Since 2010, Enviyon Entertainment, a recording studio founded by Chicago native, Romel Williams is changing artists’ lives with Music by providing a professional recording environment for artists who lacked prior knowledge of what to do or where to start. “When I was coming up, it was very difficult to even think about breaking into music unless you had tons of money and connections. At Enviyon Entertainment, an artist can book a recording session from our website and have a professional engineer there to show them what to do and provide them with everything that they need”, says Romel. Leaving the artist with a product similar in quality to that of someone in the industry, they also walk away from their session with new ideas, techniques, and tactics that they didn’t know about or were aware of. Romel says that the idea is to “make it easy for someone who has no clue what to do.” Adding, “For the most part, I think we have changed lives. Many people have seen opportunities through us, and that was the whole vision.”
Speaking of changing lives, Romel feels that the impact that he has made on each artist he’s worked with has more to do with them learning about who they are and realizing that they can be just as great as some of the people who they look up to. Without charging artists increasingly high rates to record at Enviyon, Romel said, “We try to be a good example for the community, and that’s why a lot of people come to us. Because they know that we are going to help them be the best person they can be.”
Since establishing Enviyon, Romel has had his fair share of collaborations. Some of these include Machine Entertainment Group, which is the label that manages G Herbo and Queen Key and DJ Casper. He’s also worked with Interscope Records on music for the late rapper, Juice Wrld. Of those relationships, he said, “They taught me a lot about the business and how to handle artists’ needs. It was all a learning experience. I didn’t know a lot of things until these people came into my life.”
Looking into the future of Enviyon, Romel has his sights set on opening up more studios nationwide, to allow all artists an opportunity to work with him. He said, “When I first started, my goal was to have a chain of studios because I feel like I’m limiting the world by only having the ones we currently have. I think that having multiple locations throughout the country would be ideal for us, and everyone interested in the things we have to offer.”
One way that Romel is sharing Enviyon on a larger scale is with his newly developed software that he calls Enception. Launched during COVID, the software that Romel initially thought of in 2013, provides artists with the opportunity to record remotely. “With Enception, we can go into an artists’ workstation from where they are and record them. Once the artist remotes in, a video chat pops up, and the engineer is on the other end. So far, we’re the only ones who are doing something like that, and we are in the process of tightening it up,” he said. Adding, “We figured out a way to make that work, and it’s awesome. So now artists can be in the comfort of their homes and use the same process.”
Romel said that he wants people to know that every artist who walks through Enviyon’s doors is a part of an organization who has their back. “I want artists to feel like when they come in here and work with our engineers and us, they are a part of a family. And family can mean a lot of different things, but to us, family means that we are here for them and that’s the biggest takeaway”, Romel said. He also emphasizes that he listens to everyone’s concerns, and says, “If they need me to change something that would be better for them and the community, then I’m going to figure out a way to make it happen.”
As for what he has learned, Romel says that he’s learned a lot. Adding, “This journey has taught me about people, and that is the key. I had a little experience learning about people just through working various jobs, but when someone sits there and expects you to change their life, it’s different.” He then followed up with, “I think the main thing that I have taken away from this is that you have to work at it if you want something. And if you work hard at it and are passionate about it, it will work. I used to believe that you needed a lot of money, connections, and be specially gifted. But I now realize that the recipe is passion and dedication. Those two things will help you to reach all that you desire and all that the universe is going to offer to you.”
For more information on Romel and Enviyon Entertainment, visit https://www.enviyon.com/.
Contributing Writer, Racquel Coral is a lifestyle writer based in Chicago. Find her on social media @withloveracquel.