Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stratøs. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Stratøs, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
My name is Stratøs, and my mission as an artist is simple and quite non-original. It’s to take all of my experiences, preferences, likes (and dislikes), and combine them into an artistic statement that’s wholly me. Where the interesting part comes into play is, whether it be an album, a discography, a legacy, I want to create an entire ecosystem brimming with life. My dream is to give my audience the same sense of wonder and everlastingness I get when I experience my favorite artists. When I read works by Yoshihiro Togashi (Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter) or Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist), there’s a magnetism that draws me in. These are artists who have created worlds that sometimes feel more real than our own. They leave behind massive amounts of subtle detail that reward you for your curiosity. Creating an experience of this scale – meaning sometimes a lifetime – is my dream.
The medium I’m choosing to deliver my universe in is in the form of my third studio album “Challenger Deep.” As an independent artist, I’ve released two full length albums that were self-produced. My freshman & sophomore records “Planets” and “Hohenheim Suites” represented both the audio production and composition elements of my art respectively. With Challenger Deep, I seek to combine everything I’ve experienced up until this point to make something wholly new. It’s with this record that I want to break into my industry in a meaningful way.
Stratøs, 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’m an artist originally from Michigan currently based in Los Angeles, CA. I started playing saxophone at age 10, began composing in college, taught myself audio production during my masters, and picked up a camera in 2020. I think of myself as someone who “accidentally” stumbled into a solo artist career. When I started the saxophone, my only goal was to sound like my heroes (sometimes it still is!). I had no intention of being a composer, and was certainly far away from the idea of adding production or photography into my work. Regardless of this reality, even when I was just a saxophonist, everything I learned was on my own terms. It had to be, because I’m pretty bad at learning things on anyone else’s. Different artistic disciplines entered my life out of a sheer need for expression. I started saxophone because I needed a musical voice. I started writing because I needed a amplifier for that voice to be heard. I started audio production because the need for a more diverse sound palette arose. I started photography because, to flesh out my universe completely, I’d need to have command over a sense we as humans often heavily rely on – sight.
I started off as primarily a jazz saxophonist in Michigan. I studied at Western Michigan University with saxophonist & composer Andrew Rathbun, but my time in school was spent trying to discover as much as I could. I was fortunate enough to be around educators who were willing to spend extra time or resources to teach me simply because I wanted to learn. Because of this, I often found myself in the back of composition or audio engineering classrooms near the end of my masters. I finished my masters degree in the spring of 2020, which was not great. My career was put on a swift hold, but I was fortunate enough to have time and space to work on the things I just finished learning. That’s when I started photography, and really gave audio production a proper go. After 2 years of lockdown, I moved to Los Angeles where I’m currently based.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think it’s sometimes hard for non-creatives to internalize the subjectivity of art. Sure, everyone understands that people have different tastes, but record sales (for example) are metrics too often used to describe what music is good and what’s not. Most artists I know who are really trying to be honest about their work don’t look at art this way at all, and so I think that’s where the disconnect is.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
During the creation of my 1st & 2nd albums, I learned about my creative process and its relationship with my independence as an artist. For “Planets,” I collaborated with several musicians from around the world, but it was during the 2020 COVID lockdown so there was a level of communication absent. For “Hohenheim Suites,” I had an amazing ensemble help me put together a really special artistic statement, but I had to rely on myself for the release.
For my third album, “Challenger Deep,” which I’m set to record this year, will be the culmination of those lessons learned. For this project I’m letting more people in, and in bigger ways. I’m working on truly building a team to do what it takes to get music heard in this industry, and so far I have a group of extremely brilliant and dedicated people that I’m very thankful for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stratostones.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stratostones/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stratostones
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/stratostones
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoODhMOrJxGh7Q-c8awaA4w
- Other: spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Hnjv6dMBM9cKOgtZEmyHB?si=0PyWKJ5KSCWzWmtUTaBUGA bandcamp: https://stratosmusic.bandcamp.com/album/hohenheim-suites
Image Credits
Stratøs (1), Julia Moffa (2), Julia Moffa (3), Stratøs (4).