Exposed Vocals Interviews AL-X

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

AL-X:  Well I was born in Hong Kong, lived in Japan for 5 years, and then moved to LA.  I currently go to boarding school in Santa Barbara and I’ll be going to UCSB next year.  I guess I started making music when I realized my love for poetry could be translated into my love for music.  This slowly and slowly progressed to me putting more and more effort into meeting people in the industry and writing more music.  I love it hahaha.

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

AL-X: I was sitting with my friend trying to figure out a name.  All the names we came up with were pretty cheesy.  Then I thought about G-Eazy and a bunch of artists with a – in their name and I thought that if I take out the vowel in my name and replace it with a – it leaves a gap.  I try to fill this gap with my music, but because the gap is always there I strive to make better and better music each day.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

AL-X: Oh yeah, I believe that giving music away for free in this stage of my career helps me expand.  I remember being only able to here previews of music on itunes and always wanting more.  I would have to save up all my allowance as a 10 year old to buy an album.  Instead I feel that people should listen to my music for free and just have fun with it.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

AL-X: Well I’m not too big yet but I’ve been able to have a few shows and get some decent plays so what I would say is this: reach out to every music blog, twitter page, instagram, and just anything for that matter that you can.  You never know what label or blog might just respond to you or at least give your song a listen.  Its tiring but doing this will definitely lead to a lot of airplay.

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

AL-X: I find a lot of inspiration in nature.  Since I’m from Santa Barbara, I find a lot of this inspiration from the ocean and the beach.  Sometimes I’ll go to the beach for the day, sit back, and just write with some instrumental music in the background.  If I can’t make it to the beach I’ll go to my school’s music studio and find producers and artists that I believe compliment my music style.

As for the song-writing process I usually just sit down start at the top and let the chorus write itself.  To me the verses make the chorus.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

AL-X: I use a bunch!  Just created my website and all the links below should lead you to the right place

website: http://al-x-music.bandpage.com/

soundcloud: soundcloud.com/alxyz

twitter: https://twitter.com/ALXXOFFICIAL

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_l_i_c_h_a_n/

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALX.good.vibes/

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

AL-X: I would probably invest half of it and then use the rest of the money to get some high level artists to work with.  With that I would be able to expand my fan base and work with some really cool people.  I would also probably find a better studio haha.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

AL-X: As I said earlier I think that working through social media is the best bet.  I’ve worked to build up all my social media pages which has allowed me to reach a bigger audience.  You need to have all social media platforms though. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud.  Those big four will help you expand a lot.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Artist: Working on a 5 song project right now which should come out by May 1st (if all goes to plan). The songs are all nice and short and have really nice production.  I’ve worked with a few producers on it and I’m really excited.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

AL-X: Playing water polo or finance haha.  I’m going to play D1 water polo at UCSB next year so it should be fun to balance music and sports.  I also work with investment and have had a job with an investment advising company in Santa Monica for the past 2 years so I could make some money.  Diversity woot woot!

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

AL-X: I make sure that I write music for at least 30 minutes a day in conjunction to school work and sports.  This has allowed me to consistently have new music available.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

AL-X:  Now that the website is up people should expect the 5 song project coming up soon, a single that I’m working on with an up and coming artist, a music video for a new single that I’m working on with an old friend, and some merchandise on my website.  The year is going to be a big one and everyone should get hype!