Meet Gina Hannuksela

We recently connected with Gina Hannuksela and have shared our conversation below.

Gina, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
For me is about variation I think. I am both a producer, a songwriter, and an artist. For me going to the studio, one day to another, is often a whole different experience. Okay not always, but if I say so, I go to the studio at least 5 days a week and it never really gets boring or feels old. One day I could produce a new beat, the other finalize a production, another one write a new song, or keep writing on an already started project, another one record, another day mix etc, etc. Also because this is my passion and I am a real nerd about all the music things, I can dive into the most detailed things. For example searching for samples, doing a new mixchain, or learning about different frequencies. I think because of my hunger for learning new things and developing my skills it keeps alive, because even though I’ve done this for many years now I am still so excited about going to the studio or just opening up my DAW. Of course, I also have days where I do not feel as creative but then I just switch and do something less creative, like mixing or structuring my samples.
So, the simple answer is variation. It’s also variations in your workflow. How you work, the location, the people you work with, what you start with when doing a new beat, or even the colors on the ledlamps in the studio.
For songwriting, I think my creativity easily keeps alive cause I have so much to say or just the need to lighten my heart. It’s often a feeling that I need to write. Like, I need to write about this to get it off my chest. Also, I’m thinking a lot about things and different perspectives and just going through life we all experience new things or feelings every day. Even old feelings, that we need to process over and over again. So just going through everyday life, there you have a bunch of things to write about and be creative with.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Gina Hannuksela, as my artist name. I’m from Uppsala, Sweden. I’m an artist, songwriter, producer, and music nerd. I love music. My dad is a musician so i think that’s where I got it all from in the beginning. But I’ve been singing since I was little. I remember one memory when my dad recorded me singing Rihanna’s “Stay” and he showed my family and he was very encouraging. I think that was when I got more interested. So I got more into singing, and sang a lot of covers. But as I got older I started thinking more and I felt that it was weird singing covers. Like, if I sang a song about heartbreak but that was not what I was feeling, that felt weird. It’s like talking with someone else’s words, which for me doesn’t work. So i started writing my own songs and with that, I realized that I needed to go into producing as well to make beats to the songs I wrote. And from there I truly found my passion and have just kept going. Today I’m in Malmö studying music in a school called Spinneriet Glokala, who focus on being independent in the industry. Right now I’m in the process of making my EP, where the music material is more or less done so right now it’s more about all the material around it. All the visual material, like teasers, cover arts, and other marketing things. It’s a lot but I really love it, forming a whole package to represent my vibe and music. The EP is called Damage Control and is going to be out in the near future!!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Being independent in my music-making and knowing how to: For me, starting to learn how to make beats and record myself early in the stage, has been really helpful. To not have to be dependent on anyone else. The freedom to, if I want to I can make music any day, everywhere, just depending on myself. Not have to wait for someone else. That has made me being able to make more music cause I’m not limited and also to dive deeper into my own music making. Even if I also work a lot with other musicians, I spend a lot of time alone in the studio and that’s where I get the chance to dive deeper, experiment, and explore my expression and my skills. Even if the full song ends up with me not doing it all on my own it’s from the beginning my vision. For example, I’m in the studio doing a simple beat and have a demo done with recordings. Maybe after that, to make it greater, I collaborate with another producer to make it even better. But if I hadn’t had the chance to make the first beat on my own maybe I wouldn’t have come up with the idea, the vision, the topic for the song, or the hook melody. Of course it goes the other way around as well. Sometimes just because you work with someone or just someone else being in the room with you, you come up with a differrent melody or you go a different path. But most and foremost not being dependent or having to wait for anyone else to do what I love to do the most.

Be you and trust yourself and your vision:
There are many situations where I’ve felt annoying or not being understood for pushing my vision. But in the end, I have not cared because I trusted myself, my knowledge, and my vision. Cause its my vision, how would anyone else know it better? Of course, I listen to advice or ask for advice from people, or need other people to get to my vision, but in the end, it’s my vision. So yeah, even if I sometimes have been in rooms where I’m maybe not the most skillful producer, but we’re working with one of my songs, I still say exactly what I think about the production. Because it’s my vision. Maybe everything is not “right” but that is not the point. The decision-making should be “right” for your vision. So yeah trust yourself and your knowledge and what you feel. Of course it can end up not being the best choice but at least try and then you know. Therefore just be you. Sometimes I come up with ideas in my head of how certain video materials should look like for example, and I can’t even explain why I want it that way. It’s just a feeling, or it just feels like me.

Being hungry and curious:
Wanting to learn more, how else are you going to develop if you’re not learning more? It’s the same in life. If you think you know everything, you don’t. If you’re afraid of asking questions and looking dumb for not knowing something, fuck that, ask the question. I don’t care if I look dumb, I want to know, how you made that sound, for example. Sometimes I learn stuff from my youths at my work, there’s nothing wrong with that. Especially in music because there are so many ways to do different things. With music everything isn’t set in stone, which makes the process free and with countless of abilities. I remember going to my first studio in Uppsala, I asked the producer who worked there loads of questions and he showed me how everything worked. And that’s what made me learn more. Also, he saw my hunger and liked it so we started working together, which led to my first singles that I released. And from there, more opportunities came up, and without them maybe I wouldn’t be where I am today.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Yes! I’m always looking for collaborations, most and foremost producers, who gets my vibe and do the same music ish as I do, which is Soul/Lofi/RnB/Hiphop. But of course also other musicians, artists, or songwriters, it’s always nice to try new collaborations within the genre. Maybe we don’t do the exact same vibe but if we get each other’s vibe, I think that’s a good start. Then of course also people who work with all kinds of visual things, photographers, graphic designers or illustrators, etc. Who, again, gets my vibe and can understand my vision. I’ll always need people who work with these things when I have something to release. Also people within marketing, agencies, publisher or labels who can help with getting my music a further reach.
If you want to connect don’t hesitate, send me a DM or email me, there are links down below:)

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Emma Holmgren Florentine Urbach Linda Diehl Sebastian Dinamarca

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