We were lucky to catch up with Casa Del Soul recently and have shared our conversation below.
Casa Del Soul, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
In May of 2021 we hosted an outdoor event called Soul Tech. This was one of our most meaningful projects because the program we were raising funds for was very personal. We started to #partywithapurpose when we were livestreaming on Twitch during the Covid lockdown, but Soul Tech was our first attempt at an in person party where we could also raise some money. Soul Tech was also our first time working with several other people in the community to make a successful event happen. We were lucky enough to have a couple great friends from another collective, TechIt Easy, to partner with. We also had local vendors and artists including Mati’s Kitchen, Be Extra Apparel, Mila’s Furs, Just Be Jewelry, Harmony Skye Photos, and Butter’s Tea Tent. During this free event, we were able to fundraise over $500 for asylum seekers, which we donated to Jewish Family Services. Jewish Family Services is an amazing program in San Diego that works to provide shelter, food, legal services, and more to asylum seekers and refugees from all over the world. We had been wanting to raise money for asylum seekers for years, and this was our first successful attempt at doing so. For us, it really hit close to home since one of our Casa members was born in Mexico and crossed the border with his family at a really young age seeking the opportunity for a better life. Since starting Casa Del Soul, we knew we wanted to use our love of art and music to help other people, and to find ways to give back to organizations that create opportunities for those who need it most. We can’t wait to throw another Soul Tech, and we are so grateful for the people in the community who donated that day.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are nearing our 2 year anniversary of hosting events as Casa Del Soul, but really the idea for this collective started several years ago. First dreamt up in Maria and Jimn’s first apartment together in Chicago, Casa Del Soul was inspired by the artistic and cultural Pilsen neighborhood as well as the music scene in the city. Our dream was always to build a community of likeminded people with whom we can share and create culture, music, and art. Maria and Jimn moved to San Diego in 2018, and Katie and Ryan moved exactly 1 year later in 2019. All 4 of us are from Chicago. We didn’t know each other until 2019 when we were introduced by Katie’s brother in law, who Maria and Jimn met at Electric Forest Music Festival in 2015. Somehow the stars seemed to align, and we laugh that all of us meeting was fate! The first day we met, the inspiration and drive to finally start Casa Del Soul kicked in overdrive. Our love of house music was shared equally amongst all of us. Jimn and Maria fell in love on the dance floor, and so did Ryan and Katie. Jimn and Ryan had both been djing all over Chicago, and both of them immediately had similar interests in sound and production when it came to tribal influences with a lot of drums. We learned that all of us had a background in music and art. In another act of fate, Katie and Maria learned that they not only attended Indiana University together, but also both studied at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Katie and Maria both wanted to use their knowledge of non-profit and arts management, and it was a no-brainer for us to incorporate a way to give back to our community through Casa Del Soul. It honestly took that first time meeting for us to know we wanted to create and grow Casa Del Soul together. When you meet people who make your Soul Shine, you make sure to nourish that relationship. Since starting Casa Del Soul we have been meeting and connecting with people all over San Diego that make our Soul’s Shine, and we just want that feeling to spread as far and wide as possible. We are Inspired by Music, United by Soul.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I think one of the struggles we face as creatives in the music industry is the idea that House and Techno music is all about the party. To an extent, yes we love to party. Partying gives all of us a sense of release, lets us connect with others on the dance floor, and is honestly just a really good time. However, being creatives means that we aren’t part of the music scene just for the party. We are there for the art, first and foremost. We create because there’s a feeling inside of us that pokes and pulls and prods until we give in and release that art. We create to connect people, to share emotion, and to celebrate ideas. We create because we are inspired by the colorful and magical world around us. We create knowing that it’s not about being good, bad, or better, but because creating is just something you do. I think all of us are just out here trying to bring a little beauty, weirdness, and funk into the world with our art, and when it makes you feel that good, you bet we are going to party and celebrate it.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Since we are just a small group of four, we are constantly adapting and changing to make room for what we want in life and with Casa. When we first started Casa we actually had two other people in the group. Our friend Vera. who taught us a million things about creating art using recycled materials, and Kurt (Tha Durt), who is an amazing DJ and also a master behind the lens. When they both moved back up to Reno we had to learn how to take on more tasks in Casa than we were used to. Last year Ryan and Katie were really busy planning their wedding, so we had to adapt who would cover what tasks. This year, Maria and Jimn welcomed their first baby to the world, a sweet little baby boy ball of sunshine. Once again, a major life change, which put the bulk of the work for Casa on Katie and Ryan. We are constantly adapting to change as we grow in our personal lives, and learning how to balance life with family and work. It can feel a little overwhelming sometimes, but ultimately we’ve learned to make room for what makes us happy individually and as a group. With all four of us deciding that we want to make room for family, we know instead of giving up Casa Del Soul, we want to actually lean in and do the opposite. Our plan is to grow our Casa Fam, branch out even more in the community, cross-train one another, and encourage other creatives to join us in our mission to share culture, music, and art with San Diego.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/casadelsoulmusic
- Instagram: @casadelsoulmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CasaDelSoulMusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjEuSiWKh3VCnpbPTEiedzQ
- Other: For our music, original productions, and links to Resident Artists visit our Linktree https://linktr.ee/casadelsoulmusic Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/casadelsoulmusic
Image Credits
Harmony Murillo (Harmony Skye Photos) Alfredo Lopez (Skateheadz Photography)