Huseby

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Huseby.

Alex, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My musical journey goes back as far as my memory does. Throughout my younger years, I can always remember leaning on music as a form of auditory relief from all the pressures that my life threw at me. If I was feeling angry, I would blast the most intense/high energy songs on my radar of musical interests, and it would bring me peace, even if only for a few minutes. When I was sad, I would listen to soothing melodies and lyrics that spoke to me in ways I couldn’t find anywhere else at that time. I have always admired the power of music, and it’s ability to match frequencies and connect with people on the deepest levels: their hearts and minds. The first moment that completely convinced me there was nothing else I would rather do came in 2011. I was a sophomore in high school, confident and convinced no one understood me (common theme for that age). I was freestyling over instrumentals with my friends, and making crappy songs off of beats that I had ripped from youtube, and recorded on my built-in laptop microphone.

One day I came across a music video named “Don’t Mind If I Do,” a song from an upcoming artist, hailing from Pittsburg, PA, named Mac Miller. The song was catchy and instantly recognizable because of the sample taken from a then popular song “Fireflies,” by Owl City. The video itself is a low-budget, simple video, but for me, it embodied the exact moment of life my friends and I found ourselves in during those years. Adolescents growing up, looking for connection, and a great time with the people around them. I saw this young kid with a nasally voice having the time of his life, and for the first time I thought to myself, “I could do that too!” I went down the rabbit hole that was Mac Miller and was instantly hooked, never to be let go. I eventually saved up enough money and bought myself my first microphone. It was a Blue USB Snowball Microphone, one of the cheaper more basic options, but for me, it was all I needed. I holed myself in my upstairs bedroom at my grandmother’s house and made countless songs that will never see the light of day (rightfully so). I would make a track, completely unmixed, and eagerly send it to all of my friends to hear their responses.

Whether my own songs or renditions of popular hits, I just wanted to create, and that’s what I did. Fast forward two years I finally had my first experience with a real studio. It was my senior year of high school, and my friend had been recording at his buddy’s house, who had a real deal set up. This was the nicest home studio I had ever seen. Set up in a secondary house outside of his parent’s place was an actual studio complete with a soundproofed booth that had a window and all. This was legit, I had heard Sonny Digital, an increasingly popular producer from Atlanta, frequented this place. Saying I was nervous is a bit of an understatement, but that pressure I felt from being in front of others pushed me in a way I hadn’t experienced yet. I just wanted to avoid embarrassment, and prove to these people that I should be there. Then as I got more comfortable, I just wanted to surprise them, say something off the wall or hit a flow that made their eyebrows perk up. I wanted to show them and everyone else who was listening that I wasn’t just there, I was meant to be doing this, and I deserved to be in that room. I’ve been in quite a few studios since then, made hundreds of songs, met some cool people, and gone through tribulations, yet life always brings me back to music.

Throughout everything, I felt I was always one foot in and one foot out. Whether half focusing on college, relationships, or a job I was never one hundred percent focused in my music. Until this past year, I decided to do something I knew I should have done a long time ago. I quit my job, built a studio in my home, and completely turned my energy towards music. Since that moment I have released my first two projects, generated over two-hundred and fifty-thousand plays, and built a team of people around me that I can build a legacy with. Recently I brought that team of musicians with me to a cabin. We had a weekend of creativity filled with studio sessions, live performances, and filming. It was a beautiful experience, and in those rooms, for the first time in my life I felt I had nothing to prove, I was meant to be there, with these people expressing, connecting, and creating. This month brings a couple of firsts for me. My first project of 2019 and my first music video will be released.

On the horizon of the video, my mind can’t help but to think back to eight years ago, that initial moment of inspiration watching a young Mac Miller, and I find myself filled with an overwhelming sense of pride and nostalgia. Mac’s legacy lives on through his music, his videos, and the effect those have made on my life, that inexplainable connection through sounds, and for me that is the heart everything. That’s what makes music so much more, and I strive to one day bring that feeling and connection to others, the same way he brought it to me.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Growing up I came from a split family. The back and forth lifestyle made me feel nomadic compared to all the other kids, but it wasn’t irregular to me because that’s what I knew. I had never known one home. This created a paradox in my life. I had my father, a great man with a very stable home that provided me with some sense of normalcy. On the other side, my mother was a feisty single mother, with wild spending habits. In the middle of them stood my older sister, Austin, and myself. The older I got, the worse those problems grew and the further apart those houses were in comparison. At times it was bad enough to where we wouldn’t have food to eat. I would go from a country club with full meals, to a kitchen filled with dishes, trash, and swarms of flies. It felt like two different universes. In the state of Georgia taking children away from their mother is near impossible, especially back in the early 2000’s.

As we grew I had learned where I wanted to be and at fourteen you are of age to make that decision, so I did. I chose to live with my father. My sister was always closer to my mother so she decided to stick with going back and forth weekly. Finally, I had one home, a place I felt a sense of family, a place I wanted to be. Weeks following that decision my father wasn’t feeling well. My dad was eventually diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in June of 2008. As his condition worsened, we made the collective choice that he had to head to M.D. Anderson, a renowned cancer center in Houston, Texas. Thus throwing me back into my mother’s world. My mother had her own demons. She was battling Bi-Polar Disorder, addiction, and bad spending habits. That multiplied with many crazy boyfriends always made for an interesting dynamic in our home. A little bit over a year later, on July 8th, 2009 my father left this earth. We flew out to say our goodbyes and that was it. It took me a long time to make sense of that. Luckily before I came home, I had family members thinking of our future.

Within a month of my father’s death, we were in court, and I was headed to live with my grandparents. I spent a few good years with them. Until my eighteenth birthday, I found my own place and I was finally on my own. My sister was in college in Athens, GA, and I was gearing up to do the same. I had two months left in school and I was ready. Then comes graduation day, May 23rd, 2013. Most of my family, even my sister, came the night before to celebrate at my dad’s old house, my step-mother Amy was still living there, and I felt complete. On the last leg of high school, moving on to the next phase of my life. The following morning I walked across that stage and I got my diploma. Everyone my was there except for one person: my sister. That was odd because she slept at my dad’s old house, she intended on coming. I asked my step-mother where she was and she said my sister had slept in and they had to leave without her.

This was ironic because when she graduated, I too, slept in and missed the ceremony. We laughed that she had gotten back at me. We got home and I rushed upstairs to go wake her up and give her crap for sleeping in. I could have never known what I was walking into. My sister had overdosed the night before. We did everything we could. She was still alive when Amy left the house, and the coroner said she could have suffocated only an hour before we arrived. I will never forget that moment. Nothing in the world can prepare you for losing someone you’ve journeyed through life with, all you can do is try to make sense of it and remember. As painful as remembering can be, sometimes memories are all you have. The last time I saw my biological mother was the day of my sister’s funeral. For a long time, I have resented her and blamed her for being such a big influence on my sister in a negative way. I have no idea where she is today. Throughout all of this, the only true constant in my life has been music. The closest I’ve felt to my sister and father since their passing has been when I’m listening to their favorites records or writing about them in mine, music has been my therapy. I wouldn’t be me without it.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am an artist in Atlanta, GA. I rap, and I have a band called The Algorithm. In July of 2018, I released my first project, Islands EP, a four-track play through, that embodies the feelings and sounds of Islands. A little over two months later in November, I dropped my second EP, Dreaming of Islands on a Spaceship, taking those island vibes and adding a twist of space-travel to them. Compared to “Soundcloud Rappers,” I bring a lyrical, flow driven, aspect to the current generation oversaturated by auto-tune. My goal with my music is to always remain true to who I am and to be able to bring a thought out point/message in each song I write.

Since I’ve made the decision to focus on music within a year I’ve put out two very cohesive projects, filled with live instruments and no samples. I even have another one finished up my sleeve. My first two music videos that will be releasing this month (February), ahead of my ten video goal for 2019. The most favorable aspect, however, is the team I’ve cultivated over the past six months. None of what I do would be possible without them and the incredible talent around me. The constant push from them to be the best version of myself has had the same effect on my music. I have two producers I work very closely with, followed by a guitarist, a drummer, and a few other local artists I make songs with. Now that we have a foundation, the only thing stopping us is ourselves.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Hard-working focus, and the ability to see things long term while keeping patience. Using communication and teamwork as a tool to help everyone on my team. - VoyageATL

MUSIC
HUSEBY – ARIZONA: SONICALLY-DRIVEN HIP HOP
Posted on 4th December 2018

“Arizona” is just one of the transiently atmospheric singles from up and coming recording artist Huseby’s latest EP “Dreaming of Islands on a Spaceship”. Whilst the beat to Arizona is kept hypnotic and ambient, Huseby’s lyrical waxing could only be described as commanding and instantaneously resonant. Using his home landscape as the inspiration for his single, the lyrical attack fires plenty of shots and serves as the perfect hyped stoner anthem.

The clear-cut production came courtesy of producer Malik HD who ensured the island vibe was still perceptible even behind Huseby’s biting lyrical flow and angst-driven lyrics. Yet, as fiery as Arizona was, it was easy to feel that given Huseby’s irrefutable talent the sentiment behind his tracks should be a little more than your archetypal soundtracks to getting half cut.

You can check out Huseby’s latest single Arizona for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast - A&R Factory