If you’re teaching yourself how to play instruments, record music and perform to a live audience -- and maybe even earn a sustainable livelihood along the way -- success isn’t as far off as you think. 

Case-in-point, Lætitia Tamko who started recording poignant indie rock and electronic music under the name Vagabon three years ago. Her debut LP Infinite Worlds dropped in March and she’s already enjoyed her first headlining tour, sprawling festival crowds, support slots for Tegan and Sara, and a coveted Best New Music nod on Pitchfork.

“I’ve been living in the U.S. since I was 13 and have lived in New York the entire time,” Tamko tells Billboard on this week’s #AlternativeFacts podcast. “Before that, I lived in Cameroon, where my family’s from. I went double-major in engineering when I was at school and started playing music in 2014 when I was about to graduate.” 

Tamko’s interview doubles as a virtual how-to guide on writing and performing your own music, as well as getting the word out about it. In those early days, she’d perform constantly at stalwart New York DIY spaces like Silent Barn and Shea Stadium, honing her live show while cutting her teeth on self-recording. 

Logic’s her jam these days, and she’s been using the program to craft new music, even with Infinite Worlds only months old. 

“I’m working on Vagabon songs. They’ve come from other projects, doing one-off things for some people… I have a song I’m trying to finish before the week is over!”

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For an inside look at the new music and plenty of words of instructional inspiration, listen to the ‘cast above.

#AlternativeFacts is a weekly Billboard podcast devoted to all things alternative music. Click here to subscribe to the #AlternativeFacts Podcast on iTunes. Let us know what you think on Twitter (@cpayneonaplane) and by rating the podcast on iTunes.