IAN ABEL is an NYC-based singer-songwriter, born and raised in the East Village. He got his start at Berklee College of Music and has since been working in the city as a singer. IAN ABEL’s debut EP, Icarus, is an electric / eclectic / queer / nineties-influenced alt pop-rock collaboration with producer Carey Clayton, released on April 29th.
In this interview spotlight, we virtually sit down with Ian to discuss music, the new project, and more.
Q&A, links, and streams can be found below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I grew up in the East Village in New York and have been gigging there for the last year or so. My music is a bit hard to describe in that it has elements from a bunch of different styles and artists but nothing immediately similar, and honestly I’m still figuring it out myself. I’m definitely in the pop-rock-R&B realm, but not the way those genres have been sounding lately. I’m more inspired by the mix of earnestness, creativity, and craft of 80s/90s pop stars like Annie Lennox or George Michael.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
I ended up in music after an existential crisis a few years back. I had just gone through a breakup (of course) and was working in a job I didn’t particularly like in advertising, and I wondered to myself if there was something else I could do with myself that I would actually love and find worthwhile on its own. Singing has always been an important part of my life, but I didn’t think I knew enough about music to make any. So I went back to school for a couple years (to Berklee College of Music in Boston) and there I started figuring it out. As far as sticking with it, what motivates me most is the feeling I get from making I’m proud of, like after a really good show… there’s nothing quite like it.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
I am deeply inspired by other artists… I think my entire goal as an artist is to make someone, anyone, feel the way I feel when I hear Lianne La Havas or Little Dragon or Chaka Khan. There are really just too many artists to list. I also grew up in a creative family, and my parents and grandparents really taught me to appreciate beauty and boldness from a young age.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
My latest release is the video for the title track “Icarus” from my first EP, which I released in April. The idea behind the video was to metaphorically portray the emotions and story of the song, and my director Kyle Clark did an exquisite job with interpreting the lyric and grandiosity of the song. As for the music itself and how it fits in for me as an artist, I’m honestly still figuring it out (aren’t we all?). For now, I just couldn’t be happier to work with such talented people to make my visions come to life.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
Technology in music is a tricky issue. On the one hand it opens the door for self-produced artists: it helps us do so many things quickly and cheaply, like marketing, mixing/mastering, raising money, and even securing gigs and licenses. On the other hand, it is really hard to get noticed and make money off our products when there is already so much out there for the consumer. It’s somewhat anxiety-inducing, but I also suspect that I wouldn’t have been able to self-produce an EP and video if I were in the business 20 years ago.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
I have some nostalgia for my old mix CDs, when I had to put time and care into the track lists and would get really attached to a few songs at a time, but I actually really like streaming services for a couple big reasons. One is as a consumer I can explore and discover music quickly, easily, and at no extra charge. Since I started using streaming to listen to music, my music tastes have grown immensely and I’ve fallen in love with music that I would never have listened to before. My other reason is that it makes it possible for independent artists to more easily get their music in the hands of consumers (with no strings attached). I personally care more about the exposure than about the money, but I also recognize and respect that a lot of artists don’t agree with me on that count. There are definitely problems with the way streaming services pay their artists, since they don’t have to pay artists as well as terrestrial radio does, and the laws around streaming payments to artists need to be changed.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
- Website: http://ianabelmusic.com/
- “Icarus” EP (buy): http://hyperurl.co/6ftzuf
- “Icarus” EP (stream): http://hyperurl.co/pjyl13
- YouTube: http://hyperurl.co/m2rakf
- Instagram: http://hyperurl.co/d7ng14
- Twitter: http://hyperurl.co/k3rfip
- Facebook: http://hyperurl.co/b7hxqn
- Soundcloud: http://hyperurl.co/nznr6r
Anything else before we sign off?
Thank you guys so much for the platform. Us indie artists are always looking for ways to get ourselves out there, and I really appreciate that MTM is giving me an outlet. I hope your readers like the video! It was a labor of love.
