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

Ivan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’ve been performing and writing music for about 20 years now, but I didn’t really get serious about trying to pursue music until 2017. I took some time off from working full-time and started doing freelance and gig-type work to give myself more time to work on my craft. The idea of Alcoda was birthed in 2014, however, my vision was very different then. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s okay to not have the full picture in your head before launching a project. You can fine-tune it along the way and figure out what works best for you.

In 2018, I released my first official full-length album, despite having released numerous projects on my Bandcamp page. While experimenting with my sound and overall artistry, I met some amazing local artists that really helped shape me into who I am today. I learned a lot about what it means to be a part of a DIY community and what it takes to build yourself up as an artist.

Ivan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I come from a very musical family. I remember my grandpa playing guitar, harmonica, and accordion in his room and filling the house with music. I had cousins who dabbled on piano and drums, too. However, it wasn’t until I was 12 when I got my first guitar. Once I picked it up, I never put it down.

In 2004 I started jamming with a drummer and we invited other kids from school to come jam with us and did some small backyard gigs and school events, too. By the time I was done with high school, I had formed a 4-piece metal band with some close friends and we played a lot of shows around Houston and had a pretty good run for a few years. Of course, with time we all wanted different things and went our separate ways and moved unto other projects.

The real turning point for me was in 2008 when a friend in computer lab handed me a flash drive with FL Studio. He said something along the lines of “hey, you do music stuff, you might like this!” and damn he was right. I took it home and spent all of my time trying to figure it out. I learned how to record on it and started making demos. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a solo artist and wanted to learn how to produce and engineer.

I loved all the synth plugins and electronic drum kits that were included with FL Studio because I grew up listening to R&B and hip-hop and had always wanted to incorporate those styles in my writing. Now that I had access to those tools I felt my writing evolving into what I had always dreamt of making. Now, 14 years later, I’m still learning new things and progressing as both an artist and producer.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

A lot of listeners are really unaware of the financial side of things in the music industry and what that means for a DIY artist like myself. In the digital age, physical copies of music aren’t necessary anymore. When I a teenager, I had to buy a CD of an artist in order to check out the album. Even with the internet around, at the time there weren’t a lot of resources for listening to music. Now that streaming is the primary source of listening to music, it’s been both a blessing and a curse, as most streaming platforms pay out a fraction of a cent per play.

Touring and selling merch is another common way for artists to make money, however, I don’t have the time or resources or desire to tour. I do perform paid gigs occasionally, but not every gig is guaranteed payment. I also have a merch store online, but I only receive a portion of the funds after the service fees and whatnot.

I think that if listeners knew just how much time and money goes into an album, or even just a single, they would consume music differently. Go to a show, buy a digital download, share a Spotify link with your friends. You don’t have to spend any money to support your artist friends!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The weeks leading up to my 4th album Reflections And The Heart, I shared a lot of snippets of the album and built a lot of hype for the release. The weekend it was released, my inbox across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were full of messages and screenshots of everyone’s favorite songs from the album. I was so overwhelmed.

Reflections And The Heart was a very personal batch of songs about my personal and emotional growth from 2021. My grandpa had passed away at the beginning of the year and I needed some time to grieve. I took a trip to Colorado and was humbled by the breathtaking, snowy views. That’s when the album process began.

Fast forward to October when people are listening to and enjoying the finished product, the project that I poured myself into, that’s what makes this whole thing worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/alcoda777
• Instagram: instagram.com/alcoda777
• Twitter: twitter.com/alcoda777
• Other: alcoda.threadless.com

Image Credits
3 – @rroxyroxanne 4 – @oddo_eternal