Today we’d like to introduce you to Othering.
Othering, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I emigrated from Peru with my parents when I was six. We settled in a low-income suburb in North Dallas for whatever reason, but my parents were quick to work their way up from there. At the time, my main sources of music came from my older cousin and my father, who were into nu-metal and classic rock, respectively, so it built a bit of angst in my younger self. It wasn’t until my mother and uncle introduced me to 70s and 80s pop that I began to explore more genres.
I didn’t pick up a guitar until a friend from middle school got one for his birthday. I used to go to his house practically every week and spent many days trying to learn how to play, while also listening to all sorts of music on TV (We loved watching reruns of 120 Minutes on MTV2). Soon enough, we wanted to make music ourselves, so he eventually bought a bass and I got a drum set. We played a few times throughout high school as a two-piece, but it got to the point where we were going to concerts more than playing concerts, so we gradually disbanded.
While in college, I kept making low-quality recordings of songs I’d written on my guitar. I released a series of tracks using various aliases, but I consider these false starts more than anything; lessons on production techniques. At one point, I spent more time covering the Dallas music scene during this period, writing about bands for blogs and news outlets–sometimes even interviewing them.
During the pandemic, I decided to focus on songwriting again and began experimenting with sound textures, which led me to start this ‘Othering’ project. I’m looking forward to releasing more music in the future.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When you start something new, it’s easy to give in to self-criticism–especially if it’s not turning out how you expected–but with enough practice and persistence, the mental blocks slowly disappear. Music and entertainment, in general, are very competitive now because there’s so much material out there seeking your attention to consume it. Do we really need it all? Probably not. As with books, though, the songs that resonate with people will survive the test of time, no matter the way they’re written. You never know if it’ll be your song.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a multi-instrumentalist trying to connect with others via music. I mainly play guitar, bass, and synth, but I can still keep an out-of-tempo beat in the drums for a good while. I like to mix electronic and post-punk genres in my work, as I listen to a lot of acts in those areas of music. However, I’ve always enjoyed playing shoegaze with my guitar, so I’m trying to incorporate that in there somehow.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Most of my experience has been making music on my own. That being said, I really appreciate the friends and family who’ve collaborated with me in playing sessions and helping make any artwork/videos.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otheringothering/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/otheringothering
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt1ujAbQXZtleGfrw3drU1w
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/otheringothering
- Other: https://linktr.ee/othering
