Inside Langguth Hall, room 311 hums with a different kind of energy than a typical dorm. In addition to being a place to crash, hang out and get some homework done, this room is also where sophomores Connor Queenin and Matt Jeanty are building their sound. In a group known as Strikers, Queenin and Jeanty have been mixing beats and making music all while being full-time college students.
Both Jeanty and Queenin have been involved with music since their early childhoods. “I’ve been doing music since I was three,” Jeanty said, “music’s a huge part of my life, but I’ve never actually made music on my own until now.”
Jeanty, the vocalist of the group, shared that Strikers got started simply by two friends having a common interest in music. Prior to coming to college, Jenaty had made a song with one of his friends just for fun. “I didn’t expect anything of it, but then I played it for [Connor] and he was like, ‘I have a setup here, why don’t we make music here?’ And I was like, ‘sure, why not?’ It was just something to do to pass the time,” Jeanty said.
“And the rest was history!” Queenin joked.
While Jeanty takes the lead of the vocals, Queenin mixes the beats to make a unique sound for each song.
“I make the beats,” Queenin shared. “Then, if we both vibe to one, we’ll just run with it.”
“If you listen to all the songs, each one has a different vibe than the last one. We’re just trying every sound that we can,” Jeanty added.
“I would say it just stems from having fun,” Queenin said. “We try not to take ourselves too seriously.”
Jeanty agreed with this, commenting, “We really just make music to have fun with ourselves and our friends.”
Their process of making music follows a similar sentiment. Jeanty explained that their typical production process will consist of Queenin making a beat—sometimes in as little as ten minutes—and Jeanty will hum along with the beat to get a feel for the song. From there, Jeanty turns his humming into lyrics, and they begin to piece together a song.
Although Jeanty and Queenin started Strikers just for fun, they have garnered more support and interest than they were initially expecting.
“Some people actually really like the music,” Jeanty said. “Sometimes we have little functions of our own, and we play some music, and people know the songs word for word and start screaming them. That’s such a surreal feeling, honestly, because we’re not even big at all, but to see that is so cool.”
Queenin added to this, saying, “People text me that I haven’t talked to in four years saying that they saw we dropped a song, and that they’re playing it at Syracuse College. It’s just crazy.”
Although Strikers is the name of their music group, the name itself is a reference to one of Jeanty’s passions outside of music.
“I box,” he said, “and my boxing nickname is Strikes. So when we were trying to come up with a name, Connor was like, ‘what about Strikers?’”
As a combination of both Jeanty and Queenin’s passions, Strikers is something that the sophomores plan to continue through the rest of their college career.
“As long as we’re still here, we’ll keep making songs,” Jeanty said. “It’s genuinely fun to do. After a long day of school, I love to just decompress and make a song.”
The students both shared that they would love to be an opener for the annual FUSA concert one day, or even perform at other Fairfield traditions such as Clam Jam.
Looking back at all of the music they have made so far, Jeanty noted “I might” as his favorite song that Strikers has produced. “We made it last year, but we just released it this year,” he said. “I was in Cancun for vacation, and I was playing it on my speaker on the beach, and you just hear the tropical beach vibe and it sounds so good.”
Queenin commented, “The fan favorite among guys is ‘Money on 8’ because it’s like a Travis Scott vibe. The favorite among girls, and also my favorite, is ‘Still Runnin’ just because I went crazy on the beat.”
Strikers recently released “Come Through!” and are looking forward to dropping more music throughout the rest of the semester and in their two years of college to come. For those who are looking for new music to add to their playlists, consider giving Strikers a listen!