Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Schuna.
Lee, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started playing guitar in 5th grade, and when YouTube came around when I was a teenager, I started recording guitar covers of old post-punk songs. This got me interested in learning how to record properly, so I got a little two-channel audio interface for the PC in my parent’s basement. Eventually, I picked up other instruments, and then I realized I could write my own songs. When college came around, I got a scholarship to attend Northeastern, and I graduated from their music industry program in 2016 with a focus in music recording.
During my time at NU, I interned at Captured Tracks (a record label in Brooklyn), the DMC Media Studio in the library, and then I worked part-time running sound for the campus events department. I recorded (and never finished) a lot of my own music in those years, as well as produced & engineered Anjimile’s record “Human Nature”.
The semester before graduation, my professor & recording mentor Jim Anderson mentioned that the theatre department was looking for a sound designer for a student production. I knew nothing about sound design (… or theatre), but I thought I’d give it a try! I love film, so I figured creating soundscapes for a player might not be so different from a soundtrack. I met with the director, Bridget Kathleen O’Leary, and as soon as she saw my Cure tattoo, our friendship was basically cemented! That first show went well, and Bridget helped me get my foot in the door with a bunch of local theater companies that summer…
After graduation, I pretty much dove right in as a professional freelance sound designer and have had consistent work doing that over the last two years. It’s wild that I didn’t even know this job existed until right before graduating and entering the working world, but it found me at the right time. It’s definitely stressful, and sometimes I work crazy hours writing music for shows while pulling shifts at my part-time day jobs. But the role of the sound designer has been a good balance for me with the creativity of composing and the technical aspects of configuring sound systems for different theaters all over Boston. I’m so grateful to everyone who has given me a chance at a new designer, and I know I’m very lucky to be able to work as much as I do.
Outside of sound design & AV, I also am a mix engineer, songwriter, and music producer. I’m currently working on an EP that I’ll eventually be putting out under the alias Analogue Self. It’s gonna be a mix of dreamy ambient synth stuff and 80s goth guitars. I also engineered and did some production on a record coming out next year with a nonbinary pop diva who is gonna be making some waves soon. I’m not sure what I can say about this yet, so I’ll leave it at that 😉
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have definitely been some difficult times. One of the biggest struggles in my life was coming to terms with being transgender, coming out, and finally deciding to medically transition by taking testosterone and having top surgery. I was dysphoric for most of my life before identifying the root of those feelings and getting the help I needed with counseling and affirmative medical care. There were some pretty deep depressive dips before saying ‘enough is enough’ and starting the transition process when I was 20.
Because being trans has affected many fundamental aspects of my existence as a human being, it’s hard to separate that from my path in life and the person I have become. Music has always been a coping mechanism that has helped me through tough times, but it’s also a pretty mysterious and magical way to express emotion and help tell stories. The introverted tendencies that I resented in myself when I was younger also led me to spend thousands of hours alone working on music, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without that time spent.
Another speed bump was getting tendinitis in my wrist from an ice cream scooping job when I lived in New York. I couldn’t play guitar for over a year and thought I might never be able to again (which was another existential crisis in itself), but I got interested in making electronic music as a result, so that worked out alright. Life is pretty weird.
Speaking of which, the current social & political climate is absolutely a struggle. It’s been hard to stay positive and focused on creating when the world seems like it’s collapsing in on itself in absurd new ways every day. There are as many smoke & mirror shows as there are real issues, and it feels like a lot of people are losing the ability to decipher what is important about existence and our role as human beings. That being said, it’s also hard to remember that holding on to the suffering of the world for too long will zap away energy that could be spent in more artful, constructive ways. I’m still working on that.
Please tell us about Human Nature Records.
In my professional life, I’m a freelance sound designer and AV technician, but I also have a pet record label called Human Nature Records. I started it with the vision of releasing my own albums and those of my friends, which is still the goal. My creative partner and I also want to make films someday, so Human Nature might end up being more than just a record label. Fingers crossed.
So far, Human Nature has been an online home for music that I’ve worked on in various capacities. The first release on the label was Anjimile’s “Human Nature” in 2015, and their new record “Colors” was released this past July. Anjimile is transmasculine, so everything on the label has been touched by the hands of trans people. I suppose that gives us a different perspective from most other labels. Anji’s music is really something special, and I do what I can wherever they are in the recording process to polish and tighten things up with mixing and/or mastering.
I’m still in touch with two friends from college who started a mastering service called Get Mastered, and I consult those guys when I need a fresh perspective on what I’m working on… My own music project Analogue Self has been on the back burner for a long time, but that will change soon with an EP, hopefully out later this year. It’s a great time to make bedroom music and put it out into the world. Right now, the label is online-only, but I’d love to press records someday when money permits.
Up on our Bandcamp page, there are also some recordings of gritty techno jams with my best friend, as well as my theatrical sound design portfolio. Younger me would be disappointed that I don’t have more releases out on it by now, but present me understands that the timing and creative energy needs to be right for records to get finished. I’m proud of the few things we’ve done, and am really hopeful for where we can take it in the future.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
That’s a really difficult question. I wouldn’t be where I am now if things didn’t turn out the way they did, so I guess nothing? Sure, there are thoughts of things along the way, like wishing I was more organized in the administrative aspects of my work, or wishing I could answer emails quicker. It would probably be helpful if I was better at “networking” and putting myself out there more socially. It’s hard to muster the energy to be social or attend community events when you have to work yourself to death just to survive. Student loans are a real bummer. Money is a bummer.
Generally, I’m of the mindset that we are always doing the best we can manage at the time, even in the emotional sense. It’s only natural that the things that enable my creativity also get in the way of my efficient functioning in the world. I’m only human! If I had to start over, I’d be Inspector Gadget. I’d have an arm dedicated to doing mundane but necessary admin tasks. I guess that’s why people hire interns…
Contact Info:
- Website: http://humannaturerecords.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/analogueself/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumanNatureRecs/
Image Credit:
Natasha Boos
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
