$20,000. A boatload of songs. One question.

Instead of buying a car, can I build a music career?

I’m Robert Vicens. As an artist, I’m Ravicens. I’m starting with $20,000 and documenting what it takes to turn my songs into an album, a live show, and a career.

Mad Dog

Read lyrics

Coffee tastes bitter now
Filthy mirror I can't see how
So many years crept by
Creases break my eyes
Oh, the years are packed inside
So many days wrapped up in madness and my lies
Now I lie and realize
So many goodbyes I never got to say

Rain falls down on every man and woman
Sunrise sometime and the night is here and there
I'll howl to the moon and bear witness to the monkey king
Who thinks he can do no wrong

Half-remembered I can still see the eyes of those who believed in me
Widening as the house falls down on me
I spilled oil and set the fire
And stood amidst the flames I said I cannot burn
I'm GOD, be not concerned

Mad dog, white dog, you think you know what you know
Mad dog, sad dog, your brain's turned into snow
Put your hat on dog, bring it down now dog
You've gone and got lost beyond the veil
Come back from the wilds dog, get your head out the clouds dog
Can you hear yourself?

Wail...

I was Hanuman
Rockin' mountains on my shoulders
Watch me now, lift the sky
Put the burden down.
Got buried down beneath the whales
Chased my tail and tales, I even went to jail
Where they locked up the mad shaman
And shipped my mind now
They locked up the shaman now
I got lost beyond the veil

Listen to more of my music

Robert Vicens, artist name Ravicens, smiling while wearing headphones — Robert Vicens / RavicensThe artist. The experiment.

$20,000The starting project budgetView the working budget

60–90 minutesThe goal: a show of original music

One open questionWhat can another artist learn from this?

01 / The project

Make the music. Document the making.

Project Ravicens is a $20,000 experiment in building a sustainable music career and sharing what I learn. My goal is to develop a 60–90 minute show of original music with students from the University of Utah, alongside an album and an artist identity that feel like me.

As I spend the budget, I'll document the decisions: producing the songs, building a brand, and figuring out how to reach an audience. The successes and the missteps are part of the project.

Artists have been finding their own paths and sharing what they learn long before this project. I hope to add one more honest account to draw from: successes for encouragement, failures to learn from, and practical lessons you can adapt to your own music. If documenting my experience helps another artist move forward, that's part of the value.

02 / The journey so far

From demos to the stage.

Fall 2026: assembling collaborators and developing the first live set from my existing demos.

Interested in collaborating?

AcceptedI applied to the University of Utah and got in.
OutreachI'm seeking guidance from professors and connecting with potential music, wardrobe, and production collaborators.
WrittenI've written a boatload of original songs—lyrics, melodies, and grooves—ready to be developed with human arrangers and producers.
The goalDevelop the songs into an album and build an original live show with University of Utah students.

What I'll share along the way

Where the money goes. How the songs evolve. The choices behind the brand and marketing. What works, what doesn't, and what I'd do differently.

A career in the making. The process out in the open.

Instead of buying a car, can I build a music career?

Mad Dog

Make the music. Document the making.

From demos to the stage.

What I'll share along the way

Follow the project.

Socials