99 Percent Lifestyle

Irina Liakh is an Instagram influencer, traveller and founder of the music discovery platform Surfing Sound Waves.

Irina and I have been talking for the past few months after connecting on Instagram and I thought it would be a great feature to shed some light on the work she is doing and to find out more about how she built a blog and online presence..

Can you give me some information about yourself and your path to becoming a creative?

Creativity has always been a big part of my life. As long as I can remember, I have always been writing: from essays to poetry, to short stories. It became an amazing outlet for me, growing up and going through different things. Writing has always been my escape and happy place.

What made you want to focus your work on music?

I LOVE music. I’ve always been in and around the music industry in different capacities (mostly management and PR), but blogging was more of a personal outlet, starting with Livejournal, then later on adding different platforms, like Twitter and Instagram, and then my music blog. My audience has been continually growing and I’m beyond happy to be sharing my love and passion for music with thousands of people around the world.

Can you tell me the story behind your music blog Surfing Sound Waves and how and when you set that up?

Back in 2013, I decided to launch an art blog and start interviewing artists (musicians, actors, photographers, and others) and sharing their stories. This blogging attempt was a great learning experience, and down the road, I realised that since music is what I’m most passionate about, I should just focus on that. So two years ago, I launched Surfing Sound Waves, a music blog that shaped up to be a platform for online music discovery. I cover music that personally inspires me, interview amazing artists, cover music events and shows, and spotlight new music daily on Instagram.

How did you get that blog off the ground?

Initially, I posted on the blog’s Instagram way more often than the actual website, and the audience started growing. People from Instagram that loved the music that I was posting started going to the website, too, reading interviews and checking out playlists (I create Spotify and Soundcloud playlists for the audience to enjoy all the music being shared on IG and the website). So it’s completely driven by social media.

What would you say your mission statement for the blog is?

I guess it’s sharing the best new music in the easiest way possible. I love helping people find their next favourite artist, and I think listening to previews on Instagram or on the website makes it super easy. I feel a real connection with the people who follow and read my posts, the people who are excited about the same things that I am, and the artists I discover and get to work with. I am very passionate about discovering up-and-coming, unsigned acts. Giving them exposure, seeing them blow up later, and following their success makes me so happy.

What have you learnt from talking to musicians so far?

I learned that writing music is a powerful spiritual experience, which I can relate to very much, as I feel the same way about poetry.

You have a big following on Instagram, how did you build it up?

Posting quality content consistently is the key, and never compromising. I absolutely love every song I post and I feel like my readers trust my choices and always return to check on the blog because they expect to find something amazing there.

Prior to an interview with musicians how do you go about preparing your interview questions (is there a research process, a structure to questions, etc.)?

There is definitely a lot of research online and listening to all of their music to understand their creative journey. I don’t have any specific structure, but there are a few questions that I always ask that help me better understand the artist and their path.

What is your personal definition of the term being creative?

Being creative is expressing yourself freely, being your most authentic self, and communicating it through any medium. It also means not only having ideas, but acting on them – experimenting, exploring, questioning, and turning those imaginative ideas into reality.

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Irina, make sure you give her a follow on Instagram.