Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriel Isenberg.
Gabriel, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I guess since I was 15, I wanted to somehow make a career in the music industry but didn’t really know-how. All I knew was that I loved music and I wanted that to be my career somehow. Thinking it would help with direction, I attended the University of North Texas for a total of two semesters before dropping out. I dabbled in making hip hop instrumentals every once in a while but never took it seriously. I’ve been fascinated with electronic music since I was three and was introduced to the Dallas rave scene in 2007.
I started DJ’ing locally in 2012 but still wasn’t sure I could make it in the music industry until 2015 when I decided that no matter what, I was going to make music for a living. I started an internship under Dallas producer/engineer Left/Right after bothering him daily for a month. I began producing dance music in my free time while learning audio engineering and production basics from him. Now I have my own clients and have landed tracks on big international labels such as Insomniac Records, Punks Music, and Box of Cats Records. I’ve even got to play a few festivals including EDC Las Vegas. I plan on 2020 being my biggest year yet as I’ve been holed up in my studio writing music almost every day this year.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not. I’ve suffered from pretty severe clinical depression and anxiety since I was 12. I had a problem with substance abuse as a result (I got sober in 2011.) My mood tanked pretty bad in 2016 which slowed my pace significantly but I was able to push through after four years with medical help and family support.
I think the biggest hurdle as an artist of any kind is self-doubt and insecurity. I would stress about what kind of music I wanted to make that would define me as an artist or if what I was doing was even considered art. I let other people’s opinions influence my direction as I wanted to be taken serious. Once you stop caring what other people think about your art and you actually believe you can achieve success, it lifts a huge weight off your chest and you’re able to pursue your goal with tunnel vision and disregard for the opinions of critics and elitists. I no longer think, I just do.
Tell us more about your work.
I spend every day working on writing and producing my own music. I plan to make this a full-time gig within the next year. As of right now, it’s not 100% financially sustainable so I also work as a studio engineer providing lessons, tracking, mixing, and mastering for artists and producers.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I personally don’t believe in luck being any different for anyone. I use to think I had the worst luck but it took some maturing and self-improvement for me to realize that luck is just when hard work meets opportunity. I believe the harder you work towards a goal while bettering yourself, the ‘luckier’ you get. More opportunities arise when you spend every waking day grinding.
I do however feel that I am very privileged to have had the support system that I have and to have grown up where I did. There are quite a few instances where my life would be different if it wasn’t there. My wife Dani, is hands down my biggest supporter. I imagine it’s not easy being married to the “artist mind” and I probably wouldn’t be here today if not for her.
Pricing:
- Mixing/Mastering/Tracking/Production Lessons – $50/ Hour
Contact Info:
- Website: https://soundcloud.com/isenbergmusic
- Email: leftrightproaudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/isenbergmusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/isenbergmusic
- Twitter: twitter.com/isenbergmusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/753xxcDfgqoyWJTs55HCal?si=zmPs5x8bSaix0UhIXiXztw
Image Credit:
The BarBat
Kid The Explorer
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