as3ndi-blue-walkc

Frustrated. When you go on sites like Soundcloud
and you see some modest songs with hundreds of thousands of plays and then hear a gem of a song with two-hundred plays you hate the manipulation of player buys on tracks but it seems like a necessary evil in the current environment. Musicians will not get heard if they have low plays. There are many companies promising to promote your music but it gets overwhelming and hard to distinguish who is legitimately capable of promoting your music when you might be the one with music worth getting some attention @AS3NDI

Live interview 
Episode #363 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/09/21/episode-363-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax

Jacqueline Jax logo photoGETTING TO KNOW AS3NDI
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio

Maria Ona

As3ndi-prounounced ascendi

Frustrated. When you go on sites like Soundcloud
and you see some modest songs with hundreds of thousands of plays and then hear a gem of a song with two-hundred plays you hate the manipulation of player buys on tracks but it seems like a necessary evil in the current environment. Musicians will not get heard if they have low plays. There are many companies promising to promote your music but it gets overwhelming and hard to distinguish who is legitimately capable of promoting your music when you might be the one with music worth getting some attention.

Pro: There are choices in abundance for every listener in every genre.
Pandora, Soundcloud, Spotify…all of these types of new music platforms are enabling new and unsigned artists to get heard.

On the other hand, the music industry is like the wild west.
Music is underpriced and undervalued despite our reliance on it in every form of digital media. Legislation with music is ridiculous. It hasn’t been decided on how to best modify the regulation on how songs are split for royalties and all other complicated licensing/royalty issues. Producers are out there distributing free downloads of popular artists songs they made a remix of. I’m constantly sending messages to people like, “Hey, you don’t have the right to distribute another artists song even if you popped a few beats on it. You are still giving away their music.” The other sad thing is that people seem to have come to expect music to be free. Why bother downloading and paying for a song if you can just listen to it on your app for free. A song can be plaid infinitely till death do you part and it only costs a buck if you are generous to take the step to buy it. Are you kidding me? People value their cup of coffee and their candy bar more than they show appreciation to the music which feeds their soul.

It is more cost effective to release an album than a single
when doing a distribution but it costs a ton of money to produce a song. If you have to hire a producer and can only afford to release a single then that is the best option for you.

I’m thrilled to say this interview was possible
through the connectedness of social media but normally I’m terrible at SM because I’m a musician not a promoter. I hate posting superfluous tid-bit information and I tend to get intimate and really want to know my followers which makes me spend more time on SM than I should. Social media makes me feel hopeful at times and doomed at others. I have used SM to find my new producers and feel connected to a vast world of people that I can reach out to but I have to be honest, I don’t currently have the tech smarts to utilize and maximize the power of social media to expand my music to a broader fan base.

In my mind I don’t think in terms of trendy or current.
The only pressure I feel and understand is related to the quality of a hit song. I’m determined to write a hit so I listen to popular music which makes me see peaks a song needs to hit in order to legitimately be brilliant. I end up pounding my fist on the table and projecting a loud, “Yeah, OK if that’s where I have to go then sure!” Songs touch people on a deeper level and I want to satisfy that element of a song’s expression which is not entirely related to trends in sound.

I’m naturally an optimist so struggles are just water under the bridge.
I just know, something which may bring me down only makes me rush faster up in pursuit of my ambition. Ultimately, I have no idea where my music will end up but I’m loving the adventure so far.

I imagine most musicians might be compulsive just like me.
I have my private life but it suffers as nothing comes close to fulfilling me like working on music does. It’s hard to juggle the life I have with my friends and family as I’d rather spend most of my free time working on songs rather than watching movies or even taking trips. So I tend to be selective and not very generous with my free time. The funny thing is, my life is complicated and I’m not even a celebrity; I can’t even imagine how challenging life could be if deluged with media distracting a recording artist from doing what they should be doing, writing, recording, and performing.

I’d love to meet Amy Schumer,
I love to laugh and she is so outrageous yet smart. I could use a good laugh. But on a more serious note, I’d love to speak with the well known Music Manager, Roger Davies, as I could use some really solid career advice along with tour planning ideas.

Davies has worked with some of the cream of the crop artists
like Tina Turner and Pink. He’s directed the artists with projects which helped them nail Grammy awards, so Davies knows how to bring an artist to the top.

Social Media Links:

My parents were immigrants and there was no place in our house
for extravagant dreams like going into the music industry or acting. I intuitively had a sense that music would play a part in my life. Not having a support system and fear prevented me from moving forward on that inner hunch but after going to college and studying science, psychology and you name it; I finally said, “Enough!” and started writing songs. I knew I would be haunted until I jumped in and gave music an honest try. I had no idea where this would take me but it was the spark that ignited my passion and pursuit in music.

Hercules

I’ve gotten into this super hero pace of writing music.
I wrote “Hercules” in fifteen minutes, no joke! After a six month break from working on music since last year, I think my creative dam just broke. I haven’t spent more than two hours writing songs lately so I’m in the zone right now and I love it! I just hone into an emotion, feel the music and then express what comes to me.

Currently, I’m enamored, and very appreciative
of the internet and its power to facilitate action and bridge communication gaps. When I started working on songs a few years back, I simply looked for local producers to work with but my ideas and pursuit of a perfected end result with the music made me realize I needed to expand my search for the right producer that would do my music justice. Online I came across Klaas Gerling and discovered he produced the 2008 EDM hit “Infinity.” I love that song so I thought what the heck, I’ll get in touch with him and see if he’d work with me on a song. Gerling agreed to give it a shot and I was pleased with his production on “Shangri-la.”Looking for that club EDM feel, I knew Gerling was perfect for “Hercules.” Klaas loved the song and was more than happy to work with me on it. I think the final result is really fun and sounds like something that may even get radio play.

as3ndi_close-up

What impresses me the most about our experience is that Klaas Gerling is in Germany,
across many miles and many hours apart yet we worked flawlessly together all for the joy of music.

If all goes according to plan, I will be releasing an album this fall.
It is meant to inspire and energize with songs like “Hercules,” “Forever Young,” “Samurai,” and “White Flags.” I’m so excited with the music I’ve been working on. My producers and I can feel an energy and quality to my songs that is revealing a new high level of expression. It’s one thing to feel an emotion but once you can encapsulate it into a song then you can start celebrating a major milestone as a music artist. I believe my new album will demonstrate this growth.

As a singer and songwriter I’m bold;
I love to experiment and try new things so you should expect the unexpected. I don’t always apply the same vocal qualities or techniques. I change like a chameleon to suit the song and emotion. If you want to hear different then you’ll have fun hearing variety in my music. That is my signature.

I grew up in Chicago and this is my hometown.
Chicago is the place to be for music and you can just feel the deep musical roots the minute you step into town. Where to go? Kingston Mines is a tight and intimate fun blues spot. Lincoln Hall is very nice for small venues. Berlin in Boystown is a brilliant place with a variety of music and themes; it’s always crazy with a mixed lifestyle kind of thing but you’ll have a great time.

 

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/as3ndi
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AS3NDI
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/as3ndi