Jack Ledoux, a junior, arrived at Hackley in 6th grade, but his passion for music began well before that.
“My parents always played a lot of music when I was around as a kid. Even when I was a baby, I would stand in front of the TV and air guitar other songs” he said.
He decided to make something out of his passion beginning in 7th grade and released his first song “80 Million Asteroids” in 8th grade, which first began his career.
He has taken a step back from the music program here at Hackley and has not been in the choir since 9th grade. He wanted to open up his creative side to music more, and for him, being in the choir meant singing other people’s tracks instead of creating his own.
His time allotted for music each week depends on how much free time he has. In a week where he has a lot of free time, like over a break, he may dedicate up to eight hours per week. During the school year, he commits around four hours a week.
Prior to Hackley, he attended Buckley, in New York City. There, a student two grade levels above him, who is now a famous rapper and goes by the title Lil Mabu, inspired him to pursue his passion for music.
This past summer, he did a month-long program at UMiami for Music Business. There, he learned that determining whether a person’s music is successful or not, is based on how many fans a person has who will buy merchandise and go to a concert, and not on the number of streams. He had the opportunity to go to a studio in Miami that was owned by the record label, Warner Music. In the studio, he wrote and recorded several songs. He currently goes to Factory Underground in Norwalk to record his music, and he is in the process of getting involved with Off Records in New York City.
If he dedicates a whole day to the studio, he begins by making the instrumentals or beats for the song, or he arrives at the studio with those elements pre-made. Next, he decides what to write about and he plays some instruments. Finally, he writes some lyrics down and records them. The next day, he listens to it to help him hear what sounds off in the song and what he can fix.
When he sits down to make the beats, he does not have a set process. He finds a sound that he likes and then builds on top of it. In terms of his lyrics, a life experience typically gives him inspiration to craft a song. Then, he may dramatize it to make it more into a song people want to listen to.
The process of releasing music is relatively easy and there are many services available that people can use to get their songs on major platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify. Going forward, he hopes to have a studio or label put out his music for him, allowing him to get some benefits from the company.
Currently under the stage name Luhdoux, he has one single, Blessing in Disguise, and an EP, Ledoux. He hopes to have more songs released this year, time permitting. Just recently, he has tested a new genre, Country, and he is seeing if it works for him.
Looking to the future, he is excited to continue pursuing music, whether he is the artist, producing for an artist, or being on the business side. By the end of his high school career, if he has released enough music, he would like to have one concert in his hometown before he goes off to college. Additionally, he wants to gain some attention for his music from people outside the Hackley community.
