Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Tyrer.
Hi Ethan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in a small town in Wisconsin. Lots of cows, I always say. I remember when I was a kid, my parent’s friends had this piano that I would sit at for hours whenever we were at their house. It seemed like the most magical thing in the universe to me. I think probably from those moments on my soul was hooked on making music. Eventually, I started playing instruments and teaching myself how to write and record. When I was in college, I realized there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do with my life, so a friend and I decided to pack the car with everything we could fit and move to Seattle. Since then so much has happened, it’s hard to sum it all up. When I left home, I thought I was going off to pursue what I thought was a “music career,” but over time it’s become something much more complex and deeper to me.
My path eventually led me to Los Angeles, where I currently live and work. I’ve released three albums and an EP, exhibited my artwork in several galleries along the West Coast, and have been selling NFTs since before they were called NFTs. Most recently, I opened an online shop called Devil’s Market, where I sell my prints, newspapers, and tapes.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I can’t say it’s been a smooth road, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s inherent in the idea of leaving home to go in search of something that it’s going to be difficult. And I think things become much more difficult and interesting when you reach the point where your work becomes your life and your life becomes your work. It can be very isolating at times, which is not something that I romanticize. On one side of me, there is a very hermit-like creature who just needs to stay in his laboratory and make his creations, but then on the other side there is a sense of grief in being apart from people and not being able to be fully a part of things. But I’m grateful that it hasn’t been easy. An easy life would be boring. It’s struggle that leads you to grow and evolve as a human, and I’ve grown so much.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think there’s a certain depth I reach for with everything I do. I spent four years straight making my last album and all the artwork that went along with it. I write, record, and produce all my music and create all the artwork and animated videos that go along with the music. It really does become a whole universe that I create. My aim with any project is to depict that universe in as much detail as I possibly can. And while it’s impossible to get it all, I think the end result produces something very unique, something that doesn’t seem to me like just music or just art, but something else.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My only advice would be to do your own thing, to make something that only you can make and to be uncompromising in it. The world is filled up with junk and it needs things that are new and beautiful. That is more important and meaningful than success or attention. It’s unfortunate that musicians have to be everything these days because I think doing all the self-promotion really takes away from the time and energy you put into your work and adds a really egotistical spin to everything you make. What’s important is making things worthwhile, things that might stand the test of time, and that requires putting your energy and focus on that and not being distracted by things like self-promotion.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.amina-music.com/
- Instagram: @mediocre_lemons
