Artist to watch: Josh Ieuan Williams

It’s a known fact that most kids don’t like listening to their parents. When told to do something, teens naturally want to rebel. Joshua Ieuan Williams, who goes by his middle name Ieuan, was forced into music by his family composed of musicians at the age of six years old.

At the age of six, Ieuan began taking drum lessons. His talent for drumming helped him blossom into taking lessons for many other instruments. He was taught a minimal amount of piano playing by his mother, Lorraine Williams, who is a singer-songwriter herself. He then went on to teach himself how to play the piano at a higher level. From this, he decided that to him, music was more than something that was forced on him; it would end up being his livelihood.

Ieuan began writing his own music at the age of 11. At 13, he began putting his music together digitally. Not too long after beginning to write, produce, and DJ Electronic music, he began recording his own. He did this using only his computer until he turned 16.

With today’s technology, Ieuan was able to make a name for himself before he ever even stepped foot in a recording studio. While many artists perform locally, he performs not only in the area in which he lives, but also writes, produces, and dedicates his work to the East Bay.

Ieuan was born in Guadalupe, but spent little time there before moving to Wales where he spent most of his life. Ieuan struggled with the idea of conformity at an early age after moving to California where he attended a Catholic school.

One of Ieuan’s most challenging moments was when he came out as bisexual to a close friend.

“We were actually at a food bank in Oakland, that’s kinda a weird place to come out, but it had been bottling up inside of me. Ever since I was little, I never thought of myself or my feelings as different, you just kinda see a person- male or female as attractive,” he said.

Ieuan is very open about his sexuality with the full support of his family and fans. Although he was challenged early on, struggling with acceptance didn’t stop him from becoming the artist he is today but rather shaped him.

Working in the music business requires passion, dedication, time, and sacrifice. Ieuan decided he will not attend college following his graduation from high school in 2017.

“I’m planning to start my own record label and to sign young talent and travel and perform with my label mates,” Ieuan said.

Ieuan released his new single “Straight Up”, an uptempo ballad, on October 20th, 2015. The song has been climbing the charts on Soundcloud similarly to his other singles. With his increasing support from local students, it is no doubt that Ieuan’s music career will only climb straight up.