We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cas Cleo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cas below.
Cas, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was my first EP ‘Twenty-Four’. It was an introduction to myself as an artist going into the Indie-Pop space. Before this project I was experimenting with my songwriting and releasing Folk/ Singer-Songwriter singles. When I went to the studio to record this first EP I had an idea for what I wanted, but had no idea what it would become. It’s a total of 4 songs comprising of some of my deepest emotions; topics like death of a loved one, the end of relationships, and missing home. All of these songs were written alone in my room with acoustic guitar and this EP with this new production set the tone for the direction I was headed as an artist.
Cas, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am an Indie-Pop artist originally from Northern Virginia. I moved to Nashville in 2016 to pursue my artist career. For me, lyricism has always been the main focus of my songs. I do tend to write about darker topics and lean towards ballads, the reason being because when I write it has to come from a real life experience, and I use these songs as my journal. I work through my emotions and situations in songs. It’s quite a cathartic experience for me, it’s just a plus that other people can also relate to what I’m going through in the song.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A big lesson I had to learn that I feel anyone can relate to, is feeling like I’m not good enough. Imposter syndrome was a huge problem for me, especially at the beginning. I definitely missed a lot of opportunities from getting in my head and deciding to not even try for certain things. When I found a producer I wanted to work with, I actually almost didn’t reach out to him after seeing the other people he had worked with who I thought were better than me. I told myself “he’ll never work with me” right as I finished typing out an email to him. I was about to delete it when I had a split second of clarity that told me “so what if he doesn’t want to work with you? The worst he can do is say no”, and I hit send. He ended up getting back to me almost immediately. Now every time I almost pass up a potential opportunity I think back to that moment before making a decision.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I’m sure a lot of artists have this answer, but the most rewarding part is when I get messages from people I’ve never met saying that my music has influenced them in some way. I get this message a lot regarding my song “Pinned up Butterfly”. The song is about when my grandpa passed away and how I was working through that and wishing he was back. I got so many messages telling me that my song comforted them and helped them get through the death of their loved one.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cas.cleo/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cascleomusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CasCleo/videos?app=desktop
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0GAXlidlEx5SlTH9En0g5v?si=WbIGdILsQwi737JdY02Dag Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cas-cleo/1462480389
Image Credits
Destiny Keller Ali Miller