We were lucky to catch up with Abhi Ananda recently and have shared our conversation below.
Abhi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I’m very content with my current state of life as an artist. I can honestly say that being an artist means you really have to follow your passion. But, in order to do that, you have to deeply love what you’re doing, in my case it’s music. For me, I feel like I’ve been doing music as a job since I decided that this is what I really love to do. I’m a songwriter/composer and I think by writing songs, recording, performing, or even jamming to get some musical ideas, I already considered myself that I just finished a job/task even if I do it for myself and for free. Right now, I’m still having a part-time job because I need to pay my bills and everything. But, I’ve been lucky enough to have a good amount of time to do my creative stuffs. So, I think the main idea is to compromise and to have a good balance between your regular job and your artist job. I believe if you keep doing everything right, one day your artist job will become your regular job.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I started pursuing my passion in music when I was in my high school years in Indonesia. As a musician, I didn’t have any musical background in my family and any music education background. I was a self-taught musician and I was blessed with a good sense of melody and harmony which really benefits me as a songwriter. Unfortunately, I felt like the music scene in Indonesia was not for me and I decided to move to the United States to pursue my dream. My journey in America was started in Minnesota where I enrolled in McNally Smith Music of College. I feel like I really started a fresh new life here. I had my first music education and basically I built my music career from the scratch again. My time in Minnesota was cut short due to the college’s bankruptcy. I continued my journey by moving to Los Angeles. This is where I’ve been living until now and where I’m doing my creative stuffs. I would say that my time in music school really helped me grow as musician, especially as a singer-songwriter. I think what unique about me is I have an orthodox approach as a songwriter but sometimes I can go totally “out of the box” with the arrangement and production. My two albums, “Exulansis” and “Melophile” are good examples of my trait. The first album “Exulansis” is a very classic pop /singer songwriter stuff, but “Melophile” is more like a new age or a neoclassical stuff.
How did you build your audience on social media?
This is an interesting question because I don’t use social medias right now. It’s been two years, actually. I was an avid social media user before. However, as time goes by and especially during the pandemic, I feel like social media is definitely not for me, both as an artist and as a person. However, this is just my humble perspective. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. My only advice if you’re building your artist presence with social media is to make sure that you’re doing everything right. What I mean by that is post your artist-related stuff only and do it frequently.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Your work is your legacy. People will still talk about it even after you die, especially if your art is something truly remarkable.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://abhi-ananda.com/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcYKyvAg5DwcCx0nObF9eDQ
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7koOQZDLwk7uTjSZ2WkmFJ