Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Allen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story about my DJ career starts when I was about 15-16 years old. I started going to house parties and all-age club parties at venues such as Mekka, La Covacha & Space. I didn’t know DJs existed until then. I’ve always been a shy person, so meeting people & dancing with girls wasn’t exactly my thing. I gravitated toward the DJs because they were the life of the party without having to be the most outgoing person in the room. Even then I still wasn’t hooked.
2012 was the year I discovered Ultra Music Festival, Seeing videos of DJs like Afrojack, Hardwell, & Swedish House Mafia gave me this feeling of “That’s where I want to be.” Up on the big stage playing in front of thousands of people. 2013 was my first year attending the festival. Later that year I enrolled in a DJ school named Scratch Academy. There I learned DJing as an art form. Not just mixing 2 songs.
After that program, I continued working on my DJ skills. Also started learning how to produce my music. 2015, after graduating High School, I went to SAE Institute, a technical school for audio engineering & music production. I took their 9-month program. After that was when I started taking music production seriously.
2016-2020 I made music under the alias named Burn1. I released 33 tracks and DJ’d at numerous venues around Florida. When the world shut down due to covid I decided to reinvent myself. I was tired of hiding behind an alias. I want my art to be known by my real name. So no matter what music I make or what creative I embark on, it’s all going to be tied to my legacy.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Not a smooth road. The music industry is very tough. For the people that have loads of money, the right connections, or both, it comes easy. My biggest struggle honestly is my mental health. Like I said I’m a shy introverted guy who also has depression & social anxiety. So having to network to make new connections in the industry has always been a struggle.
Also, self-doubt is a big one. No one is going to believe in me more than me right? It’s hard to believe in myself when I scroll through social media and see all these DJs living the dream life while I’m stuck working a 9-5 job. I have to keep in mind that social media is a highlight reel. We all start from the bottom & most artists don’t post their daily struggles. This year I’ve decided to finally take control of my mental health. To succeed I need my mind to be operating at its full potential,
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a DJ & music producer from Miami, FL. I specialize in House Music. My proudest moment right now is a song I released last year named Bangalore Bounce. At the time that song peaked at about 15k streams on Spotify. Last month out of nowhere it started blowing up in India and gained 174k streams so far, It’s crazy to see a song I made in my bedroom being listened to by thousands of people on the other side of the world.
What sets me apart is my ability to be versatile with my music while remaining in the realm of House Music. My sound is influenced by Jazz, Rock, Hip Hop, Funk, Disco, African, Indian, and Asian music, etc. I love using sounds from all over the world and incorporating them into House Music.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
By following & talking to me through social media or email.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianallen_dj/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ian.allen.5205
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ianallen_dj
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySDY7B8xrttciq6S5AGtmg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ianallen_music
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0BevUppZa89l3IKwVhrhbY?si=YtvxynT3QOeYBLZzXGQ60A
