All people have dreams. A person's dream may be yet to be discovered, but it still exists. Of course, once you figure it out, you will want to make that dream come true.

Now, suppose your dream is to become a music artist or music producer. How can you realize that dream? One method is by joining – and ideally, winning – competitions. The only problem to that there needs to be an event. If there are no competitions going on, you have nothing to do.

That's why the most popular method for becoming a music artist/producer is entering the world of SoundCloud Plays. This social media platform allows you to share your music with the world. And with the huge number of users and visitors of this website, you can indeed become popular.

There are already a bunch of music artists that gained prominence thanks to SoundCloud. And looking at their journeys is inspiring plus educational. By taking a peek at what they did on the platform, you may get ideas on how to get to the road to success fast.

Here, let us take a look at Keshi's journey. This artist's journey could be a little more relatable to newcomers to SoundCloud since Keshi is only about to release his debut album.

Who is Keshi?

Casey Luong is more known by his stage name Keshi, a Vietnamese-American singer and self-taught producer from Texas. He started his music career on the music-streaming social platform, SoundCloud. A bunch of people found the tracks he uploaded on SoundCloud great. Eventually, Keshi piqued the interest of the aesthetic-obsessed curators of YouTube's lo-fi community.

With that and the undeniable power of word of mouth, Keshi was able to build a huge following of his own. That allowed Keshi to resign from being an oncology nurse and focus on making music. He subsequently signed a flashy deal with Island Records, a multinational record label.

ONE MORE WEEK BABY

— keshi (@keshimusic) March 18, 2022

In Keshi's two years on SoundCloud, he has seen steady growth. The music artist has released three E.P.s, all of which his fans loved. Furthermore, he has gone on one tour. LANY fans may recognize him, as he went on the road with the pop band as a support act. Aside from that, Keshi did a buzzy performance at Head in The Clouds, a celebration of Asian heritage in music.

Now, Keshi is preparing to take his career to the next level. His debut album, “Gabriel,” is currently in the works. Also, he has an upcoming tour called “hell/heaven.”

Interview with Keshi

Ahead of the release of “Gabriel” and Keshi's tour, the Vietnamese-American music artist sat with The A.V. Club. They discussed his fanbase, revisited Keshi's SoundCloud days, and looked at his songwriting process.

Here's a report on what they had discussed.

Regarding Keshi's Head in the Clouds Performance

The A.V. Club noticed the crowd's behavior when “beside you” – one of Keshi's songs – started playing. Everyone had their phones up to take videos or pictures. The A.V. Club reports that no other artist had gotten that reaction that weekend. So, they asked Keshi what it was like for him. 

Keshi says it was amazing, and it was a dream come true. He adds that growing his fanbase – so slowly – online has resulted in that. So if you need confirmation that SoundCloud can really help you advance your music career, that is your signal.

Keshi says that you “don't talk about it too much” if you are onto the music early. But upon seeing it live, you realize that there's this huge community of people that enjoys your music. “It was cool to see,” says Keshi, “I loved that the fanfare was so insane.”

 Keshi says that he hasn't had the opportunity to play for that crowd until that moment. 

Change in Creative Process

The A.V. Club asked Keshi how much his creative process changed after leaving SoundCloud and signing to a label. One would expect changes because the world of independent artists and signed artists are different. 

Keshi says it changed “zero percent.” He told The A.V. Club that Island Records picked him up when he had a decent amount of momentum. The record label did not want to intrude, so they left him be. Besides, Keshi says that he is more comfortable that way. They once tried writing sessions, but they weren't fruitful. So, the record label let him approach things like he did when still on SoundCloud.

However, Keshi notes that it has changed with “Gabriel.” He says that fans don't have to worry, though, since these are good changes. They are not so drastic that the music does not sound like Keshi's. That is thanks to Keshi's A&R finding a producer compatible with Keshi.

How SoundCloud helped Keshi Grow as an Artist

The A.V. Club's next question is a lookback to Keshi's SoundCloud days. What kind of music was he listening to back then?

Keshi says, “they're all obscure” and as random as it can get. He praised SoundCloud's Repost aspect because it does not matter if a song is popular or not. You will always find new cool and interesting songs.

Keshi reveals that upon hearing those songs, it makes him think. He asks questions like, “How can I do that, but in my style?” Keshi says that through that, he learned a lot about production. Moreover, he learned to break the rules, and more importantly, you can do whatever you want.

Judging on where Keshi is right now, one can conclude that SoundCloud really helped him grow as an artist. If he did not use the platform, he would not acquire all the knowledge that he has now. Things may have been different. Perhaps, there wouldn't be a Keshi to talk about in that alternate reality.

And Keshi never forgets that. Keshi says that he still has all the songs he listened to on SoundCloud. 

There are other questions asked to Keshi in that interview. But we have already covered what you are here for. Through Keshi's story, you can see how SoundCloud can help you grow as an artist.

Date: July 22, 2022 / Categories: New Stuff, / Author: Rich Drees