For our 16th Clapper Sounds Interview, we’re highlighting Armenian-American musician and Clapper Creator: LusineIgityanOfficial!

LusineIgityanOfficial has been involved in music for as long as she can remember. After a couple of hiatuses, she’s now producing and releasing her own music as an independent artist. Her style is varied and unique, with inspirations from anywhere and everywhere. The one thing it all has in common? It’s fun, it’s fresh, and LusineIgityanOfficial loves it! In this interview, we talked about her journey, her inspirations, and her advice for musicians just starting out.

I think it’s the life and feelings that you experience that inspire you. When you hear people appreciate your music, that is already inspirational.

Clapper Sounds is meant to be an intimate musical experience, and we want that mission to translate into our written interviews too. As you read about LusineIgityanOfficial, play her music in the background and really get to know this artist’s unique sound.

Let’s start from the beginning. What is your first memory of being involved with music? How did you start your artist journey?

I started music from first grade. I was going to a music school, so I was part of the chorus, I was doing piano, it was an everyday thing. Because at that time I was maybe too involved and I was doing a lot of classical stuff, it was tiring and draining. It was sort of like a chore. But after I got into university, I continued playing piano, making music, and trying to learn guitar. At that time there was no social media (there was barely a phone) so exposure was almost impossible. It was all about connections and you had to take some wrong routes to get somewhere to sing.

Then I came to America and there were a lot of difficulties, so that music dream kind of was on the side. I was too busy kind of surviving here! That took many years, and after I got married we had children, and that takes up all your time. Then I found a little time for myself and decided to learn current technology and see if there’s anyway I could bring back my music. My original goal was to give my Armenian music a new life, but then I started producing music in English. I’m trying to keep my focus on the English language and include some Armenian and Eastern European touches in my music.

How would you describe your musical style? Who are your biggest inspirations?

I have no limitations to genres. Whatever comes to mind, I produce it. Like right now, I’m working on something and I’ve never produced this style. I ended up mixing R&B with some Armenian piano melody with some Arabic, belly dance beats. You don’t have to be limited, and I think you have to try and mix things because it makes it more fun. There’s really no specific genre, niche, or style of music I stick to. I try to keep it very modern and pop so it suits our new social media style.

There’s no musician that’s my inspiration; I think it’s life that’s my inspiration. I think it’s the life and feelings that you experience that inspire you. When you hear people appreciate your music, that is already inspirational. That’s how it works for me really.

What is your songwriting process like?

I don’t sit down and say “I’m going to write a song today,” because if you do that I feel like it’s going to be very fabricated or artificial. I think usually a melody or words pop up, and I write or record on my phone so I don’t forget it. A lot of my songs pop up in the gym, like the song “Work Your Glutes”. I was doing a cardio-boxing class and every time I punched the bag I was like “ugh this is such a cool song beat!” That’s how the idea came out for “Work Your Glutes”, which I would never even think to write a song about glutes. It’s just so silly, right? But no, I cannot sit down and say “I’m going to write a song.”

What are your thoughts on content creation as an artist? How do you feel about artists having to balance their social media presence and still be committed to their art?

I think social media and and performing in front of an audience are two different things. I feel like social media is your relaxing area, where you can be you and there’s not going to be judgement. And if there is judgement, you can ignore that. But in a concert, you‘re coming as what you want people to see you in “fake life”. I think social media is an amazing tool for a lot of indie artists to tell people who they are, show them their talent. It’s just amazing. I never thought that my music was going to be heard by so many people. I remember when I was a kid, if I wanted to buy Michael Jackson’s music I had to literally go and find the cassette somewhere. Now they can easily find you everywhere and I think that’s beautiful.

Do you have any side hustles or hobbies other than music?

When I worked a full time job, I did not have time for even music and at that time I was also a mom. After COVID, I lost my job and was able to find that time to learn technology. Then you have to learn the marketing aspect and the business, because its not just that you produce the music and put it on the internet. No, you have to protect your music. You have to copyright it, you have to open a business, so all of this takes time to research. So there’s literally no other hobby. Just working out, music, and being a mom. And still, there’s not enough time!

Deciding to be an artist can have its ups and downs. What advice would you give to that young artist who is just learning to play guitar, or starting singing lessons and whose dream is to be a musician?

There’s so much to tell, but the most important thing is that you can never give up on your dreams. You have to believe in yourself and be confident in what you produce. You’ll have days when you kind of get discouraged, but believe that there are always going to be people that appreciate your music and you should never stop working at it. Then do a lot of homework and research. A lot of young artists don’t protect their music and they’re being taken advantage by more experienced musicians. I went through that and because I did my homework, I was able to protect myself and my music. You should always do you research and not let people take advantage of you. And get everything in writing to protect your music, yourself, and your music rights.

Make sure to check our recorded live session on our account Clapper Sounds and in our reels on Instagram. Enjoy the Clapper Sounds live session of the week!