Coming from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania—a place where music isn’t exactly around every corner—Ian Strawser, better known as VUA, found his own way into sound. There wasn’t a local scene to lean on or a mentor to guide him. Instead, he started small: listening, studying, and experimenting until the noise in his head turned into something real.
“I started from a small town with nothing to do with music,” he says. “At first, I was just listening to songs from the ‘60s. Then I picked up drums, and everything changed.”
That curiosity turned into obsession when he heard Kanye West’s ye at fifteen. It wasn’t just the sound—it was the creativity, the boundary-pushing production, the emotion. It was the first time Strawser realized that music could be both deeply personal and endlessly experimental. That’s when VUA was born.
Teaching Himself the Game
With no formal training or studio access, Strawser built his own path—literally. He put together a personal home studio and started teaching himself everything: music theory, production, mixing, mastering, and composition. Every beat and every melody was a lesson.
His sound became unpredictable—a blend of styles, moods, and ideas that don’t fit neatly into a single genre. That diversity is what sets VUA apart. “What makes me stand out is my range,” he says. “I can make something that hits hard, or something that pulls you in emotionally. I just want people to hear the ideas I’ve had in my head since I was a kid.”
Balancing Passion and Patience
That creative drive comes with its challenges. For VUA, the hardest part hasn’t been inspiration—it’s pacing. “I get so excited about the music that I risk burning myself out,” he admits. “It’s about keeping a steady workflow and not sacrificing quality. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for a track is give it a break.”
That maturity—knowing when to step back—shows in his work. VUA isn’t chasing quick hits or viral moments; he’s building something meant to last.
The Vision: From the Studio to the Stage
VUA doesn’t just see himself as a musician; he sees his music as a brand, a world people can enter. “I want my name to be a household name,” he says. “My dream is to play on the biggest stages in the world and hear a crowd chant the lyrics live.”
That vision starts this fall with two major releases:
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First single: “I THINK I ONLY love MONEY” drops October 17th
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Debut album: arrives November 14th, featuring 16 tracks written, produced, and mixed by VUA himself.
He wants listeners to feel the work that went into it—the hours of learning, experimenting, and refining every sound. “This album is the result of years of figuring out how to do everything myself,” he says. “It’s my sound, start to finish.”
The Sound of Self-Made
VUA’s story is about more than music—it’s about building something from nothing. From a quiet town in Pennsylvania to a full-length album created entirely by hand, he’s showing what happens when vision meets persistence.
The world is about to hear what’s been playing in his mind all these years.