We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Trenton Abernathy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Trenton below.

Trenton , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I’ll never forget the moment I realized that I had found a new love. I vividly remember walking into my close friend Matthew’s apartment in New York City; where he had music equipment practically everywhere. In that moment it occurred to me that I had been missing something. It was then that I discovered that I could take my passion for good music to a whole other level.

Fast forwarding a few weeks, we ended up having a class project where we had to involve learned concepts and apply them practically in a creative way. So of course Matthew and I, decided to make a song together. I wrote the lyrics while he came up with melodies with his electric guitar and I just knew this song was going to be the best ever. It wasn’t until we actually got up in front of the class and hit play that I realized that it “sounded” horrible. You could barely hear certain aspects of the song due to some sounds dominating others, the vocals were muddy and it just sounded very amateurish. Which is something I must say I don’t take very lightly. It was a little embarrassing yet, from that, my fascination with how to make music sound professional rapidly grew.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was eight years old when I found out that I had a natural gift for acting. I started out being a runway model for local sororities and even did a few events for VA fashion week. The agency I was connected with eventually began to grow and expand; as they started offering me acting gigs. My first professional audition was for the VASPCA. I walked in the building, got checked in , then got handed sides which I would be reading once they called me in to the audition room. I remember my mom sitting beside me trying to help me memorize my lines and say them with conviction before I went in; less than ten minutes is all it took. I remember entering into the audition room without my script in my hand and everyone was quite thrown-off. “You memorized all that that fast?”. I was the best they had seen all day. After booking the commercial, I was pushed and guided to let my natural gift work for me. To reach new heights as well as escaping my living situation at the time.

As years progressed I began to learn how to hone my craft by going to workshops, starring in plays, T.V. shows; which eventually led me to auditioning and getting accepted in the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, VA. Which then prepared me for my acceptance into New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Where I began my primary training at the Experimental Theater Wing (ETW). After two years, I then transferred to and graduated from film production training at StoneStreet Studios .

My Time at NYU was crucial to my development. Being surrounded by other talented creatives in a safe space pushed me to expand my thought processes. It taught me that art is art; it should be treated as something that is boundless and ever changing. Yet, in that same regard there is preciseness, aspiration for perfection, and lots of emotion. Growing up in an environment where many people overtly or secretly dislike you was quite taxing. Conclusions and judgements are never based on character but instead on where you came from, who your parents were, and how you show up in a room. This is how music has gotten ahold of me.

I want people to know that I’m serious. The ultimate goal is to win a Grammy for production. Every song that I listen to and like, I’m quick to study it. What effects are being used? How are the drums hitting? Do the vocals sit right up front in the mix? How did the producer arrange the instruments to evoke feeling? All things that I take a mental note of and try my best to emulate in my own music, in my own way. I’m proud of how far I’ve come in gaining understanding of how it all works together. My first official single called “WATCH” was made from my iPhone using Garageband with low end headphones. Back then I couldn’t understand why my song sounded so much more different than some of my favorite songs I played at the time. Eventually as I grew, I began to figure it out. There’s no other feeling like going through my collections of beats and finding one that’s missing something; something that I’ve learned how to fix.

I also wanted to have something that embodies my music beyond sound-waves. Therefore I decided to launch a brand that goes along side it. “E-LL” is rooted in concepts of vulnerability and creativity. Turning the ordinary into something more. My main goal now is to take all of these newly learned skills and techniques, and apply them to this next project that I plan on releasing this summer for my birthday. In addition to taking my brand to new heights and growing closer to God.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is knowing that the product came from me, from nothing. Being able to complete a work or project, stepping away from it, and being able to enjoy it as a consumer ( or at least try to). Knowing that my music which I put a lot of time and passion into, can be playing in someone’s intimate space. Friendly gatherings, car rides, or maybe studied by another artist.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I want to figure it out; to be recognized as one of the best in music history. I want to be in a room with industry juggernauts and have them nodding their heads in the studio. To allow them to have deeper insight about who I am through airwaves. Artists that have inspired the way I write, produce and execute. People such as Kendrick Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul for rap. Timbaland and Derek Ali for production and mixing; in addition to vocalists who seem to push genre boundaries like Solange, Ojerime, and many others in R&B. A lot of people say that it may not be the best idea to meet your heroes and I can definitely understand why. Though to be recognized by those who have paved the way and given me hope about the future of music, would be a feeling like no other. Proof that the Lord can turn any situation and can make any dream come true as we strive to seek him. Matthew 6:33

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ta1545.wixsite.com/trentonj
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trentonjemmell/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trent.jem
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzhbxqOGv-1LDiKH49D1dqg
• Other: ellmerch.com (clothing)

Image Credits
Herman Hurston