Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ysa Fernandez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Ysa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I fell into the world of music production in college, when I walked into the wrong classroom and it ended up being a full recording studio. I was going to College at Daytona State, in Florida for my AA at the time, and absolutely loved to sing and play guitar, but I didn’t think I could make a career out of it. So when I saw this studio, and learned they had classes on music production my brain lit up. It seemed so exciting to be able craft a song like like. So, I signed up for the studio classes as soon as a I could.

Ysa, 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 grew up in a small beach town in Florida (New Smyrna Beach) exploring all types of music thanks to my mom. She listened to Disco, and Latin, and Jazz. She had this boombox with all these CD’s she would play while she was cooking in the kitchen. That’s where I discovered Earth, Wind, and Fire, Chaka Khan, and Etta James. We would sing along to all the songs. I absolutely loved to sing. When I was diagnosed with brain cancer at 14, music became an instrumental part of my healing journey. Through the course of that first year of diagnosis I learned how to play piano, ukulele, guitar all from Youtube. After surviving cancer, I knew music was what I wanted to do. So when I came across a music recording class in college, I found a love for beat making and producing that’s where everything took off.

After moving to Nashville in 2018 and graduating college in 2020, I started writing and producing music out of my home studio. I was doing a lot of online music producer beat battles, and connecting with other musicians virtually (via Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram). I was also steadily releasing music as an artist, but because the height of pandemic, wasn’t able to make any money playing shows. A producer friend tipped me off about some companies looking for music for an upcoming TV show on Netflix, and I went ahead and submitted a song. Everything blossomed from there. Currently, I’ve had my songs placed on the likes of: Netflix, Hulu, NBC, ABC, CW Plus, MTV , VH1 and Lifetime. I’m in the process of releasing my first EP this year, which is an ode to my sleepy little beach town. The EP is about love, and loss, and pulls influence from my Costa Rican and Russian heritage.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist, is creating something from nothing. I can go sit down at my studio and come out at the end of the day with a fully formed song that didn’t even exist a few hours earlier. That is magic.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I listen to The Diary of a CEO podcast. I learn so much from Steven Bartlett’s guests. Ram Dass’ book “Be Here Now” has also really influenced my creative process and philosophy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ysamusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundslikeysa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soundslikeysa
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/soundslikeysa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRvmdd1Y2qm5Z7ncerJlB8w?view_as=subscriber

Image Credits
Jesse Lendzion, (Main portrait)