Trumpet, piano, and now beats- what started off as an activity to keep junior Owen Laughinghouse occupied during a sickness turned into the creation of an upcoming music artist named “Wis.”
Laughinghouse has always been surrounded by music. With his parents constantly playing instruments around him and his house in Nashville having a music studio, it further inspired him to advance in his abilities within the arts. In middle school he joined band as a trumpet player and has continued playing trumpet during high school.
During his freshman year, Laughinghouse caught the flu and remained at home for a week. It started off unproductive, but he eventually downloaded the free music making platform LMMS, and from there his admiration for music production flourished.
“(LMMS) started my beat making career, but ended my AP HUG career,” said Laughinghouse.
Channeling inspiration from various artists including Kanye West, Lil Uzi Vert, and trumpet player Ted Baker, Laughinghouse decided to release his first EP, Tides, on December 1, 2018.
All five songs on “Tides” describe his personal vices and how they’ve molded him into the person he has become.
The first song on the EP titled, “No Emotion”, expresses how Laughinghouse carries himself loosely. Laughinghouse says, “I don’t really get bothered by a lot of things, and I think that that bothers a lot of people; the fact that I don’t get bothered by much.”
“Heartbroken” has a more sorrowful vibe speaking about every time an individual goes through a heartbreak. He describes the song as, “Through every breakup you learn something new and that’s what this song is basically about.”
In “Claustrophobe,” he describes his own claustrophobia, but the song has a double meaning; he doesn’t let many people into his life because, “It seems like people only want to be your friend if they want something from you.”
“Focus” is his personal favorite. A lyric in the song says, “If it ain’t about my bag, I swear I don’t even notice.” He is admires this lyric because if it has nothing to do with him, then he doesn’t pay any mind to it.
The final song, “Happiness,” isn’t necessarily about Laughinghouse. He says, “People think they’re happy but everyone has a different view on happiness. But dof people really know what happiness is?”
Talking to Laughinghouse’s friend, Nathan Compton, he would describe the music as uplifting and electronic. Compton says his favorite song on the EP is, “No Emotion because of the way it sounds and the lyrics put him in his feels.” Compton progresses in saying that within Laughinghouse’s next album he would like to see him rap about things that he cares about or something more real to him.
“Tides is like singing rap. Pop hip-hop?” Despite Tides being more “pop hip-hop,” Laughinghouse does not confine himself to one specific genre of music. He says he couldn’t make the same style of music over and over again. With over six thousands plays on all platforms, it has continued to motivate Laughinghouse to create new music. He plans to make a ten song album with no set release date.
