In this interview spotlight, I chat with Ali Hugo about the latest project, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music 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 am a Canadian of (Oman/Zanzibar) Origin. I don’t limit my music to a particular style or genre. Although I have strong ambitions to become a better Jazz singer, I have delved into pop rock and even Island/Country (No Shoes Nation) music at times.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I come from a strong musical background. On my mother’s side, the entire family is of musicians. In fact, my mother is a full-time keyboardist/ live performer. Like most indie artists out there, I had been working hard trying to develop my skills as a musician and I neglected to educate myself on the business side of things. At university, I remember linking everything I was learning to my Music. Upgrading my business skills and applying them to my music career is both exciting and challenging and that’s what keeps me going.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
My first album was an instrumental album. I was trying to promote myself as a serious musician. I wrote produced & played all the instruments on “New Generation Farahan”. The marketing and promotion strategy of that album was also different to the New EP [Time Machine].With this new work, I’m not only performing the vocals but the concept is very different. [Time Machine] is for the listener who says “I stopped listening to the radio a long time ago because I just don’t understand the music that’s out there right now”. [Time Machine] time travels the listener to the sound of ‘back in the day”
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
The main challenge I face as an Indie artist is trying to get the right people to represent my vision. I get a lot of people who try to pigeonhole my abilities. A second challenge is that I want to be financially successful through music and reach legendary status yet I don’t’ live my life as a full-time celebrity. I mean, I talk to record execs and say “look I can make you people tones of money” and the feedback look I usually get says “well you certainly don’t look like the kind of person who would sell 30 million records”!
My usual response is “If you build it, they will come”. I’ve made massive gains because of the digital age, I would not have been able to get signed to Mirage Records under my own terms had it not been for me being able to say to the folks at Mirage “ I can do all that stuff on my own so why the heck should I sign with you guys?’ Although I only signed an EP release deal with Mirage and I’ll probably have to go record deal shopping again for my next record, for now; my Canadian experiences working as a customer service/ tech support agent have paid off.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
- Twitter: @HUGONGF
- Official [Time Machine] website
