Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

ASM Keeno is a young Sydney artist who has been making waves on Soundcloud. At just 17 years of age and with only a handful of releases to his name, Keeno has already clocked over 600,000 streams on Soundcloud alone.

Developing in a makeshift family studio from age six with his father’s help, Keeno became comfortable with a range of instruments, melodies, tempos, genres and recording equipment. It wasn’t long before he was recording five to six covers a day and discovering the process of writing, arranging, and recording.

Futuremag Music Editor, Brooke Gibbs, caught up with the young creative to talk about how he got to where he is at such a young age.

FMM: Congrats on the release of Chin Up. How does it feel to have this track out there?

ASM Keeno: It feels great! I haven't released music in a long time and I’ve been making heaps of tracks, so to finally put it out there and have people listen to it was a great feeling. 

FMM: What are some of the inspirations behind this release?

ASM Keeno: I draw inspiration from how I’ve been feeling lately, and that's usually the case for most of my music. I felt a certain type of way and I decided to get on the microphone and record, making sure to reflect that in the music. 

FMM: What does having your chin up mean to you?

ASM Keeno: Having your chin up to me means, just being able to be resilient, fight through stuff when things aren't going the right way. In this case, with a person who switches up, you can’t let it bother you. Stay focused on yourself and what matters.

FMM: Can you please walk me through your production process for this one?

ASM Keeno: With this one, it all started with me in my home studio in my room by myself listening to a bunch of beats, and I heard this one and instantly got hooked on the sample. One thing led to another, and I freestyled the hook. I made a lot of songs that night and this one got tucked away for a long time in my files, but then I revisited it and realised how much I liked it, so I decided I wanted it to be my debut single. 

FMM: What do you hope listeners take away with them when they hear this?

ASM Keeno: I hope people can listen to this track and are able to relate with something they may be going through in their life. I want my fans and listeners to be inspired to get up, go out there and do what they wanna do, keep their chin up, you know? I think I'd say a feeling of connection and hope.

FMM: You have just a handful of releases to your name, but have clocked over 600,000 streams on Soundcloud alone! That’s impressive. Congratulations. How did this traction come about and how does it feel today reflecting on those figures? 

ASM Keeno: I used to release on SoundCloud when I was 13 to 14, and the last two songs I dropped there, Feel The Same and Alright, just started blowing up in streams one day, and people really liked them. It was a great feeling knowing that many people had listened to my music. But, right now I’m focused on my next chapter, and gonna be putting out much better music than those releases, and building my audience locally and then globally.

FMM: You’re only 16, so to have so much success and such a high work ethic is incredible. How do you balance this while also having a social life, and transitioning into adulthood? 

ASM Keeno: It is definitely tough. I think that some things for sure have to be sacrificed in order to really be good at your craft no matter what it is. I've put a lot of time and effort into my music ever since I was 13 and I still am to this day. I feel like I would much rather do this than anything else though, but when it comes to balancing social life, it’s not too bad. I can usually make time for most things. Transitioning into adulthood is pretty weird, though. I’m on my last year of school and feel a lot more independent now but, I have a great team around me and I think I’m doing alright dealing with it all.

FMM: I hear you developed a makeshift family studio. What did the initial set up look like and what was the first gear you purchased for your production process?

ASM Keeno: Yeah, I'd always be at home at my dad’s house. He had a really old mic and old Mac, and I'd just record covers of my favourite songs when I was young. I learnt the ins and outs of the programs and how to record myself, and over time I got so used to it that I made the outdated quality of that set up sound kinda alright. I never really had the money at the time, so I always stuck with the same gear and worked my way around them.

FMM: Any gear you wished you had earlier?

ASM Keeno: Definitely a better microphone and a computer that won't freeze every hour and crash, losing my music. 

FMM: What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of starting from a makeshift studio?

ASM Keeno: The main advantage for me is just being completely free and being able to experiment with whatever you like, because it's just you in the room and you're in control. This can lead to some crazy vocals, melodies, and beat selections, but all in all, I feel like sometimes you can make the best creative stuff from this.

Disadvantages may be that you have to focus on a few things at once if you record yourself and don't have an engineer. It may take a bit of the focus away from just making the music, whereas when you have people with you in the studio who all do their job well, you have a really good chemistry and process. It just depends on the person, and how they feel comfortable. Honestly, I love being in studios but there's something about my home one that I’ve made my favourite songs in, so it just depends.

FMM: What did you learn about yourself and your creative process during this time?

ASM Keeno: I learned that there were literally no limits to what I could do with music. I could sit there for hours every day and just put my ideas into this song and envision things and action them. I think it just emphasised creativity to me and kinda puts me in another world.

FMM: Do you have any advice for other young, aspiring creatives who would love to be doing the things you’re doing?

ASM Keeno: The most important advice I always give, is to not be afraid to put yourself out there. If you want to do something, work on it until you yourself are satisfied with it and then show the world. I feel like everybody doubts themself to a degree, but you have to accept those feelings and put them to the side and really do what you want to do. Caring about what others think could be the number one block to potential in younger people. So, you have to not worry about that and just be consistent with working on your craft and putting yourself out there.

FMM: For anyone coming across your music for the first time, how would you describe yourself and the work you put out there?

ASM Keeno: I’m a kid who makes music about the experiences and feelings he's felt. I want people to hear the passion in my voice because I really do put my all into this. My music covers more than one genre and I hope that the listener can hear and feel the authenticity of the message and truth to my expression. I think that music can be interpreted however you like, but that’s something I want listeners to understand about my music. 

FMM: What’s next for you?

ASM Keeno: A lot more music dropping, a lot of different vibes, especially in 2023. I want to be performing more and doing a lot of things to get my music out to the world. I’ll be working hard to make better and better music, fingers crossed for this year.