Making music is an art form that is boundariless. It has many instruments, technologies, and articles of use. Sometimes an orchestra of musicians and on the contrary sometimes one individual. Meet Aunjelay.
Question 1: What are your goals, dreams, and ambitions in the near future?
Answer 1: My goals and dreams for my near future are to just get more people to listen and support me through my journey. I tend to lose motivation quickly but I’ve been pushing myself this year and doing what I can to keep myself motivated and having supportive people wanting and pushing me to create is what keeps me going. Right now I get 5 monthly listeners and even that is crazy to me and means so much to me!
Question 2: What is your utopian life look like? Give us a snapshot into the luxuries or simplicities you would make for yourself?
Answer 2: I’m not sure how to answer what my utopian life would be. I’m not really a materialistic person and I never really have been. I honestly would just love to have a house by the beach with the love of my life and my cat. I’m really a simple person just the peacefulness a beach brings me seems like the most perfect utopia to me.
Question 3: Who do you look up to in the music world?
Answer 3: The one person I’ve always looked up to in the music industry is Tyler Joseph. It’s not because I love Twenty One Pilots, it is simply because of his passion and how creative he actually is. His lyrics are amazing and I wish I was as good with my words as he is. But it’s not just the lyrics and the music. It’s how hard he’s worked to be where he is. He’s made it very clear to me that anyone from anywhere can do anything. Another person I look up to is Paul Meany. He’s an amazing artist/producer/everything you could ever want in the music industry! He does a lot and I just wish more people knew him. Listening to his music sparked something in me that made me realize how special music is.
Question 4: What do the perfect song and sound and feel like?
Answer 4: What the perfect song sounds and feels like to me is a little hard to explain but for some reason, all I can think about is just the color blue, and water, and ambiance. So I guess imagine yourself outside when the hour is blue (kinda like when it’s a golden hour outside) and the ocean is black but it’s not scary it’s very calming and then just icicles and snow. My mind’s hard to explain and the way I think. But, just imagine Elsa’s aesthetic from frozen and that’s the best way to describe it
Question 5: Given you are a native to Idaho and a resident to Utah, what do you feel Utah does better than any other state?
Answer 5: I’m from small-town; Preston, Idaho and unless you play the violin or piano no one really cares (about you). I knew staying there wasn’t going to get me anywhere in my music career. There’s no music venue anywhere there unless you’re singing the National anthem for the rodeo. Utah has all the right things. It has lots of different people so that means lots of different music genres that people enjoy. There are a lot more people that support their local artists here but even that’s still a little bit of an issue I notice. I try to make it my goal to support every local artist no matter how good they are because they can only get better over time and I really see how artists need that support. Without that support a lot of the time they just give up. I’ve done it in the past so I know what it’s and it sucks. I don’t ever want anyone to give up on their dream because they don’t feel like they’ll ever see it.
Question 6: Escaping the rat race is a goal for many, how do you see yourself doing it? Give us a breakdown of your escape plan?
Answer 6: I don’t necessarily see myself in a race with anyone other than myself. I’m in a race with myself to achieve my goals before my self-doubt lets me give up. I’m in a race with myself to make my life better as soon as I can. I will do whatever it takes to get where I want to be because I know if I try hard enough I’ll have what I want in life. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it but I’m going to start by not giving up.
Question 7: You are a great example of how to achieve more when given less, how do you do it?
Answer 7: I’ve never really had much in life. My mom wasn’t rich so I got what she could give me but it honestly doesn’t matter what all you have. Music is music and you can express music through everything. My first drum set was just two plastic buckets when I was a kid and even though they weren’t drums I still would practice and play and had fun. I am still learning every day on things I can do when producing music and that’s okay. People think that they need a whole studio set up in order to be successful and I want to show that you don’t. Yes, those things help and I would love to have a whole studio set up, even just a laptop. But I can still do what I need on my phone. All I have ever used is Garage Band on my phone and I just feel like people get discouraged and don’t even try because they feel like they need a laptop or turntables, and it makes me sad because they could’ve created something and shared it with the world if they would’ve just tried.
Question 8: Who are your biggest inspirations in the local Utah music scene?
Answer 8: My biggest inspiration in Utah is Alec Messer AKA Mr. Wildfire. He’s genuinely a nice caring person and I love talking about music with him. I’ve been following him from the beginning of 2019 and I have loved every moment of seeing him grow. My proudest moments were when he opened up for Brondo just because they are both producers I look up to. Alec has shown me what hard work and dedication can lead up to and I’m excited to see where else he goes in life!
Question 9: What does the perfect get-up-and-go preparation look like when your short on time and want to come up with a tune that slaps?
Answer 9: Like I said I only make music on Garage Band on my phone so really whenever I’m inspired to write I’m able to. I usually just try to find a sound that matches the type of vibe I’m feeling and try to build on from there. But making music is very difficult for me because I tend to get distracted easily and can also overwhelm myself with so many thoughts and inspirations flooding my mind but if I really sit myself down and get rid of distractions I can make something really great. Sometimes if I’m stuck or don’t know where to start I’ll try remaking one of my favorite songs and that’ll usually help inspire me.
Question 10: What new and exciting things can we here at Monsoon Season look to drooling over in the near future?
Answer 10: 2020 is definitely going to be a better year for music for me. I’m setting a short term goal that I know I can for sure achieve this year and that’s to at least release one song since I haven’t released one since 2018. But I really want to push myself into releasing like an EP or something. But I don’t really focus on just one genre of music when I write. I write whatever comes to me and whatever I’m feeling so it’s definitely going to be different I just hope people can appreciate it for the art and to just not be too quick to judge a book by its cover.
Thank you so much! It’s been a pleasure. We are so stoked to watch your talent grow, creativities flourish, and abilities surpass your wildest expectations!
