Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean O’Neil.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Music spoke to me in a different way since I was young. Naturally, I began to wonder how I could re-produce my favorite songs, and from there, you start to develop your own sound after you put in enough time. I always gravitated towards guitar and would find myself getting lost in all the different melodies I could write. Since the age of 15, my best friend from home and I would get together and have these informal writing sessions. We started laying down ideas over a tape recorder, then graduated to cracked versions of production software, and finally ponied up some cash to buy Logic Pro X in 2015. When you dedicate so much time to something that you love, you start to get pretty good at it. We were living together in the same apartment in Philadelphia after college, crafting songs under the artist moniker, Hypothetical.
To this day, we still set aside weekends to write and release new music (shameless plug). With any creative venture, you typically have to work a “real” job in order to live and invest in your passion. My “real” job eventually moved me to Atlanta, where I started to focus on writing melodies for other producers to use and collaborate with, in addition to Hypothetical. One day, I was shopping at Lenox Square, and I happened to notice that Leland Wayne, aka Metro Boomin, was within my line of sight. Being a big fan of his production, I couldn’t help but ask him for a picture. During that interaction, I also managed to sneak in the fact that I played guitar and had a home studio. On the spot, he gave me his number, and we started to collaborate from then on out. Nearly three years later, he told me a melody I had emailed him one night would be the focal point of a song on his debut album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Since the collaboration with Metro, I’ve been able to network with more producers and artists in the Atlanta area and make a name for myself as an up and coming producer.
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?
The road has been anything but smooth. One thing that is particularly challenging is keeping an even-keel mentality. You have to have tough skin in this industry. Nothing is handed to you, and there’s so many ideas that you put your heart and soul into that will never see the light of day. Often times, your latest release that the public is able to stream and listen to is months or years old. You end up living in this mental space where you’re really excited on one hand, but also really frustrated because you can’t share your work with the world in real-time. The other thing that’s been tough is balancing a career outside of music, with a career in music.
As an independent producer, you count on royalties that are not paid out to you until months after your work has been released. There’s no such thing as stable income. On the flip-side, I feel blessed and lucky to be able to put my Industrial Engineering degree to work in a Business Analytics role. As fruitful as my career outside of music has been, it’s hard to separate my work-life and music-life without questioning my identity at times. Another challenge I can think of is doing an artist project from two different cities. We sometimes get compared to the Postal Service. Anytime that you’re creating something with someone, it’s way better to do so in person vs remote.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I have a music publishing company called Icy Fret Productions. I specialize in writing/recording melodies for collaborative projects. My friend and I also own the joint venture that is “Hypothetical”, our artist project. I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to stay independent and collect my own royalties, without a major label or management company skimming off of the profit. As an artist duo, we are so proud of the work that we’ve put in to be able to do everything in-house. We’ve played some pretty incredible shows in Philadelphia and Atlanta, booking our own time slots, and sharing these moments with people that come out to support us. We’ve built a sound that can be imitated, but never duplicated.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
The goal is to continue to collaborate with more producers/artists and book more shows. Hopefully, I can continue to carve out a niche with my sound, and with our sound as a band. The more attention and success we gain, the more likely it is for us to commit and really do music full time. Only time will tell. One thing is for certain, I’ll never stop creating because I’ve found that it’s the one thing in my life that really keeps me going!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hypotheticalmusic.com
- Phone: 4845500171
- Email: soneil9866@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sean_ohhh/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theseanoneil
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theseanoneil
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-t0bNm8rfEhKJnpvrmW-Tg
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