Jaz caught up with UK-based artist Treasure in the sixth RepostExchange podcast. They chatted about how to self-release as an independent artist, developing your sound, and cassette tapes!

I’m Kelvin, also known as Treasure, also known as Only Losers Win Happily – the name of my label. I’m from Stevenage, about 25 minutes from Central London and I make music without a genre, I would like to think. I’m just trying to do something fresh and new.

I’ve been making music for a very long time and it took a long time to actually find a sound I want to run with. I started off in a heavy metal band called As You’re Falling, then started making music under the moniker OLWH. I made a song with a pretty incredible girl called Freakslug – she’s really good. And now I’ve ended up here on my own records.

What did you play in the metal band?

I played the guitar, I tracked bass for our online recordings and I also sang and screamed! I think there was a lot more screaming than singing going on there.

For people who haven’t heard you before, how would you describe your sound?

I would say that Treasure’s songs are for people who are enjoying a very upbeat, but mellow summer day. It’s like music for the summer, but it’s still slightly mellow. Especially in the delivery of my voice.

How long have you been making music as Treasure?

I’ve only been around as Treasure for… Playing With Fire was my first single and I thought, forget waiting, let’s just put something out there and see what happens. So I would say maybe three or four months. But it’s something I’ve been thinking about since October 2018, when I started recording my first album.

Do you do everything on the tracks?

Everything! I’m another one of those bedroom producers.

What’s the difference from being in a band with other musicians to producing your own music?

There’s a lot of pros and cons. I think in a band when you run out of creative juices, you’ve got other people to pick you up and you’ve got more people to help with the hustle and the grind of being a musician. But with Treasure, now that I’m on my own, I’ve started to realize that I have to do every single thing from the production to the marketing, writing and recording all myself. And if something goes wrong, it’s all on me! I can’t share the blame, there’s a lot of responsibility. But it helps a lot when it comes to royalties. It’s less split and you can pretty much make what you want and release it into the world.

Have you released your album yet?

No, I’ve spent the last eight or nine months recording an album and I must have made over 100 songs. I’ve now whittled them down to about 11 and I’m currently going through the process of perfecting it before I start releasing it. And then while I’m marketing that, I’m then going to record another album.

How do you promote and distribute your music?

In terms of physical copies, because I’m a big fan of tape, I’m probably going to make a DIY limited cassette tape release; there might be some promo CDs as well. And in terms of promotion, I think RepostExchange has been a massive help. If you go on my SoundCloud, you’ll see that I’ve got quite a lot of traction, quite a lot of comments on my songs. The community on RepostExchange are amazing for that, so first and foremost RepostExchange.

I distribute using DistroKid – only because they’re free and because they’ve got links with Spotify, it’s quite preferable. And then in terms of promotion, SubmitHub. It’s great if you want to apply to certain blogs, but you have to take everything with a pinch of salt because a lot of people will reject you. But then, that’s just the world of music – everything’s quite cutthroat.

Do you do your own artwork as well?

Edward Paxton is my photographer. My logo was done by a lady called Beth, also known as Pygmy – so she’s done my logo that I’m going to run with. I’m making a music video for Play With Fire with an artist, he’s called KINMAC films. But I’m going to be collaborating with a lot more people in the future, especially for this first project we’ve done.

Tell us about your musical influences

Too many! I would say first and foremost Homeshake. I love his mellow vibe, I don’t try to sound like him, but especially when I was making my first few demos for Treasure, I was taking a lot of inspiration from the sort of chords and instrumentation he was using.

I would also say Triathalon’s merge between indie and R&B is something that I look towards quite often. They’ve done it in a very smooth way and I just can’t seem to get enough. So I try to encapsulate some of that vibe as well.

And just out of the pure fact that he’s a DIY musician and he does everything on his own, I would say Steve Lacy as well. I do like the fact that Steve Lacy does more with less and I try to do the same thing with my projects and songs. There’s no need to overcomplicate anything. So those are my big three, I would say.

What equipment do you use to record with?

I swear by Ableton. Ableton’s amazing, it’s like having an unlimited track recorder. In terms of my interface, I use an RME BABYFACE-PRO, it’s really good for the money. I just use my Fender guitar, my Boss GT8 effects processor. I do have a Fender amp, a little Blues Deluxe amp – but I don’t use that to record, because I don’t have space or the equipment. Then I use my little Yamaha PSR-220 keyboard and that’s pretty much it! I used to use a Focusrite, but I just thought if I want to take things seriously, then I need to upgrade.

Do you play live as Treasure?

I haven’t played live as Treasure. The reason why I’m making this album is so maybe in the future after I’ve got my band sorted, I can do. I think my budget calls for friends to come and help me.

Tell us your plans for the future

I think with this album, it’s going to be quite diverse, quite experimental. I’ve got some songs that are more R&B influenced, some that are a bit funkier, some a bit soulful. I’ve got some straight pop records too. But I think with my next project, I’m definitely going to get a bit funkier because I feel like when I hear Treasure, that’s exactly what I want to hear.

Follow Treasure on SoundCloud, Instagram, and Spotify.

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This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.