Hello, dear music lovers and welcome back to our cozy cottage where we get the amazing opportunity to talk to wonderful artists that create wonderful music! Today we had the chance to get to know Louie Rubio, a great indie artist that we discovered through a music submitting platform. His song, Heart Of Gold, captivated us and we wanted to hear more and to know more about both the artist and the person, as we are sure you would want too. And luckily, he was kind enough to answer some of our questions for you, guys! Without further ado, let’s get to know Louie Rubio.
1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? I’m Louie Rubio, born and raised LA native who is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, producer. I’ve been in a few signed groups, and have written and produced for film and television. Right now I’m putting out singles for my upcoming debut solo album “Find Your Light”. The vibe is Indie with touches of Indie Pop, Alt R&B, Indie Rock, and retro genres like classic rock and yacht rock and funk (basically all the genres I love). I hunkered down in my studio in LA and started working on the album alone from the ground up, doing everything from writing, singing, recording, engineering, and finally mixing. My goal was to make a chill uplifting project for fans to enjoy. The process was not unlike something Tame Impala or Marc DeMarco or Toro y Moi would do. 2. What is your musical background and what led you to pursue a career in indie pop? I started playing drums in church. My Dad was the band leader and my first musical mentor; his advice was always “to play with grace”. I was then the lead singer in Doc Hollywood with Lex Larson and had a radio hit single called We Run LA with Ya Boy; the legendary Merck Mercuriadis our manager helped champion that record in a huge way. After that my partner and I teamed up w DJ Felli Fel from Power 106 who mentored us and we had a few big singles we made for films and TV including Logan and The Get Down. After that I decided I wanted to work on a solo project and went back to the genres I loved making the most: instrument based ones tied to live recording usually from late 60s to the late 90s. Almost all the new songs contain live recordings of me playing the instruments in my home studio in LA. 3. Do you have experience in live performances? If yes, can you tell us about it? As far as live performances I played a ton for church and for my school’s Jazz Band. That then translated to live DJing and club performances— finally culminating in performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live with The Americanos, Ty Dolla $ign, Nicky Jam and French Montana. I got to bring my Dad to that event, it was a great experience.
4. Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you are excited about? Can you give us a sneak peek into what is next for your music? I have several projects coming up. Off the top of my head I can think of a folk based singer songwriter project, a dancey French Touch project, a funk one, one where I go back to my Gospel roots as a collaboration with my Dad, and more. One that I’m really excited about is called Paycation where I team up with Rich Rocka who I made We Run LA with: think 80s synths meets West Coast rap. In between those projects I’ll keep putting out Indie type projects as well. I think it’s important to dispel the idea that musicians need to only pick one style and do that for the rest of their lives. I’m grateful to have had success exploring a lot of different genres and just having fun with it. 5. Are there any challenges that you have faced in your career so far? How did you overcome them? This project was the first time I really dove into mixing. The experience was eye opening and is probably going to inform how I tackle songwriting in the future. There was a lot of learning involved, luckily I had my close friend Ike Shultz (grammy nominated mixer) to guide me through it. I also leaned through a lot of YouTube videos from mixers, including Pensado, Mixed by Ali, and Gregory Scott from Kush, and Warren Huart from Produce like a Pro to name a few. Other people who were essential in the creation of this project were my wife, parents, the talented Kowloon, and partner Lex Larson. 6. And finally, what advice would you give to artists who are just starting their journey? What would you wish you knew? As far as advice I think the key is to remain open and to try a lot of different things. As artists we sometimes get laser focused on doing things one way, or going down one strict path, or being picky about our own music. I think it’s important to allow yourself to fail and to take big risks, and to try strategies you wouldn’t usually (this goes for music making and for business as well). The second part of that is to remain humble where necessary — don’t take things personally. I’ve seen people blow up relationships and opportunities because of feeling betrayed or because of a transgression or something someone did. Maintaining a stoic attitude about that stuff can help greatly and keep doors open that will be great down the line. The future is long. Lastly: build on your work ethic. You can start by watching videos or reading on how to build on your work ethic. Sometimes that involves little tweaks like scheduling, or changing your daily routines, or moving where things are placed in your personal space. We hope we caught your interest with this little interview of ours and we invite you to listen to Louie’s music on all streaming platforms and check his socials! We promise, you wont be disappointed!
Until Next Time, Chromind
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