “Blind Influencer” by Influencive, and a “Badass” by longtime civil rights activist Judy Heumann, Lachi has also been featured in the New York Times, Essence, Huffington Post, American Songwriter, and Music Tech Magazine among others for her work bringing disability inclusion in music and entertainment into mainstream discussion, and for her brand of unapologetic disability pride.

Don’t silo yourself. Listen to playlists, radio, discover new music Spotify, YouTube, shows and films, and get out to concerts. Get excited about the music that’s around you and the other artists in your space. Songwriting as a career means getting yourself acquainted with it at an industry level: seeing competitors as peers and colleagues, and appreciating and learning from songs that have done well.
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Artists

Ryan Greenacre

Ryan Greenacre

Songcraft Featured Songwriter: RYAN GREENACRE The thing I really enjoy about songwriting is that there really are no rules… A lot of great songwriters do their things their own way. I love the freedom, the expression, and how it’s therapeutic.

RYAN GREENACRE (whose alter-ego is RUGGERNAUT) is a singer-songwriter from Ottawa, Canada.  He received notoriety in the mid-2000’s with his critically-acclaimed rock band Golden Bulldozer. After winning the 2006 Bluesfest Talent Showcase at famed venue Zaphod Beeblebrox and being labelled “Ottawa’s Fastest Rising Band” by legendary owner Eugene Haslam, they played the massive summer Bluesfest Festival and gained a large local following. Never recording a standard album, their music circulated with fans in a series of limited-release EP’s and studio demos on cassette, CD and DAT. 

 

Greenacre is now a solo act, working with a wide variety of musical collaborators in the Ottawa Valley and beyond. His musical influences range from 60’s psychedelic rock, to 70’s metal, to 80’s pop music and traditional folk, country and blues.  He calls it 21st Century Troubadour Rock, infusing his songs with large doses of social satire and consciousness-raising mantras, with lyrics steeped in mythology, science fiction and contemporary digital culture.  Let Me Be Free is Ryan’s latest single.  The song is now available for download on Bandcamp.

I started writing songs as a way to express my deepest inner emotions, as a way to get what was inside of me out, and to process life. For me, songwriting has always been an intimate thing, and I usually prefer to write on my own, secluded and safe to explore my most vulnerable ideas without judgement. As I have grown as a writer, I have learned to love co-writing more and more. I love how multiple people can come together and create something that is both personal and universally true, and you always come up with something that none of the individual writers would have done on their own, which is really exciting. My favorite part of the creative process is being in the studio and producing the track. I love taking a song from an just idea to a fully realized artistic vision. In the production process, collaboration has been essential for me. I love to work with other producers and to get their ears and ideas onto the
track. Ultimately, writing the song is just the first step, and you really get to bring it to life with the production.


I also have a passion for education and the empowerment of young female and gender non-conforming writers. I love to work with young artists to develop their voice and express themselves, especially those who are  underrepresented. When I was a teenage writer, music was really the thing I leaned on in my life to help me get through tough times. I know how powerful music can be in people’s lives, and how transformative it can be to have tools to express and create at a young age. It is an honor to pass knowledge on to future generations of women and non-binary creators, and to encourage them to be fully themselves no matter what society has to say.

To me, the best writing is the stuff that is honest, raw, and real. The things that you may have been nervous to say, the lyrics that help you understand yourself and your life a little bit better, the melodies that make sense of it all, and
also rip your heart out

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Artists

Chloe O’Brien

Chloe O'Brien

Chloe O’Brien is an alternative rock/pop singer, songwriter, producer, and educator from Queenstown New Zealand. She spent her childhood among the Mountains before moving to Olympia, Washington as a teen. As a descendant of the riot grrrl movement, she threw herself into the alt-rock scene of the Pacific Northwest, playing in several bands and discovering her
love for writing songs.


At 18, Chloe moved to Boston, MA to attend Berklee College of Music. Out of the context of her hometown, she began to explore musically, dipping her toes in several genres including indie-folk and electronic pop. With a strong focus on songwriting, she has an ever evolving sound. Rooted in alt-rock, infused with influences from all over the place. She released her debut EP “Chloe Jane” in 2016, featuring the indie-folk “Photographs.”


In 2018, Chloe introduced her alias Neia Jane with the debut single “Not Romantic,” followed by her debut full length album, “Magic & Honey.” In the years that have followed, her sound has continued to develop, with the 90’s grunge inspired single “Lady In Red,” the synth-driven and self-produced “Break Ur Heart,” the edgy and ethereal track “Missing You Tomorrow,” and her most recent single, the anthemic “I’ll Survive.”


Now based in Los Angeles, Chloe works as an independent artist, a songwriter, and an educator, teaching songwriting workshops with organizations such as Berklee College of Music. Chloe tells her stories with a unique sonic blend of distorted guitars, dreamy synthesizers, and soaring vocal melodies. With grit and grace, she showcases both her intense vulnerability and the edgy grunge-girl that is undeniably present in her music.


You can find her bold new single “I’ll Survive” under the name Neia Jane in all digital stores.

My advice for songwriters who are just getting started is to fall in love with the process of writing and making music, and to try your best to detach from the outcomes. This is a crazy business, and you never know what lies around the
corner. Sometimes, it can feel like you are putting in tons of work with little reward, but then out of nowhere a big opportunity can come up that you never could have planned or expected. If you love the process and you create from
the heart, you will enjoy the journey each step of the way, no matter the outcomes.

I started writing songs as a way to express my deepest inner emotions, as a way to get what was inside of me out, and to process life. For me, songwriting has always been an intimate thing, and I usually prefer to write on my own, secluded and safe to explore my most vulnerable ideas without judgement. As I have grown as a writer, I have learned to love co-writing more and more. I love how multiple people can come together and create something that is both personal and universally true, and you always come up with something that none of the individual writers would have done on their own, which is really exciting. My favorite part of the creative process is being in the studio and producing the track. I love taking a song from an just idea to a fully realized artistic vision. In the production process, collaboration has been essential for me. I love to work with other producers and to get their ears and ideas onto the
track. Ultimately, writing the song is just the first step, and you really get to bring it to life with the production.


I also have a passion for education and the empowerment of young female and gender non-conforming writers. I love to work with young artists to develop their voice and express themselves, especially those who are  underrepresented. When I was a teenage writer, music was really the thing I leaned on in my life to help me get through tough times. I know how powerful music can be in people’s lives, and how transformative it can be to have tools to express and create at a young age. It is an honor to pass knowledge on to future generations of women and non-binary creators, and to encourage them to be fully themselves no matter what society has to say.

To me, the best writing is the stuff that is honest, raw, and real. The things that you may have been nervous to say, the lyrics that help you understand yourself and your life a little bit better, the melodies that make sense of it all, and
also rip your heart out

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Artists

Unitsi Ai aka Austin Musick

Unitsi Ai aka Austin Musick

“Unitsi” meaning Mother in Cherokee,
                         “Ai” meaning Love in Japanese. I am both.

I am Unitsi Ai, also known as Austin Musick. I am a unique and talented, singer, songwriter, poet, producer and actor based in Los Angeles, California.
Originally from East Tennessee and born with a mixed heritage that consisted of Cherokee and Japanese, I am raw, real and sings from my soul, combining poetry, story, and sound into unison.

I have written poetry since I was a child. I took a few piano lessons at the age of nine but was chastised and discouraged from continuing after my teacher caught me playing by ear and memory rather than reading the sheet music. Nevertheless as an artist, I was determined to create, somehow, someway. I studied Theatre at the University of Tennessee and graduated with high marks, however I was never cast in any of the musicals. In fact, it took nearly 15 more years before I would return to my roots of poetry that would later provide the springboard to my music career.

Coming late into the game and still unable to read music or play an instrument, I knew that I had my work cut out for me. First, I sought out the musicians that I felt played the sounds that were similar to the melodies that had haunted me for quite some time. After a few meetings and a few dead ends, I found my first collaborative pairing with a up and coming Chicago guitarist, Dave Cavalier. He had a trio of his own already, that included a phenomenal drummer named Shane Considine. After a jam session to see what I had to offer, the two fellas agreed to come on board.

From there, a whirlwind of preparation, a few rehearsal sessions, a total of only four, over the next two months began. Before I knew it, I was walking through the doors of the historical, well renowned East West Recording studios to record the four original tracks that would later become my very first EP, “A Year of Denial and Debauchery.”

Since then, I have gone on to continuously learn, write, create, and sing. In January of 2021 after collaborating with Polish Producer Michael Nocny, I released my second EP, titled “Masochist.” Then recently, just this month, in June of 2021, I released three new singles produced by Anthony Galatis in which due to the Covid restrictions, I recorded all the vocals in my living room. You can stream and/or buy both EP’s and the new singles on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon now.

Just like my Grandmother always said: “It’s never too late to change your mind, it’s never too late to learn something new, it’s never too late to evolve into the best you that you were born to be. I miss her dearly as she is now deceased and was truly my biggest support, cheerleader, and fan when it came to my creativity growing up.

That being said, I feel that the music industry is a constant learning process. Lucky for me, I love to learn. The time constraints of daily life sometimes make it daunting but I feel the music industry is ever-changing especially now due to technology. Not only that, but there are limitless live musical instruments from around the world that I feel haven’t clue even exist but am determined to discover.

I have a confession. I didn’t even learn how, and I am still struggling to do it now, to read music or play the piano until I was 40 years old. But I knew that I had to do it because, other than singing my song idea to someone a capella, I had no other way of being able to communicate to other collaboratives as to what I was hearing in my head. So a few years ago I challenged myself to learn the piano and finally understand sheet music.

I feel its just as important if not more so, to learn about the industry side itself, the business side. For me, this is the part I am not a huge fan of. I am not a PR Firm, manager, or agent; I am not a salesman and while yes, I do help to run my family business in commercial real estate and do have a minor in Business from the University of TN, my BA was in theatre because I am and will always be an artist. I want nothing more than to create. Whether it be within a character, a poem, a story, or a song, a painting, or a sculpture, I am constantly creating and that’s what I love to do. Loving it makes the creative side come naturally and easily. Ah, but selling myself, promoting myself, protecting myself legally with copyright and LLC formation, a PRO registration etc, isn’t my idea of a good time. Nonetheless, it is necessity. Because at the end of the day, I can create until I’m blue in the face but no one is going to know unless I get it out there and share it with the world. The only way to get it out there logistically is to learn the business aspect of the music industry. And now with technologies social platforms, streaming platforms and ability to start ones own LLC, there are infinite ways to succeed independently (without being signed to a label) if you have a good business plan. So learn how to create a business plan and then see it  through.

Secondly, my only other advice that I would give is to stay true to who you are. It took me two EP’s, which I will always love, and quite a bit of money to finally come back around full circle during the quarantine of 2020. It was being on lockdown that forced me to sit in front of that piano and rediscover my love of spoken word over simple sound. Don’t get me wrong, both of my previous EP’s came from my heart, but I also feel they were highly influenced by my collaboration with the producers as well as the idea of how it would “sell” and now when I listen to them/sing these songs sometimes, I just don’t feel like they are “me.” And as we all are ever-evolving, in this industry that so badly wants to place us in a neatly packaged branding box or genre, its easy to loose sight of where you began and what you, the artist, sees in their true reflection of the heart’s mirror. I decided, when I started working with my latest Producer, that boundaries needed to be clearly set as to what I wanted in these new singles, and in doing so, I am more pleased with these songs than any of my others. The music comes from you. There is only one you. Just do you. Thats all you can do. The rest of world will catch up eventually if you stay true to your path. I truly believe that.

As I stated before, my degree is in theatre. Other than loving music and watching my Mother sing to her favorites (Tina Turner, Bill Withers, Sam Cooke, Nina Simone, Prince, Sting, Michael Jackson to name a few,) I knew nothing about music theory, how to play an instrument, or the music industry until 3 years ago when I first began.

I was taking time off from acting after an encounter of domestic abuse from another actor who I thought was my soul mate, and I started writing again. Then I met a really kind older man man who recommended a poetry group called Philosophers Stone Poets. I went to check them out and was asked to read at the next gathering. When that day came it felt so good to stand in a room and read aloud with others, sharing ourselves through spoken word. After the get together I met a young man who invited me to this party up in the hills where musicians would come in and out and jam. He told me to bring my journal of poems so I did. When we arrived there it truly was this improvisation of music that I had never experienced. Someone new would come in and
plug in their guitar or pick up a shaker and another would leave to take a smoke break etc but the jam never ceased, just shifted and evolved into the new groove. They asked me if I wanted to join in and I told them I don’t know how to play an instrument but I could riff verbally. So, the next thing I knew, I was on the stage at first speaking over the rhythm and then quickly discovering the pockets for my spoken word to float into its own melody. Before I knew it, I began to howl, as if an exorcism was being conducted and I was somehow being released. It was from that moment on, I was hooked and there was no going back. I knew that I was meant for music.

Do I still love to act? Yes. I like to look at Acting as a way to sooth, explore, and forgive myself and others. I love putting myself in the shoes of a character, another life, another perspective, which allows me to truly empathize with others and where they come from. Acting grants me an ability to see how we are all different and yet all the same at the core, with the same wants, needs, fears, and desires to love and be loved. So on one hand, Acting soothes my soul. On the other hand, however, I feel Music does more than just sooth my soul but also feeds my soul. I say this because there is no mask to remove at the end of the day. It is me and only me that stands before you sharing my thoughts, dreams, love and heartbreak and there is something in this that feels like growth every time I do it. Does it also feel like I am losing my virginity while jumping out of an airplane and everyone is watching? Yes. It is scary to be vulnerable and to stand ‘naked’ on the stage? Yes. But at the end of the day, its worth every bit of the adrenaline rush knowing that I did. I shared my heart on this Earth before I was gone and as a creative, that is what I am destined to do.

For me, it always begins with the poetry inspired by whatever is going on presently in my life. It could be something internal or external, from a very personal place like love or heartbreak or from an objective perspective that I feel needs to be addressed because from my point of view, the silence around it is breeding fear and anger within our society and I feel it is my duty to use the gifts I have as a wordsmith to create change when there is injustice or hate among us.

When writing my lyrics, as they begin in this poem, I begin to hear the cadence within the words. It’s as if they fall like leaves that the wind blows into this small stream below. When I read the poem out loud the rhythm is created by the pause in thought, a tapping of the toe, sometimes a clicking of the tongue, or even the rattle of my pen as I roll it back and forth in my hand.

It is now the fun really begins as I go over to the piano and start playing with different chords in accompaniment with this new found rhythm. The Chords and Rhythm in combination turn this small “Stream” into more of what I now call “The River.” Once the river has been formed and recorded roughly in a demo form, I then begin to hum and sing and riff while I explore other ‘streams’ like the sound of a horn or a violin coming in. From there, I extend my reach and begin discussing with my collaborators (ie my producers or fellow musicians/friends) the idea I have for this new song and ask them if they would like to be a part of it. From there the river begins to truly find its current, its rapids so to speak, in which, if we are lucky, at the end of it all, the river will make its way to the “Sea” where the world can later join and sing along with our melody.

I am greatly influenced by my love of Jazz and the musical improv it provides.
So all that being said above, there are also times that I am just listening to the jam of the band and the words form on the spot there and then. One thing is for certain that I have found and that is the fact that if the words are forced or untrue, well they tend not to come at all. Even if they do, they never stick around too long and will certainly get scrapped in the end because I feel they just aren’t very good if they don’t speak from the heart.

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Artists

Lisa Brigantino

Lisa Brigantino

Lisa Brigantino Remember, kindness is not a sign of weakness. Most of the music opportunities and jobs that I’ve gotten through the years have come through referrals because people know my abilities, that I have a good sense of humor, I’m easy to work with and I’m a professional. That goes a very long way.

Award-winning singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer/arranger Lisa Brigantino is an engaging performer whose eclectic approach to songwriting spans groove, genre and topic. Brigantino’s latest album I’ll Waltz Before I Go released continues Brigantino’s tradition of producing albums containing her eclectic original songs which span a wide range of genres including Folk, Roots, Americana, Old-Time, Country, Pop, and Rock.

I’ll Waltz Before I Go was co-produced and arranged by Brigantino and husband Thomas Millioto, and was recorded and mixed by Millioto. The album contains 13 tracks. Twelve tracks are written by Brigantino, and two of these songs are co-written. There is also one cover song on the album. The album contains guest performances by Thomas Millioto, Lori Brigantino, Susan Haefner, and Gus Morgan – Brigantino’s former Lez Zeppelin bandmate. With a majority of the instruments played by Brigantino, the arrangements show her versatility as an artist; ranging from mellow vocals and finger picked acoustic guitar, to full band arrangements with Brigantino deftly handling guitars, bass, keyboards, accordion, mandolin, and more.   ‘Round Magazine says “It’s hard to find an album with more variety than I’ll Waltz Before I Go…Brigantino’s voice itself is something truly special. It combines the brightness and clarity of a precocious twenty-something, with all the range and control of a woman with decades of practice under her belt….Nearly every track is a standout…This is a stunner of an album.” The Daily Country says “Throughout the thirteen tracks, Lisa seamlessly blends genres from Folk to Americana, Country, Rock, and Old-Time, even incorporating some Gypsy-Jazz for good measure.”

Lisa performs regularly at venues ranging from intimate house concerts and coffeehouses to clubs and large theaters. She has been selected to appear at a number of music festivals and conferences including The New Jersey Folk Festival (Singer/Songwriter Showcase Winner), The Ladybug Music Festival, The Florida Music Festival, Maplewoodstock, The Rockland-Bergen Music Festival, The Pleasantville Music Festival, The Black Potatoe Festival, Wellfleet Porchfest, Folk Alliance International, Singer Songwriter Cape May.

Lisa often performs her original music with her sister Lori Brigantino, also a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. In addition, the two sisters also perform in “The Vickie & Nickie Show” a wacky, self-contained theatrical musical/comedy act.

In addition to being a performing songwriter and musician, Lisa is a trained composer with a Master of Music in music composition and music theory from SUNY Fredonia, and she composes music for television, film, theatre, dance and new media.  She also writes solo vocal and choral ensemble music as well as a variety of instrumental music and provides music supervision services via her company Hidden Pond Productions, Inc.  Brigantino recently released a single entitle “I Can’t Stay Anymore” written for the short film “Dolhouse” which she also music supervised.

Lisa is a former original member of Lez Zeppelin, the world’s first all girl, all Led Zeppelin tribute band and toured internationally with the band for a number of years playing bass, bass pedals, keys, mandolin and doing backup vocals. The band played A list venues and festivals around the world including Bonnaroo (US), Download (UK), Rock am Ring/Rock am Park (Germany). The band’s self-titled debut CD was released in 2007, recorded and produced by the legendary Eddie Kramer. Lisa co-wrote two of the original songs on the album. Lisa left the band in 2009 to focus on her own original music.

Lisa Brigantino is proud to be a Kurzweil Endorsed Artist. She is a member of SESAC, The Songwriters Guild of America, The International Singer Songwriters Association, Inc., New York Women in Film and Television, a voting member of NARAS (Grammys) and serves on the Advisory Board of Women In Music, Inc.

I think in addition to being passionate, tenacious and not giving up, you need to surround yourself with people that love and support you and are not dream-killers. If you do get discouraged, you just need to focus more on the things that can propel you forward. You need to practice and study and be the best musician/writer that you can be. You will always have more to learn – not only about the craft of music but about the business, itself. The more you can educate yourself about how the business of music works, the better off you’ll be and the less chance you’ll have of someone taking advantage of you. You also need to network like crazy and be confident about who you are and how you present yourself. Also, keep your ego in check. No one likes working with a diva. You may get that first job, but if you’re difficult, you’ll never be asked back and word spreads quickly in the industry about how easy or hard it is to work with someone. Show up on time, know your parts for group rehearsals. It sounds so simple, but be kind and say “please” and “thank you”. Remember, kindness is not a sign of weakness. Most of the music opportunities and jobs that I’ve gotten through the years have come through referrals because people know my abilities, that I have a good sense of humor, I’m easy to work with and I’m a professional. That goes a very long way.

Your personal experience / relationship with songwriting

I’ve been writing music since I’m about 13 years old.  I continued through high school and received a BA in music theory and Master of Music in music theory and music composition from SUNY Fredonia.  I moved to NYC after getting my Master degree to pursue writing and performing.  Writing music is something that I can’t not do.

In addition, I’ve worked for years in the business side of the industry doing music licensing, music supervision and rights clearance.  That has really informed the business side of things as they relate to songwriting and has also allowed me to get placements of my own music in moving media.

Your process

My writing process changes depending on what I’m working on.  If I’m songwriting for myself, sometimes I start with a musical idea, sometimes a lyric idea.  It changes.  I can use the guitar or piano to sound out what I’m working on, but I often write with just some staff paper handy.   I even have a small notebook of staff paper that fits in my bag that I always carry with me.  If I’m on the subway and I want to work on something, I’ve got my tools with me.

If I’m writing for a client, the process is different.  There I’m given all kinds of parameters I need to work with including composing to/for what the visual will be, what the length of the piece will be in minutes and seconds, what genre of music the client is interested in, tempo of the piece, etc.  There are those wonderful moments when songs seem to write themselves, but for the most part, I consider composing and songwriting a craft.  If I’m being hired to write something, I have to be able to write music when I need to.  If I have a client that needs a :60 TV commercial in 5 days, I can’t sit around, starry-eyed waiting for the lightning bolt of inspiration to hit. I have to be able to write something right away and turn around a finished, polished product.

Your style / genre of music and preferences

I songwrite in a variety of genres – including Rock, Folk, Pop, Country, Old-Time, etc.  I think it comes from me being a multi-instrumentalist and really being in love with so many different musical genres.  They can’t help but show up in my original music.

Aspects of music that excite you most (performances, collaborations, etc)

I do love that feeling when a song is being birthed – creating something that didn’t exist before, and also fleshing that out in the studio.  But I also love performing for live audiences and sharing music in real time.

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Artists

Aortah

Aortah

In merely one year since her first release and appearance on Season 6 of The Voice Australia, Sharin Attamimi, under the moniker Aortah, has recorded and released 6 singles, achieving recognition from Spotify editorial playlists such as ‘Global X’ and accumulating over 350,000 streams.

 

The Yemeni-Indonesian, Perth raised artist is a one-to- watch singer/songwriter with a spiritual and introspective take on R&B influenced by her heritage, early musical training and listening of artists such as Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill. Capturing R&B/Soul, Jazz and Western Art fans; her craft builds upon a solid foundation of early classical music (AMEB Piano and Theory) training that is further diversified by her later studies of Jazz at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts. Her predominately Yemeni roots colours her music and seeps into her voice, setting an exotic, moving and haunting mood. In tracks such as ‘OYA’ and ‘Ya Rouhi’, Aortah manages to translate a world of the human experience through her lyrical and melodic creativity that is not limited to a single language, culture or race.

 

Aortah is in the process of writing her EP that will have significant cultural value not only in WA but globally. The singer is increasingly exploring the use of Arabic and Indonesian elements in her music which will be a take on R&B unlike that ever heard before. As a Yemeni-Indonesian artist raised in the west, Aortah’s music is a melting pot of many influences that makes hers unique, offering diversity and inclusivity in the community.

Through her music, Aortah hopes to reduce the disparity between the eastern and the western worlds she simultaneously lives in and challenge the narrative that has surrounded Arab and Muslim women and men for centuries. With no need to sugarcoat, she expresses thoughts honestly and openly, some considered ‘taboo’, speaking for millions of culturally and linguistically diverse women and men living in the west such as herself who have had to too often gloss over their truth.Aortah’s music, videos and their production will create a cultural bridge between Perth and Australia’s large and growing Arab, Indonesian and Muslim community. This will have many long-term benefits, not only for the music community and migrant artists, but Australia’s large and growing multicultural community.

“My advice would be to write from the heart and not rush or force the creativity out of yourself but to just relax and let it come when the time is right. If you are feeling stuck it helps to try to write from not only your own experience but from the perspective of someone else or about an external event or issue. I also do daily songwriting exercises called ‘object writing’ from a book by Pat Pattinson called ‘Sonwriting Without Boundaries’ even if I don’t actually write a song that day it helps to keep my writing brain awake!”

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