Austyn King

Hey Austyn! Welcome to BuzzMusic! What made you start taking your music career more seriously?
I started taking my music career more seriously at the age of 12 when I saw how the lyrics/melodies/productions that I created weren't just my favorite past time. I saw how the artists I looked up too impacted me & I desired to be that to anyone who listened to what I was creating. Whether it was watching Janet Jackson on HBO for the first time during her "Velvet Rope Tour" era or it was seeing B.Slade on the Stellar Awards making his first debut televised performance, I just knew I desired to be like those individuals.
How do you think your upbringing affects the music you create?
My upbringing has a big space in how I create the music. I started sequencing/making my music productions on a Roland JV-35 keyboard/Roland DR-770 drum machine thru midi connection to a computer program called "Master Tracks Pro 6". The discipline I learned from using those tools & resources are essential in my creative process. And just being around talented people in Rochester, NY always had so much influence in how I write, how/what I sing or produce. The R&B music that was being created and curated when I was in high school just helped you escape from reality. So I do my best to evoke those emotions thru the music I create. My upbringing also has given me so much insight on what needs to be said and heard. I have a song on "ArtMusicLife, Vol. 2" called "LoveMe" which talks about that specifically and how I literally was told what I can be, who I can be and who I should listen too. So when I create my music, my desire is to help whoever hears me to be inspired and not dictate what/how you should feel or who you should be.
What do you hope your listeners take away from your track “Sensational”?
I remember writing & producing this song. The melody line I interpolated was from "Dr. Dre" & of course he also sampled George Clinton.
"Let Me Ride"'s chorus involves both a sample and an interpolation of the chorus of the 1976 Parliament song "Mothership Connection (Star Child)", which itself quotes the Negro spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". "Let Me Ride" also samples James Brown's "Funky Drummer" and Bill Withers's 1973 single "Kissing My Love"."
Those songs, the artists & producers affected me & my sound growing up directly & indirectly. So I thought about the significance of how music should feel & I desired that anyone who heard this song "Sensational" felt that same way I felt creating it whether they are riding with the top down, in the club or in a bathtub. I just want everyone to feel & see themselves as I see them, and that's "Sensational".
What’s your writing process look like? What challenges do you face and how do you overcome them?
My writing process is all over the place to be honest. I could be out shopping or going to get groceries. The inspiration literally could come from being romantic, buying some strawberries & whip cream for the one I love, and then boom a song is born. I let the experience of life & art speak to me so that when the people hear it, they know I took time to let it speak to me before I prepare & serve them with what has awakened my creativity. The biggest challenges I face as a songwriter is finding the healthy balance to write the songs and lyrics that don't have to be too deep. Sometimes life just isn't that deep and sometimes it is, It can literally be just taking your words and turning them into "Roses" (that's how I got the song "Roses In Words"). Meditation has been my saving grace when it comes to overcoming the common writers block we sometimes have.
What can we expect from “Art, Music, Life; Vol. 3”?
Volume 3 of "ArtMusicLife" is a continuation and conclusion. It's in your face. The production and the writing are directly intentionally created to be in your face. Each song has a theme of "reclamation". Volume 1 was about making a declaration. Volume 2 was about making affirmations. Volume 3 is all about the desire to get back to what I know I am and have always been as a songwriter, a producer but most importantly a human being. I went through some shit creating "ArtMusicLife, Vol. 3" as you will hear on "Can't Let Go" & "Dedicated (NoneOfMyBusiness)". So this last chapter in the "ArtMusicLife" series is a definitely all about real life stories, heart felt melodies & artistic expressions to inspire the masses one song at a time. - BuzzMusic LA