We know that USM students are known for being talented academically, But this student has a creative side he is passionate to share. Alain Igiraneza is a student here at USM who creates music as an outlet of creativity, and hopefully soon as a career. I hadn’t heard his music until the day of the interview. When I asked to hear a sample I’m going to be honest, I was not expecting to hear what I heard. An amazing ballad with so much character and spunk in his voice. I couldn’t wait to hear more. The more I sat with Igiraneza and listened to more samples, the more I knew that he was not your ordinary artist. I wanted to get straight into getting to know who he was!
Igiraneza had a soft spirit, just like his melodic ways on the tracks I had heard before the interview. I had so many questions I didn’t know where to start so I decided to ask him where he was from for starters. Igiraneza is from the city of Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi in Africa, “I moved here when I was 11 and the transition was actually pretty hard because I didn’t know the language. I didn’t know anybody really so it was difficult knowing people building relationships but as time went on you got better.”
As our conversation flowed he explained to me when he knew that music was what he wanted to do, He explained to me that it was his music teacher that got him started in music in the first place when he was just six or seven years old!
“ He asked me if I wanted to join the chorus and since then I’ve been singing. Music is something I love doing. It’s something I want to do for the rest of my life. Ever since then I’ve been creating music seeing where I guess music takes me. “ Igiraneza stated.
When I listened to Igiraneza’s music I couldn’t help but get Afro Beat vibes and R&B vibes, from the soul melodies to the different beats. However when I asked Igiraneza about what genre he believed his music belonged to his answers were not only surprising but it really opened my eyes to see that a natural born creative was sitting with me at that very moment. “Honestly I don’t even know I just create whatever comes up in my mind. Yes I may be in the category of R&B and Afro beats but I feel like I can create all the categories of music so I guess just wait and see.” This answer showed me that he doesn’t limit himself or tie himself to one category of music.
When it came to producing music, Igiraneza gave his opinion on the process of making and producing music he explained how when he has a vision, he needs the people that help produce his music to have the same vision, As a hands on worker Igiraneza definitely doesn’t settle.He states: “So I just tried to find the music producer’s people that can record my music and see my vision the way I see it. So it just took time but I started getting the hang of it overtime and see what works well with me because there’s a lot of music engineers that couldn’t work the way I work. I’m more hands on And a fast worker and a lot of people can’t do things the way I need to to be done so it really took time but now I can say I’m somewhere more grounded to where I have the right people doing my own work.”
I know that with a lot of artists the way they connect to their music is what gives them their creativity so I asked Igiraneza what his relationship with his music was. He described it as being able to be selfless and step into someone else’s shoes such as a friend, and being able to describe emotional experiences through song.
Igiraneza stated:“If I’m writing about a break up story I could relate it to a friend’s break up story . They will never know I’m writing about them but from me seeing their break up story I can get inspired by it and write the song based off them so there’s a lot of things that I get from life experiences I guess if it’s a sad story about something that has happened to me I can write it in a way that can also relate to everybody else not just my story. That’s how I write my music, I write about things that relate to others, not just to me.”
His answer was really touching to me because I am a very emotionally inclined person and I know that with a lot of artists that’s how a lot of people are able to get a following. Actually being able to relate to their audience and what they’ve been through, I see it as a talent to be able to write about other things that people you know have been through. To me that means you’re really able to connect with other people’s feelings and emotions as well which is a good trait to have not only as an artist but as a person.
With his compelling unique sound, I thought there would have had to have been someone in particular that influenced him as an artist. This answer was one of my favorites. Mainly because it screamed individuality, and that is one of my favorite qualities for an artist to have.
“There’s a lot of artists, I get inspired everyday so I don’t think there is a particular artist that inspires me. I used to listen to everything Sam Smith, Mary j Blige,Beyoncé, some South African singers too, so I’m all versatile! I listen to everything so there really is no specific artist that has inspired me to do what I do there’s multiple of them.”
This answer told me That Igiraneza does not duplicate or replicate anything., I was also very intrigued because a lot of male singers wouldn’t give Beyoncé any credit. And that in itself showed me that he is a true artist because of his ability to see the inspiration behind any artist no matter the gender or genre.
Igiraneza stood out to me as an artist because he lives in Maine–there’s not a huge music industry as far as record labels, studios, or music producers. Knowing this, I was intrigued as to where Igiraneza wanted to take his career, He explained how he definitely wants to go all the way with his music career as far as international reach, and listeners. As far as the idea of moving, Igiraneza knows that home is where the heart is.
“I hope people see the potential I have and want to work with me and see themselves work with me. I want to work with the biggest artists out there!” he states.“Hopefully I can help other artists do what the artists in California do here. It’s still hard to find opportunities here but I hope to stay here. I know they say to have multiple plans or don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Maybe one day I can move back and forth from California to here but I will always keep Maine and Portland as my main place to stay.” I was truly amazed by his response because it’s not what you would expect to hear from someone with this much talent or ambition.
One thing that stood out to me about Igiraneza is that his originality and drive to be his own person is expressed through his passion and his dream to expand his town’s music industry. Touching on how he exudes individuality, Igiraneza explained how his uniqueness lies not only in his music, but also in his personality. He states that he wants to be known for more than just being a musician: “I always say I don’t need people to see me as ‘Alain the Musician.’ I want people to see me as me, and see my personality through the music and to get impacted by that. That’s why I always play around with my music, even being goofy in the music, because I feel like people can relate more to me in those situations because I’m not a big talker, I don’t talk a lot, I want people to see me for who I am and see themselves in my music because I think I can relate to a lot of people.”
Alain Igiraneza said he is working on some upcoming work that he is very excited about, and has some tracks already recorded! Follow his instagram @alain_igir to know when his next album is about to drop in 2023!