I have always been surrounded by music growing up. My Dad was a singer/songwriter, Mum sang in the local choir, Granny played piano, and my older brother played the guitar. I was 12 years old when my brother introduced me to Metallica and that is where this story really begins! Their music just ignited something in me and it was then I decided I was going to play guitar. I’ll be honest with you, It took a few tries before it really stuck. I picked my guitar up and set it down three or four times before I started to take it seriously and began to see results. At one moment in time, I could play 80% of Metallica’s catalog, they were everything to me.

When I reached high school I had made a few friends that also loved music. They all played different instruments and so my first band was born! Throughout high school and my teenage years, I was the guitar player and sometimes singer for a few bands. Writing and playing music with my friends was a passion of mine, so that continued into adulthood. 

Fast forward to 2017

In 2017, I was introduced to “Nerdcore” by my good friend Nick (FabvL). Nick had started his own journey posting music on YouTube and explained the joy and freedom he had doing it. What is Nerdcore? Nerdcore is a genre of music inspired by anything in nerd culture! This was incredibly intriguing because I could write about anything I wanted. I decided to try my hand at it in October of 2017 but needed a name. What better than using your online handle for your artist name? That’s right, “Divide” would become Divide Music

The very first song I put out was “Bedroom” inspired by the game Joy of Creation. It was then that I was introduced to the community that many know today. With popular names like JT Music, Dan Bull, Rockit Music and many more! More motivated than ever, I wanted to turn Divide Music into something big. These artists were my new inspiration!

At the time, I was a newlywed and working 50 hours a week. It wasn’t easy to manage my marriage, job, and Divide Music. I knew this could really be something, so I kept my head down and worked tirelessly for years. I was putting a song out every single week, trying to gain traction.

On top of writing the songs, I was also:

Producing

Recording

Editing

Mixing

Mastering

Creating videos...

EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK.

I was working around the clock trying to make this dream a reality. My wife believed in me, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tough on us both. I knew this was something I had to do though. My tenth song, Alone, was the first one that I saw some success with. It was my first video to get over 100,000 views on it and wow; I was SO EXCITED! That motivated me, but times like that were few and far between. It was six months until I saw anything of that caliber again. Then two years passed, and I couldn't help but to start feeling defeated. I struggled every week trying to release a song that was quality, but after two years, it didn't seem like it was going to go anywhere.

I decided that production was possibly a better shout, and I could be successful with that. I put Divide Music on pause and enrolled in Berkley College of Music. With alumni of John Mayer, Charlie Puth, Steven Tyler and so many more, how could I go wrong? Well, turns out I absolutely hated it! I also desperately missed making music for myself. I knew it was too early to let go of Divide Music and so after one semester at Berkley, I decided to go back to Divide Music and give this another shot! 

I returned to the same formula, uploading a new song every week inspired by video games and movies. I wasn’t till the summer that I started my first (and still favorite) anime Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. I didn’t grow up watching anime, so I didn't realize there were stories out there that could be so emotional, impactful, and inspirational. I was immediately hooked and couldn't get enough. Not many people in the community were doing anime inspired songs at the time, so I gave it a go! 

My song “Power Divine” was my first attempt. Naturally with it being an entirely new subject for my channel it wasn’t seen by many. I wasn’t going to give up writing about anime because I found such joy in it! Two months later I would release my song “Clover” inspired by Asta from Black Clover and to my surprise it did INCREDIBLY well. I remember getting 100,000 views in less than a month, I was shocked.

Realizing there was a market for songs inspired by anime storylines and characters, I kept watching more anime and kept writing more anime songs. As more and more eyes started to find me, Divide Music really started to grow! Soon after, I was able to quit my job and support myself and my wife all while doing something I was passionate about and absolutely loved.

And it's all thanks to you…

I am so incredibly humbled by the support and love I have received over the years. Without you, taking time out of your day to listen to my music, this would never be possible. You are all incredible and my family and I are grateful for you, forever.

With sincere thanks and gratitude,

Alex