Students use SoundCloud to share music creations

Music streaming service allows easy promotion

Sophomore+Eli+Gutierrez+works+on+a+new+song+using+GarageBand.+He+has+used+SoundCloud+as+a+way+to+distribute+his+music+on+the+Internet+and+share+it+with+friends.

Alejandra Arguello

Sophomore Eli Gutierrez works on a new song using GarageBand. He has used SoundCloud as a way to distribute his music on the Internet and share it with friends.

Nathan Martinez and Sheyenne Riojas

In the past, young musicians might have recorded their own original music on cassette tapes or CDs they burned on their home computers.

These days, the easiest way to quickly share music with friends and the entire Internet is by sharing it on SoundCloud.

SoundCloud is one of the most popular music apps out right now because it is free and features a mix of professional artists and up and comers that post their work in hopes of growing an online audience.

The platform also makes it easy to discover new artists based on your preferred style of music.

Sheyenne Riojas, Javier Arellano, and Eli Gutierrez are just a few Akins students who have posted their work on SoundCloud.

We interviewed these students to find out why they use Soundcloud for their musical needs.

Eli Gutierrez

@ElixGtz

“Vanish” on Soundcloud

Eagle’s Eye: How long have you been making music? 

EG: “I started to make music when I was about 11.”

EE: What inspired you to do so? 

EG: “I’ve always wanted to start making music and when I wrote songs, I heard it as a rap in my head.”

EE: How hard is it to do what you do? 

EG: “ The way I’m doing it right now is pretty hard because I don’t have certain equipment.”

EE: How many songs have you written? EG: “I’ve written around 40 but I actually made two songs with lyrics.”

EE: Could you explain your process?

EG: “ Well my songs before Vanish I would play something on my keyboard then upload to my phone, but with my newer stuff I went to a website and play with all the sounds until I like the beat then added the lyrics to it.”

Javier Arellano

@Lil Vierre

“Toxic” on Soundcloud

Eagle’s Eye: How long have you been making music?

JA:“I honestly started during summer. It was halfway through the summer and I started to write stuff with my friend Achilles and we kind of went from there.”

EE: What inspired you to do so?

JA: “I guess listening to all of these people’s music and relating to them and they made me want to start writing some of my own.”

EE: What bands or artists influence your sound the most?

JA: “ There’s a lot of people who definitely influence me, I guess the main one is Kanye West because he was the artist that got me into the hip-hop scene.”

EE: How hard is it to do what you do?

JA:“It’s not really hard, I just start writing stuff down from my head and I find instrumentals I can use.”

Sheyenne Riojas

@LilShey

“Reckless” on Soundcloud

Eagle’s Eye: How long have you been making music?

SE: “I have been actually making music for about 2 years. I’ve always had the drive to want to do music, but writing music has been something i have done for years.”

EE: What is your biggest goal for your career?

SE: “My biggest goal for my career is to take it to the big leagues and make a career out of it, just to be successful.”

EE: Where did the name come from?

SE: “Well ever since I was little my family would call my “Shy” and recently I met some friends who pronounce it in a different way “Shey” so I put that together and added lil in the front.”

EE: Could you explain your process?

SE: “So normally I would go and listen to songs or different beats that I can just vibe with and I’ll start to get the feel of the song and eventually the lyrics will just pop up.”