Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Hicks.
Joshua, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Prior to learning music, I was very closed off: listening to 50 cent & Fat Joe as a kid thinking that I’d like to rap one day. Guitar hero, for me, was the gateway for music. I began learning at 11 and picked up guitar as a metalhead. Over time, I picked up instruments and briefly put them down soon after, only then realizing that I found my sound in the solace of analog gear.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I make, shift, & produce analog beats. It’s the most ideal, limited piece of gear I can fathom that can really make an impression on people like it has to me years ago. Straight loops in a beat-breaker type of style with hip-hop beats and soulful outbursts. While learning instruments, I needed something else to express with. Something to get most of my ideas out. I found expression in Korg’s Kaossilators with their loop banks and expression touch pads. With these & a few synthesizers, I’ve been trying to reinvent a new deal of live electronic music emitting from analog sound. Steve Lacy’s Bare Maximum theory says: use what limited piece of gear or hardware you have currently, and push the limits to unimaginable depths. I’ve been a Solo artist for awhile with these machines with no Ableton, Reason, or Logic. I hope people can find that can truly make due with very minimal hardware.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
Go with your gut. Trust your intuition. Get uncomfortable outside your comfort zone and adjust. Practice what you do. Make contracts when you’re getting booked. Talent buyers and bookers look at that at a high standard since people get booked so quickly, there’s no legal binding agreement other than a handshake I suppose. Finally, networking is a very important skill. A thing EVERY artist must have some inclination for.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
People can see my work on bandcamp or soundcloud. They can also check me out whenever I’m playing next at my couple of residencies, Vicewave & Boombox.
People can support me by finding me on social media and get with following to stay posted where I may perform next. Also, there’s music on bandcamp available for purchase that really helps me out.
Contact Info:
- Email: ashiyushimusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: IG:ashiyushi
- Facebook: Facebook.com/Ashiyushi
- Twitter: Twitter.com/ashiyushi_
Image Credit:
Juan Carlos Sacerio
Giovanni Lank Ascuntar
