Robby Hauldren of EDM duo Louis the Child speaks at Fertitta Hall

Wikipedia pages generally provide college students with a solution to the midnight paper cram session. Robby Hauldren’s use of the site was a bit different. The 21-year-old musician, along with his counterpart, Freddy Kennett, spent hours searching articles to stumble upon one titled “Louis the Child.” They agreed this would be the name of their musical collaboration.

A former USC student who dropped out to pursue music and half of the electronic music duo Louis the Child, Hauldren spoke at Fertitta Hall on Tuesday night as part of SC Soundsystem’s music industry guest speaker series. SC Soundsystem, co-founded by Jordan Bear and Taylor Johnson, is a student organization aimed at students interested in the music industry. The organization focuses on music journalism, informing students of innovations, artists and events. Bear and Johnson are actively promoting USC artists, like Hauldren, through SC Soundsystem.

Prior to creating Louis the Child, Hauldren had an innate passion for music. His father and several relatives are musically talented in various respects, which he said led him to explore techno music.

Hauldren and his partner Kennett met at a music lounge in Chicago where they briefly conversed about their shared love for the music industry. Later, Hauldren found himself direct messaging those in his social network to vote for his performance spot at a local music festival. Amid the frenzy of securing votes, Kennett reached out to him with an interest to collaborate on a future project, and Louis the Child was born.

Hauldren remembers the hustle of utilizing the internet as a catalyst to all the attention they received in their early days as a musical duo.

“I would spend hours a day messaging every blog I could find, sharing my music and encouraging people to give it a listen,” Hauldren said.

He talked about how “unsexy” it can be for artists to remain humble, and reach out to their network to share new music. To this day, he and Kennett promote their music on platforms like SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube, and reach out to blogs for coverage.

Despite being in an overcrowded techno genre, Hauldren and Kennett have emerged as new-age trendsetters.

“I think it’s about creating small goals for yourself while continuing to have overarching ginormous ones,” Hauldren said.

The duo’s impressive feats include opening for Madeon, touring with The Chainsmokers and collaborating with rapper Pell. Grinning in a sort of disbelief, Hauldren reiterated that their creations have just begun; he and Kennett still do not feel that Louis the Child has produced a signature sound yet.

“It’s wild because I still don’t think we’ve made it,” Hauldren said to the surprise of fans in the audience.

Regardless, he and Freddy are focused on creating sounds that deliver positive messages and are satisfied even if their art resonates with just one person.

In the last five years, the two have played at prominent music festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

“I think ‘Lolla’ was my favorite so far because Chicago is home,” Hauldren said.

As for his future musical goals, Hauldren has dreams to headline Coachella and win multiple Grammys.

Students were eager to ask Hauldren about his personal passions, what inspires him and the specific equipment that sets Louis the Child apart. Regardless of their position in the industry, Hauldren encouraged artists and creators like himself to put in the effort.

For Hauldren, the most calming feeling is to stand on stage and know that he’s accomplished this success for himself. After questions concluded, Trojans eagerly lined up to snap selfies and thank the artist for his constant inspiration and eclectic creations.