Conversations with Selam Sound

Today we’d like to introduce you to Selam Sound.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m born and raised in SoCal and grew up playing instruments, mainly the bass guitar and drums for my church’s praise band as a kid. In middle school I used to go to sleep with my iPod shuffle on listening to a handful of songs I’d downloaded from limewire – ranging from Kayne West, Timbaland, Kid Cudi, Nipsey and Jay-Z to Bob Marley, Linkin Park, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. My parents immigrated to America from Eritrea in the 90s so there was a lot of Eritrean music playing in the house, specifically songs that my dad’s friends would make and send to him and the community via CDs, as well as jazz, reggae, and random Christian & Gospel songs. I was also very inspired by the Soundcloud producer era from 2012-2017, specifically people like Mr. Carmack, Mura Masa and Kaytranada as well as the 2010s mixtape era of rap and west coast music.
Since I’m a first generation immigrant and the oldest son, I felt the responsibility to go to college and graduated with a degree in finance. In college I started messing around with production, making songs with my friends and artists I’d meet on campus, but never took it seriously. I got a job at an institutional and high net worth financial firm right after college and moved to the bay area, and the scene there influenced me greatly. I ended up working with a variety of artists out there while still working in finance full time, notably Larry June. I moved back to Los Angeles in Fall 2023 with a job at a new firm that advanced my career, but ultimately decided last summer to take a break from finance and finally step into music full time, which has been great.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’ve juggled full time high stress finance jobs with 60-70 hour work weeks while producing on the side, which was a test of productivity and grit. Not to mention that taking the risk to bet on myself and push pause on that career has been a very inner journey, and I wouldn’t trade this time for creative exploration for the world.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I try to draw inspiration from my surroundings and mold to any genre and sound – I just always want to be on the cutting edge, taking risks with sound, and never settling or playing it safe.
Everyone who works with me initially knows me for my drums – having the background of a drummer helps and I also just believe that music should be felt, not just listened to. The groove and how the drums hit are pretty important to me.
When I would drum at church as a kid, the band director would let me experiment and lead the song in whatever direction I wanted – I would often change between genres, read the crowd, and have fun with the songs during service which made it fun for both the congregation and myself – which is pretty rare in church settings. I try to bring this into sessions when I can, reading the vibe of the artist and curating the sound in a way that matches the artist’s direction and my personal inspirations.
I’m most proud of the songs I have coming out this year with my friends and other artist I’ve worked with lately – so definitely keep an eye out.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I like to journal, practice self care, go to the gym and get out in nature, and also try to read my bible app every now and then as well as enjoying real conversations with the real ones.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/selamsound?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selam_sound/
• Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/77odZasceWKqseFO9ITJkH?si=pZ7dC1wASMWx7P1aT7GnQg
• Other: https://genius.com/artists/Selam-sound