We were lucky to catch up with Anis Roohi recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anis , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
It’s tough to choose a meaningful project I’ve worked on because every project I’ve done has held so much meaning to me. The one comes to mind now though is a project I had the honor to produce and co-perform with an artist in Senegal named Ahmad Ahsai. We recorded the whole mixtape in The Gambia, which is a western country in Africa. We recorded it at a school called Starfish International, which is an all girl’s school there that gives girls the opportunity to graduate and get higher education in the U.S. If you saw how important it was to use education as a tool to fight poverty and continue to share the knowledge with the youth, you’d see why this project was so meaningful to me.
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.
I go by Ghostboy, which is what most of my colleagues call me in the industry. As an adopted child from Nepal in the Himalayas, I had the blessing in growing up in the United States where the opportunities are endless for someone who was adopted from a family who was in extreme poverty. Moving here to the US was one of the toughest challenges I’ve had to face in my life, but the one passion that kept me at peace and driven, was music. I started playing the violin at the age of 8 years old and since then, I’ve learned to pick up any instrument I could come across. I picked up the guitar, percussion, and horns throughout my childhood and younger years. When I made it to college, I realized it was time for me to pick up the skill of music and sound design so I bought myself a MacBook and downloaded the first DAW I could find. While in college, I was able to produce my first mixtape in 2011 and my rap group the Slumdog Billionarez made a shock across our college campus. Ever since then, my production has evolved and I was able to establish my company GhostnPhantomProductionLLC upon graduation. Almost a decade later and I’ve been accepted into the Grammy Recording Academy as both an artist and a producer as a voting member. I always look for new people to collaborate with and to “reinvent your perception of sound” as my company slogan goes.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the fact that I can create things for others and utilize my creativity and skills to exceed their expectations.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
As an artist, there are so many things we struggle with that we’d love others to understand. I’d say always support each other and be honest but humble with the feedback you give to artists. We always appreciate the feedback and we put our hearts and souls into our work. Even a like, a share, or a positive comment helps encourage us to keep things going and make even more beautiful works of art for everyone to enjoy.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Anis Roohi