Patrick Ouellet has had quite a journey the past few years. Patrick earned a BA, took a well paid government job, and then after some soul searching decided to leave his job and return to his musical roots in pursuit of his lifelong artistic goals.
What was your background prior to enrolling at RAC?
I’ve always been surrounded by music. Fascinated by the recording process I went into a studio for the first time at age 15 to record my first EP. I realized that this experience would be the beginning of a love story. By the time I finished my BA I had taken my recording as far as I could on my own.
What kind of music projects did you start out with at the beginning of your career?
For most of my musical life, I had always worked on my own projects. Eventually I started offering my services to other artists. These experiences brought me to a whole new level in music recording. I discovered that I was passionate about working with others.
What kind of music projects did you do before RAC?
I took on a permanent but comfy federal government job. Unfortunately I felt like this work environment was slowly taking away my creativity and found myself questioning whether or not I was on the right track. So I sold everything I owned and had given my boss my notice. I went abroad in search of myself. Not too long after arriving in Taiwan, it was clear to me that music had to remain in my life.
When I came back to North America I did some research and stumbled upon the RAC’s Sound Design and Music Recording program. The program was exactly what I was looking for; an intensive one year program covering all aspects of music recording.
Projects after graduating from RAC.
Since graduation I’ve worked on networking and establishing artistic partnerships. I’m currently recording and mixing for a number of artists. Now I have the technical skills to advance my career to a whole new level. I’m extremely confident when collaborating with other artists and in turn, my clients have confidence in me.
Short Term and Long Term Goals for your Career?
I want to continue to make music that people enjoy. I plan to tour as an artist. In the long term, I want to continue with producing other artists.
Views on the Industry
I feel that the industry right now focuses on what is marketable and superficial. What I’m drawn to is the raw emotion in music. There is this need for me to connect with the artist. I have always wanted to produce music that touches people. I like to draw on the raw emotion and passion of an artist and turn it into something tangible for the listener.
Thanks to Patrick Ouellet for sharing his story with us.
