In this interview spotlight, I chat with St Eriks Street about the latest release (Farnam Blues) as well as technology, challenges and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I was born and partially raised in Stockholm, Sweden until age 6 – after that we moved to California, then Ohio, and now I’m in Nebraska (thanks to the Air Force). Long story short I’d like to say I’m from Ohio because I lived there the longest (from 2001 – 2009). I went to college in Berea, Kentucky and started experimenting with music composition on Mixcraft while I was there. I created and tried different genres, but mainly stuck with classical and electronica. I love all types of music and would love to create something from all types of genres, but I am trying to narrow my focus down into something along the lines of Synthwave, which most closely resembles my latest single ‘Farnam Blues.’

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I’d like to say music has been a part of me from a very early age. I remember growing up listening to my father’s vinyl records (Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin) and my mom and step-dad would play Michael Jackson, Europe, Bob Marley, and various hip hop. And this was when I was growing up in Sweden. Later on, I began playing the viola in the 5th grade and continued until 12th grade. We performed live concerts and even got to play for the high school graduations which were a lot of fun. My best memory from performing in the orchestra was playing Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. I think that has stuck with me for a long time, just the intensity of it and how all the different instruments came together to perform this masterpiece. It was really cool! I began learning electric guitar at age 14 and have continued with that ever since (I am now 28). For as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to create music and put ideas down.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

This new release is different because it is officially the newest material I have created since 2015. So I consider this a bit of a milestone! I was trying to accomplish the sound/soundscape of retro films such as Blade Runner with the music composed by Vangelis. I love his work and the movie and he has been a big influence on me music wise. I love the dark and mysterious tones that he can bring out from electronic instruments. This release is also different because I hired a freelancer to help me professionally mix and master the song, which I never did when I was casually creating music in college. But I am taking my music much more seriously now and need all the help I can get to get my songs to sound as polished as possible.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

I’d say one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is finding ways to market and promote myself online. Before jumping in with creating a Spotify page, giving myself a performing name, and working on new material, I mostly shied away from social media! Now I am on it a lot. Instagram and Twitter have become my main marketing tools. I think just putting myself out there and showing the world who I am and what my music is about has been a challenge, but I think I’m slowly learning the ropes! Technology has helped tremendously – for example I found out that I can master my songs online now using websites such as Landr or eMastered (which I use). AI is pretty cool and I think the end product sounds pretty fantastic. It’s nice that a machine can do it for me, but at the same time I also like to hire someone to help me (when I have the budget for it) to get that human touch.

What was the last song you listened to?

The last song I listened to was ‘One Moon Circling’ by JES. I am currently curating a space-themed playlist on Spotify and am listening to new songs to add. So that was the last song I listened to! I’ve opened up the playlist for submissions on Soundplate and that song was one of the submissions.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I definitely prefer Vinyl. I have a pretty nice set up in my home to listen to them. I don’t have a huge collection, but whenever I’m in a retro or thrift store I like to look at their vinyl collection to see if there’s anything I like.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I prefer Spotify because it is the platform I am most comfortable using, and because I have my Spotify Artist page on there that I am focusing most on.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

I have a website – sterikstreet.com – that you can check out. I have updated it recently and am hoping to get some subscribers/followers! I listed my most recent single ‘Farnam Blues’ on there and there are some photos of me plus a press release and bio. Go on over and check it out!

Anything else before we sign off?

Thank you for taking the time to read my story! Drop me a line if you’d like through my website sterikstreet.com, or IG or Twitter –  I’d love to talk to other like-minded artists!