Happytwobehere with PreSonus

Happytwobehere is a duo from Covington, Louisiana comprised of two young ladies: Isabel Mathes (vocals) and Lillian Stegen (drums, keyboard, programming, production). Here is their story

Lillian: Isabel and I met in high school back in 2016 and became friends through our shared love of music. I can remember one day getting a ukulele and showing Isabel. We would always mess around, but one day we were like, let's write a song. I can remember Isabel's dad was picking her up and we had not finished the song. He arrived at my house and we were so excited to share it. We played it for him and he loved it. From there we knew that we could write. We began going to open mics at a local coffee shop and played our songs there. After we wrote a few songs, our friends started hearing them. We grew a following and support from our friends and family. We competed in our school's talent show with an original and got so many positive reviews.

(Happytwobehere photographed by Margaret Killeen, New Orleans Botanical Gardens)

Being in high school, it was hard to get a gig. Our town is small and there are not many opportunities for kids like us. After we had gone to the open mic multiple times, the coffee shop owner reached out to us and wanted to book us to play our music there for two hours. This was the opportunity of a lifetime for us. When the show came, we packed the place out. Our friends and family came to support us and we had the best time ever. It was such an awesome moment to play our songs and have people sing them with us.

This was something Isabel came up with and it stuck. The phrase Happy to be here is something that we are whenever we go to play shows. We are so grateful for the opportunities we are given, so the name is fitting. The only difference between the phrase and our name is that the word to is spelled two because there are two of us!

To date, we have written about six or seven songs in total, and we plan to write many more in the future! We both have a passionate obsession with music and songwriting, so it's always easy for us to collaborate.

The spring of 2020 was like no other. Isabel and I had been at different schools by this time, but wanted to release a song. I remember Isabel posted something on Instagram and I heard a groove with it. I sent her a demo and we got to writing. We would send voice memos back and forth because of the lockdown. In the end we created a song and music video all from home. The song, Stay, and its music video can be found on our individual Instagram accounts (Isabel) and (Lillian).

(Lillian, photographed by Margaret Killeen, New Orleans Botanical Gardens)

I have been living in Nashville for about two years now and love it. I am a student at Belmont University and have been truly blessed by PreSonus and what they have done. While it might seem small, their help has made me a better musician and opened many doors. Creating this project with PreSonus stuff helped be gain more knowledge with recording software. I was able to use what I learned in my own experiences and from audio engineering classes to start a job as a touring musician. The Quantum 2626 has traveled with me around the States! I have been able to drum at multiple music festivals with headliners like Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan, using PreSonus' gear for all of my needs during my set. Without their help, I could have easily been passed up for the gig. I am so grateful for their support!

(Isabel, photographed by Margaret Killeen, New Orleans Botanical Gardens)

Isabel: Working with PreSonus was such an amazing opportunity for us. Due to the pandemic and the fact that we attend different colleges, we've struggled with continuing our songwriting and performing as a band. PreSonus decided to assist by providing us with audio tools (Revelator USB Mic, HD9 Headphones, Quantum 2626, DM-7 Drum Mics and Studio One recording software, via PreSonus Sphere memberships) to begin creating our music via online collaboration. We wrote Never Met, which was something we never finished in 2019 - and it will be available for the general public on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and more soon!

Thanks PreSonus!

Join PreSonus Sphere today! Only $14.95 per month for Studio One Professional, Notion, and so much more.

LINK:	https://blog.presonus.com/index.php/2022/01/11/happytwobehere-with-pre...
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