Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey Laury.
Hi Corey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I was born and raised in Baltimore, MD born on February 14th, 1997. Growing up, I was always into listening to different kinds of music before I even knew I wanted to start producing. My stepdad has had a huge collection of vinyl records for as long as I can remember. He’s a DJ, so I would always listen in on him spinning records in our basement.
My mom has a huge CD collection in this big black case and full of all sorts of R&B, Gospel, and old-school soul music, so I was exposed to alot of different music. Then when I met my biological dad at eight, he would put me on to all different types of music from around the world like Fela Kuti, Hugh Masekela, and of course, old school hip hop.
At the age of eight, my mom signed me up for piano lessons out of Lutherville music school (formerly known as Jordan Kitts ) out of Towson, MD. I’m a huge fan of story-driven mediums like movies, cartoons, anime, and video games, so a lot of that also introduced me to different music. After the first lesson, I was deeply into learning about the piano and music theory, my teacher Mr. Ross took me under his wing, and we would work together for the next ten years once every week.
As the piano lessons went on, I played all sorts of music in different concerts and recitals, but after a while, I started to compose my music when I was around 12 years old. Learning how to read and write music helped, but I was stuck on getting a song recorded. I started to tell my family about it, and my dad found a guy on Craigslist selling a copy of FL studio nine, a music production software. After I downloaded it on my laptop, I would continue producing my music and combining my piano playing lessons.
Over time, that came with me starting to be aware of my sound and what I’m looking for within myself as a creative. By the time I was about to graduate from Mervo High School in 2015, I had started to study the concept of film music composition online and decided to go off to Frostburg State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in music.
I arrived at Frostburg in August 2015. It was different for me. I had never been away from Baltimore on my own before and away from my family for months, but it was a nice experience. I took music theory, music history well as music appreciation and aural skills. I had a great time just being able to learn and meet new people and experience something new. However, after a while, my performance in the class started to decline, I wasn’t sure what it was at first, honestly, but once I noticed that I had trouble getting the drive to get out of bed, I knew it was something profound. So, I decided not to return to Frostburg.
I was working security in a hotel in Baltimore when I was 19. For a while, I was in a slump to be transparent. I had finally found a job but was dealing with feelings of feeling like I had failed. But it wasn’t all bad. I had met my first girlfriend of 5 years around this time, so having her and my family support was helpful. I still was in the same emotional slump back in Frostburg, and I couldn’t figure out why. The job environment didn’t help either, and after a while, I noticed how distant I became from the people I loved.
My girlfriend and uncle suggested that I do therapy, and I met my first therapist ever, Dr. Rashid, in 2017 when I was 20. He had brought me in for a free session of the strength of my uncle, but that was all I needed. That 1-hour session revealed that I didn’t only feel like I had felt when I was up Frostburg, but I was dealing with what I was diagnosed with, called, Depression all of my life.
I had to put it into my music, and I started feeling like myself again. I had learned so much about myself and others and realized how much mental health plays a role in your everyday life. After that, I decided to come up with a concept album called Preston & Wolfe, named after the street intersection of the therapy building I went to. I spent the next four years writing, composing the instrumentals, and putting together Preston & Wolfe as a concept album to help others gain insight on themselves as I did.
I had finally started to feel like a better version of myself.
However, I knew that the Depression wouldn’t just go away, and I fell into a dark time again. My security job was taking a toll on me. I ended up having a panic attack and consistent headaches as well as strong paranoia and aggression. I was then diagnosed with PTSD after explaining everything I had seen and gone through at the job. I ended up going back into therapy again but with a different therapist.
But I didn’t let it stop me. I continued to write Preston & Wolfe and push through. I decided to move into the teaching field while still pursuing my music career as a composer and artist. I was taking up an audio engineer internship at the Lineuproomand I decided to enroll myself back in school in 2018 and studied Audio Technology and Music Production at CCBC Essex. Putting myself back in school was one of the proudest moments I ever had for myself; I met so many new people again, and I had a much better experience. I ended up graduating with my associate’s degree in the winter of 2019.
I started working with the organization Living Classrooms in the winter of 2020 after volunteering as a mentor, teaching children how to read and write music and music production. Covid hit at the end of February, and everything moved virtual, and I ended up losing hours at my security job and was back into a readjustment period of my life like most were and are since covid is still here.
I took the three months off of my job to push even harder to complete my album Preston & Wolfe. After having more time to myself again, I finally dropped my first vocal self-produced hip-hop album Preston & Wolfe, in August 2020. I sold out merch, finished my first music video, and recorded a tiny desk concert all off of Preston & Wolfe.
Looking back, there’s been a lot of detours and slowdowns in my journey, but overall I’m very proud of my growth as a person and musician. I’m still learning about myself daily and working on myself constantly. I thank everyone that has been a part of helping me out along the way; you all know who you are.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
After dropping out of college, things sort of went downhill. Emotionally, life is life. I struggle with depression, anxiety, and PTSD here and there, so thats a pretty heavy factor in my life.
Aside from personal things I’d rather not discuss at this time, it’s been tough, but I have always made sure that no matter what and how long it took, I would come out ok, regardless of what went on. All we can do is push forward, but we don’t have to try to move on as fast as we can if that makes sense.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am primarily an instrumental producer, composing music from hip-hop to underscores. I specialize in instrumental music composition to mediums such as film, TV, animations, and commercials. I am also a youth music instructor teaching 1st-12th graders piano, songwriting, music production, and more.
My album Preston & Wolfe is the proudest musical moment to date, working on an album for four years, taking an idea and turning it into a concept, and releasing it into the world. Regardless of the lack of traction, I’m very proud of the process.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Playing baseball was fun. I never went outside too much, so anytime I had a chance to play with a team or just around the way, I always had fun. It was a simple, fun time in my life.
Contact Info:
- Email: coreylaury@gmail.com
- Website: https://instabio.cc/CoreyLauryMusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ByCoreyLaury/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akuYiFByjeU
Image Credits
Justice Gray
