We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Adin Yager a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Adin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

The pandemic presented me with a large amount of time and nothing to do. I chose to turn my hobby, music production, into a passion project. In the two and a half years since I began to seriously produce music, this passion has turned into a hopeful career. I don’t remember the exact moment I realized I wanted music to be my career, however I do remember the time period and the events that led up to it. July 2021 was the 1 year anniversary of releasing music as skyswimming, and in that month I hit 1 million all time streams and 100,000 monthly listeners. I had convinced my parents that I didn’t need a summer job, and that I could earn my keep from music production only. As I worked on music daily, I just continued to fall deeper into the world of a career in music. Every day a future of music seemed closer and more feasible, and every day I formed more concrete plans for during and after college. Finally, towards the end of the summer, I sat my parents down and walked them through my four year plan. Finish college, study abroad in Amsterdam and progress my lofi career, and then move to LA and try my luck producing at the highest level. In the last few months, I’ve been expanding my portfolio, delving into other facets of music, and creating more revenue streams to ensure my dream can become a reality.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hi! My name is Adin, and I am a music producer, artist, and DJ :). I release lofi study beats under the name skyswimming, and I DJ as Red Ende. Currently, I have over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and my first album is being released this January! I’ve been playing music since I was a kid, and producing for about 7 years now. My parents love to tell the story of how I wrote my first song at 2 – while driving through the mountains of North Carolina on the way to a wedding, I saw a cow out the window, and started singing “Do You See My View” – my music career was destined from then on.
Over the pandemic, I had an abundance of time, and decided to take music seriously. I started skyswimming, and two and a half years later I’m so glad I did. This past year, I’ve surpassed 10 million streams, landed a bunch of editorials, and made some great lofi friends. I’m incredibly proud to be a part of such a strong supportive lofi community, and I’m lucky to have met some amazing people who have helped me branch into other areas within the music industry.
In the next year, I’ll be releasing dance music as Red Ende, hopefully DJing within the DC area bar/club scene, living in Amsterdam, and continuing to take skyswimming to the stars.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Russ’s book, “IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD”, really impacted my early days in music. Russ is one of the biggest rappers in the world, and he is and always has been an independent artist (no label affiliation). He built himself up completely on his own, and it wasn’t easy. It took about seven years for his success, but he never gave up, and is now one of the most successful artists of our time. His book is basically a huge motivator to just do it. One of the lessons that I took from it is self belief is so so important in an art career and in life. I should be my own biggest fan, my own motivator, my own supporter. That doesn’t mean I can’t also be my biggest critic, but it does mean I should always believe that I can and will.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The openness it brings. I’ve been introduced to so many new ideas and things, and I’m so glad that I’ve been able to be confronted with such a variety of perspectives. I’ve never been stuck in my ways, but the lofi community has really opened my mind to so many things. I think art is special in that there is really no right way to do something. Everything can be correct, and through my exploration of being a creative I’ve learned to really take that to heart and bring it into other parts of my life. Being exposed to so many new things has really broadened my perspectives and allowed for a ton of personal growth that without music, I may never have experienced. I’m so so grateful to music and all of the wonderful people I’ve met and spoken to.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/skyswimming
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_skyswimming/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/_skyswimming
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1VAupbjOIpMJk71kFmXrKy?si=4HfIRUuYTcGCHxdn2bzV7g https://music.apple.com/us/artist/skyswimming/1523939166