Nor Osborne, Features Editor–

A small crowd sits scattered through Slayter Auditorium, eyes focused as faint smiles played on their lips. Over the speakers, a guitar riffs over a melodic tenor voice. In the front row sits Wyatt Fabyanske ‘27, grinning as he lip syncs along, head rocking to the beat. It’s 9 p.m. on Nov. 8 and in three hours Fabyanske will be releasing his first album, “My Heart is a House,” under his stage name Wyatt Delilah. 

Raised in Minneapolis by a jazz musician and a music teacher, Fabyanske grew up surrounded by music. He began playing violin at 4 years old, something he pursued for 11 years through youth symphonies. 

“Ultimately I quit because of how competitive the atmosphere was. Everyone is trying to break someone else down instead of working together,” Fabyanske said. “I realized I wanted to make and enjoy music with other people.” 

So Fabyanske branched out, taking up other instruments, including guitar and piano. He formed two bands in high school and began songwriting, a medium that allowed him to truly unlock his passion. Fabyanske had been writing his own music for 5 years, when he finally decided to sit down and create his own album. 

Fabyanske’s album falls into the indie pop genre with hints of folk. His music highlights his soothing tenor through the multilayering of his voice, creating angelic harmonies over a euphoric collision of instruments. The songs contain scathing and incredibly honest lyrics that tell a story of Fabyanske’s life. 

“This final idea came to me last year,” Fabyanske said. “It’s a concept album that aims to answer the question: how do you love someone when you don’t love yourself?”

 “Each song is a chapter, based on a series of events in my life. It starts with a story based song about one catalyst event that tore my world apart that I try to fix by the end of the album.”  

Fabyanske started the process of recording in his closet, balancing his computer and an audio interface over a piano, an electric guitar on his lap and a karaoke machine microphone in hand. 

“The process was very DIY. All of it was done in GarageBand with materials I already owned,” he said. 

“Something you might notice when listening is a lot of unwanted sounds in the background you might not expect to be there. There are passing cars, planes, a metronome and me hitting the spacebar on my computer. Originally, those were caught by accident but I realized how much I liked that aesthetic,” Fabyanske said. “It felt like the songs were barely escaping the space they were made in.”

When he finished, Fabyanske shared the recordings with his musician uncle. His uncle was so impressed, he reached out to one of his bandmates, Sam Keenan, a professional producer. Keenan helped Fabyanske finish the process, mixing and polishing the recordings in his studio. 

Fabyanske recommends listening to the album more than once to fully take it in. 

“I’m discovering things all the time about, like rediscovering my intention when I listen to it. I’m still listening to it now,” Fabyanske said. 

“My Heart is a House” is available on all streaming platforms. 

Photo: Wyatt Fabyanske ’27 displays his album cover and the software he used to create his album.