Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Laurie.
Ian, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Since I was a kid, I’ve always had a love for music and the arts. Whether it was singing or playing instruments, I always found a way to express the tune living in my head. I started in choir at the age of seven with the Atlanta Boy Choir turned Georgia Boy Choir. Through that opportunity, I was able to tour the Czech Republic, Austria, and China. During my elementary years, I was also inspired to learn how to play the piano and took on lessons while singing in choir.
When I reached middle school, I joined the school band, where I played the saxophone for a couple of years. Additionally, I took a class that taught the mechanics of playing the guitar as I had been teaching myself prior to taking the class. My passion for singing never faded away, and I convinced the band and choir directors to allow me to participate in both ensembles for the duration of middle school until high school, where chorus eventually won out my attention.
While in high school, I took an interest in performing for outside honor choirs and was fortunate enough to sing with the Georgia Music Educators Association’s all-state chorus. Actually, I was able to participate in this honor each year that I was eligible from seventh grade until senior year, and I, along with others who had done the same, was honored during our last time performing with the choirs senior year. Amidst all of this, I took a class in high school that I never imagined would change my life in the way it did. During my senior year, I took an elective about the basics of GarageBand and immediately became fascinated with this class. I felt like an electronic conductor and the ability to arrange music electronically captivated my attention. It was there that I learned that I wanted to carry on my passion for my music by becoming a producer.
During college, It was not until my junior year that I was able to actually turn that dream into a reality. I finally received my own MacBook that had Logic Pro X on it, which allowed me to actually hone my skills of producing. I spent the rest of my time in college trying to become a better producer. I had a couple of friends that liked what I was making and actually inspired me to take it more seriously than I did in the summer of my Junior year. I took another class in college that allowed me to have much more advanced insight into producing, mixing, and mastering beats. This class also provided me time in the school’s studio, where I was able to work on my sound more in addition to collaborating with my friends. As my passion and skills developed, a friend of mine and I decided that we were going to take an idea that he had been working on since high school more seriously and really try and pursue a dream that we both had for ourselves. He had always had the idea of an Hourglass collective in mind, but it never seemed to persist the way he wanted it. While in school, I took on some internships with a record label and a startup revolving around the music business, which I felt gave me more knowledge and insight into the music industry. With that, I began to think that his idea plus my newfound insight and knowledge made it possible for us to start our own wave. With help from our friends, we have been able to keep the dream alive and turn it into a reality.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would love to say that this has all been easy, but it has not. I would say that most of the struggles are related to lack of resources, money, and self-doubt. While it can be tough to see something like this through, it is never too hard to bounce back when it involves something I am passionate about. I try not to think about my struggles as losses but more as lessons for how to overcome similar hurdles in the future.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
Hourglass Management & Entertainment began solely as a group of individuals who enjoyed sharing music with their audience. If we had to give our music a genre, we would say that we focus on making Neo/indie Hip-Hop & R&B music. However, as of late 2019, we began to partner with a company created by a friend of ours called Aera Hope, which led us to begin throwing events within Metro Atlanta. Together, we came up with the idea of throwing low-cost events that centered around high class and urban appeal. By doing this, we wanted to invite our friends and others to experience our vibes in addition to promoting our music.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I am always proud to see a song that I have produced finally make it to streaming services, but my proudest moments would have to be seeing the events that I helped plan turn out to be successes.. It is such an incredible feeling to see an idea become executed in the exact way that you dreamed and planned it to be. I always doubt my ideas initially, but the overwhelming support that I get from family, friends, and strangers always make me believe in myself all over again.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrglassmgmt/
https://www.instagram.com/i.an.legend/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/hrglassmgmt
Image Credit:
Jard Lerebours
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
