Conversations with Alex Strahle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Strahle.

Hi Alex, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m the son of a Los Angeles session musician and at six years old, I told my parents that I wanted to play guitar for a living. Fortunately, they believed me and let me go on this musical journey. I started playing my first club gigs around 15 years old. By 18, my band SVB (a girl-fronted pop-punk band) had been signed to producer Kuk Harrell. We played tons of shows around LA for the better part of five years working with loads of incredible people like Glen Ballard, Mike Green and Josh Gudwin. Eventually, he had to drop us due to signing to Jay-z’s label Roc Nation. After all the exposure I had to these amazing people behind the scenes, I realized that I could see myself working more behind the curtain of the industry as a producer and songwriter. So I started working on my skills as a producer and songwriter. Recently been working with some incredible artists like One Republic, Annie Omalley, Kurt Creger, Loud Forest, Opus Orange, and my band oblio.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s been far from a smooth road. The industry is a complete rollercoaster. I’ve been signed and dropped, worked on songs I thought would be number 1’s, and had loads of failed projects. I was just talking about this last night with a friend. You really have to learn to have guarded expectations about everything and be content with where you’re at in your career. If you can remain content, you’ll be far less likely to burn out. Also comparison is a killer and no one posts about their failures on social media.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Production is such a fun art to be honest. It’s never the same day to day. For every artist that comes through the studio doors I have to start fresh and find a sonic fingerprint that completely represents them but also still feels like me. Sometimes it just comes naturally and you hear the same ideas and sometimes it’s a battle even find a single chord they like. But at the end of the day hearing a final master is an incredible thing, it feels sort of freeing especially if you’ve been working on that track for months.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I would say just reach out and work with as many people as possible. Also being a good hang is just as important as being talented. If you’re gonna be stuck in a studio for 6 hours together you need to like the people you’re with, it’s a lot like a road trip. If you’re easy going and fun to work with more than likely people will recommend you more and when you’re working with other people watch them and learn everything you can. Maybe they do things completely different than you but that’s honestly great. I’ve learned the most from producers who are just totally different from my style.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astrahle/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ6spqf2R77Hs7vx_SlJcgg

Image Credits
Main photo by Merrick Winter