Adelaide guitar prodigy and YouTube sensation, KEYAN is back with glowing new single, Pulse. The triumphant tune is the successor to debut EP Gradient, and serves as a sonic vessel to highlight the trials and triumphs of everyday life.
HEAVY tracked Keyan down for a Q & A session outlining his rise from YouTube influencer to performing with a full band.
HEAVY: Please introduce yourself, who are you, and what do you do?
KEYAN: My name is Keyan Houshmand. Modern guitarists may recognise me from my YouTube, Instagram and TikTok under the same name. However, now I also go under the artist name of KEYAN, which is slightly less inconvenient to pronounce and remember. I am a 22 year old instrumental solo artist based in Adelaide, Australia, who also produces content for bedroom guitarists and production enthusiasts.
How did you make your start?
My start on guitar started on my 5th birthday. My first ever guitar was a nylon-string Ashton acoustic, which was gifted to me by my uncle. I was always invested in music, but it wasn’t until I got that first guitar that I started engaging with guitar-oriented music. I’m still playing guitar 17 years later, although it’s a little bit different. I decided to pursue social media as a guitar content creator later in late 2018, after a good reception on my first video, which was a review on the Misha Mansoor signature plugin with JST. A lot of my content since then has been demoing and reviewing modern products for the modern guitar player, with lots of educational content on production and modern metal composition. After a few years of gaining a following, I decided to make my start as a solo musician earlier in the year with my debut EP ‘Gradient’
What made you choose to go from YouTube influencer to performing artist?
After starting my journey as a social media influencer in 2018, I never expected to be in the position that I am in currently. As most people say, it all started for fun, as I have always enjoyed making videos. However, as things grew and a dedicated fan base was appearing before me, I then decided that I should use this opportunity to take my hobby to the next level and make it a career. From then, it was always a matter of “when”, not “if”, for releasing music officially. I always knew I wanted to release music, I just made sure I waited long enough to ensure that there would be people interested in hearing it.
Given that the nature of the YouTube channel and Instagram is mostly educational, with videos mainly focusing on playing modern style guitar, mixing demo songs etcetera, releasing my own music independently is basically my way of “walking the talk”. I want to show the world that it is possible to record, produce, mix, master, release and market your own music from a 3x3m bedroom at home as a solo guitarist. As time goes on and more opportunities present themselves, I’d love to take that notion and proceed into national and international touring off the back of my own releases. Music was never Plan A, I never really expected to be in the position that I’m in. Having just graduated university earlier this year, I’m putting that aside for the time being in favour of all of this. Guitar and music was my first love, and I have no intention of giving up on either of them in the near future.
What was the first show like performing as a full band?
The first show I ever performed was in March earlier this year at Lion Arts Factory in Adelaide. It was an absolutely surreal experience and one of the most stressful things I’ve ever partaken in. After putting out a certain quality of content and making a name for myself within the niche modern guitar player community, I felt as though there was a certain standard that would be expected of me when organizing something like the first show. Combine that with my perfectionist mentality and it was a recipe for absolute disaster mentally, but the pay-off was so worth it. Simply put, writing the songs and performing them wasn’t enough, I felt as though I had to go the extra step. This was not your typical “first show”, I made sure to book an iconic venue with a big screen, time-coded lights, fog machines, extra production, everything was to be filmed and uploaded to YouTube which you can find here. On top of all the high value production, there was also a lot of effort put into the playing side, with a full in-ear monitoring rig being made, MIDI switching between all of our physical gear that was all time-coded to the backing tracks, and much more. I’m glad I pushed myself to go the extra mile from the get-go despite never playing a live show before in my life, as I now have an even greater understanding of all the moving parts in a setup like that.
As far as the feeling of playing on stage with a band behind me, it was probably the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my life. I remember being so hopped on adrenaline after the gig that I didn’t even sleep that night, which is something I still struggle with whenever we play a show. It’s such a great release, which may seem out of character to people who know me, who would probably say I’m more reserved.
How would you describe your musical style, and what does that look like in the future?
I would classify my genre of music and style of writing as “modern progressive metal”. My musical style is derived from all of my years of producing modern metal content. The music often finds itself sitting amongst the heavier sub-genres of metal and modern metal, with the added melodic influences of fusion and progressive music. Even though it is instrumental music, my goal is to always write music that is accessible to all music listeners, even if they don’t find themselves frequently listening to heavy or instrumental music. I try my best to showcase the guitar as the vocal through specific melodies, motifs and hooks that are catchy, memorable and groovy.
In regards to future releases, my main aim is to consistently and steadily release music that is relatable, even as an instrumental. Whether it be singles, a concept EP similar to ‘Gradient’, or a full-length album, there are no boundaries on what I want to release. Heaviness, melodic tendencies and overall complexity are never used as conscious goals that I aim for when writing. My only goal is to write music that people can both relate to and hopefully be inspired by.
Is this single part of an extended release?
‘Pulse’ is a single and will not be tied to a larger release in the future. If anything, it is a spiritual successor of the last EP, with the intention of further solidifying the fact that KEYAN is very much an instrumental guitar project that is to be likened with other heavyweights in the genre.
Will there be any shows to support?
There will be a ‘Pulse’ single release show on the 16th of December at Jive Bar in Adelaide, as well other unannounced interstate shows towards the end of the year. Next year there are plans for support on a national tour, as well as a headline national tour. There is also the big elephant in the room in regards to international shows, which is derived from a much larger international following. I would love to do it as soon as I possibly can, and I’m sure it can happen much sooner than expected.
