We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alesdi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Grant below.
Alesdi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I feel like I’ve taken pretty a strange road to get to where I’m at now as an artist. I’ve always been creative – growing up I loved to draw, paint, art, craft, you name it. I think I took a year or two of lessons on at least five or six different instruments. But I’d always end up getting distracted and moving on to the next thing lol.
About midway through high school though, I found myself home sick with Mono for a few months. With nothing to do I decided to mess around and start producing music. I quickly realized it was the perfect way to bring together all of the instruments I sort of knew and create something entirely my own. I fell in love with the idea of being able to create full songs by myself. It was freeing. From the very start I loved to make weird, experimental stuff and understandably, being in high school, not everyone wanted to hop onto or be a part of what I was doing. But that really gave me an interesting opportunity to try different things and not feel obligated to fit into any boxes. For the next four-or-so years, as an artist, I really just honed in my skills as a producer. I played with sounds I liked and tried to put my own spin on things however I could. In that time, I discovered a lot of new music, I went off to college, met a ton of amazing people, found some artists that wanted to work together and I could produce for, I lived a lot of life, and was continuously trying new things.
In college I spent my first two years in business school where I learned some basics of marketing, but those first two years were mostly unspecialized classes that really just prepared you for specializing for the back two years. But instead I built my own major after my sophomore year to focus on music, marketing, and IT. So I did get to go on and learn marketing, but as I’ve found out, marketing for a product with a definite value proposition is a lot different than marketing music as an experimental artist. It has definitely been one of the more challenging things to get a grasp around and I’m still figuring it out to this day. But one of the biggest paradigm shifts I’ve had was realizing as an artist, your art is your superpower. You want to show it off! But to build a fanbase, you want people to like the superHERO – not just be interested by one of your powers.
But anyways, back to how I learned the craft. The summer after my sophomore year, I was living back in St. Louis and caught up with some friends from high school and we ended up forming St. Louis’s very own short lived artist collective, Psychiz. That summer we hung out constantly in my basement and made music together. We were just messing around and having fun with it – figuring it all out as we went. Throwing every idea we had against the wall, recording vocals in my bedroom closet, really trying everything that came to mind.
When that summer came to an end, we ended up with an EPs worth of demos plus some extra material. I moved back to school, into a place completely by myself for the first time ever, and I finished mixing and mastering the EP by myself there. The final product was Showcase. The first multi-song project I ever released with my name on it. The first project with Alesdi vocals on it. In the end, I think ended up with verses on two tracks, backing vocals on every track that had vocals, co-production credits on every song, and that was the first project I ever mixed and mastered myself. I even took the album artwork picture at the front of my new subdivision at school lol. In the most fun way possible, it was essentially trial by fire. It was the first project I had a hand in every step of the process from idea generation all the way through to distribution and I really fell in love with it. The final product was a really fun, strange, little project. There isn’t much like it. But it summed up that short lived group perfectly. (By the way, we didn’t have some big breakup or anything, we just all had separate stuff going on after that summer lol)
Showcase released in Fall of 2019 and I decided I was finally ready to create a solo project. I was going through a lot at the time, but before long I started to find my own sound as Alesdi and came up with the initial concept for my first project. Then of course, that coming spring the pandemic started. Which left me with a lot of time alone during the creation of that project – which ended up playing in to the sound and concept of it a ton – really about being in deep in your own head. I had a lot of time to dig deep and think about what I really wanted to say as an artist. Making that project was really a cathartic experience for me. Though I sought actual therapy too, creating that project was therapy in itself. I’d definitely do some things differently if I was making that project now but I’m glad I went through that process. I credit that time for establishing the roots of a lot of the things I love exploring as an artist today.
Catharsis finally came out in May of 2020 along side a beat tape called Therapy, which contained instrumentals of some tracks that, while I really wanted to share, didn’t make it onto Catharsis for conceptual reasons. But, with basically no marketing, no promotion, no singles, no nothing… the numbers reflected that rollout strategy lol. Those two projects, to this day, have some of my least streamed tracks.
But I’m still extremely proud of them! I’ve had people reach out and tell me those projects have helped them through some tough times, and even one comment like that made all of the work I put in completely worth it. I’m glad it’ll always be there for people to find down the road. Hearing that will always mean the world to me and it’s become a driving force as to why I continued to make music going forward. I hope it continues to help people and I’m proud to look back on it as a testament to how far I’ve come as an artist and how much I’ve grown as a person. Like I said, at the end of the day, for me it’s all about connection and growth.
If I was to do it all over again and I wanted to speed up the process and was more concerned with the reception of it, I would 100% ask for more feedback from people who knew what they were doing. I’d also put the time in to come up with an actual rollout, figure out a marketing strategy, make content in advance, release a couple singles, all of the things that I neglected at the time because I fell into the classic trap of “the music will speak for itself.” As many have found out before me, unfortunately with 50k songs, or however many, uploaded daily on Spotify alone… no. It really doesn’t lol.
That’s sort of the foundations of me learning my craft and getting to the first Alesdi releases. But I wanted to add one more thing I learned far more recently for trying to progress more quickly… and I know this one is tougher. It usually isn’t cheap, and is almost never free. But if you’re in a place where the investment makes sense, find a good mentor. Find someone you can trust, who knows what they’re doing and has successfully helped others in the past, who isn’t so close to you that their judgement will be clouded or they’ll sugarcoat things, and ask them to give you personalized advice. Yes, you can learn by watching YouTube video after YouTube video, me and a million other people have all done it and you can 100% succeed that way. But as cliché as it sounds, a lot of my biggest ‘ah hah!’ moments have been when I’ve sat down with a mentor, for even just an hour, and they’ve personally spelled out exactly what I’m doing right, what I’m doing wrong, and what I need to be doing differently moving forward to change my results. I know its not a cheap fix, but if you’re having trouble figuring out a missing piece, you can save yourself years of frustration and mistakes by investing into yourself in that way.
Alesdi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Okay I’ll start with a little introduction and then go into my work and what I’m doing now. My name is Grant Ross and I go by Alesdi as an experimental artist. My passion in art is dabbling in everything weird, theatrical, psychedelic, and thought provoking. With my work, I really enjoy building and bringing people into new worlds. I wear my heart on my sleeve and my art is really an extension of that – whether through fashion, music, writing, photography, videos… when it comes down to it, it’s all about self expression – either through stories, life experience, or a blend of it all, I love bringing people into a new space. To me, life in general is about connection and growth so that’s really what I try and accomplish through my work.
After a ton of overthinking and second guessing, as I said, in May of 2020 I released my first solo project, Catharsis along side the sister-project/instrumental tape, Therapy.
In the following 12 months I dropped two follow up singles, New Me and Safari Therapy. New Me was kind of a response to some stuff I was working through at the time and Safari Therapy was a much more conceptual track and is my best performing song to date. They’re very different from one another, and like Catharsis of course there’s some things I’d do differently now, but I think that’s just the nature of being an artist. You’d always do something differently in hindsight. At the end of the day I’m still incredibly proud of how they turned out.
Then in November of 2021, I dropped my second project. A 3 track EP about anxiety and depression, called Pacing. This project was different, even for me. As someone who has personally struggled with both, I tried to create something that really felt like those states can feel at times. It’s visceral. It’s blunt. It’s extremely stripped back and raw. Even having demonstrated at this point that I was always going to be changing and evolving as an artist, I think this project still caught people off guard. But hey, change does that lol. I’m really proud of how it turned out and if those tracks help even one person struggling with anxiety or depression, it was all worth it. I know how isolating those struggles can be and I wanted to create a body of work that just empathizes. Hopefully it can provide a little comfort in that way.
After Pacing though, I knew I needed a change. I was having trouble figuring out how to market myself and my music. I didn’t really know where to go as an artist. I didn’t really know what I was doing. So I just stepped back. I kept making music but stopped worrying about social media. Stopped worrying about releasing what I made. Stopped looking for the next thing and just let life happen. Which, of course, ended up being the best thing I could have done for myself.
Within a few months I was working on what would go on to become the first draft of the project I’m slowly rolling out now. Crazily, by the time the full project releases in 2024 it’ll be nearly 4 years since I started the first tracks on it. Little did I know some of the tracks I had sitting on my computer since 2020 would end up completely torn apart and remade to fit this project – rearranged in ways I never could have imaged when first producing them. Now, hundreds of iterations, countless hours and sleepless nights later, the project is finally nearing its final form.
A double album, each with their own concept and story relating to growing up, love, loss, and the American Dream that mesh together with some added pieces to form a grander narrative. The project was also built along side a visual narrative that tells its own story, parallel to the album, which I think plays into the messaging of the album in a really interesting way. I’m really excited to see how people interpret it all.
Through the creation of this project, I was fortunate enough to work along side some of the most talented artists I’ve ever crossed paths with, all of whom were instrumental in helping me bring this vision to life. I’m so thankful for everyone who contributed to it and I look forward to seeing where we all end up from here. This project really made me realize the potential for Alesdi to become something bigger than Grant ever can – and I truly mean that in the most positive way possible. It inspires me.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the course of creating this project, it’s that you have to learn when to step back and let the universe work through you. Things will work out in ways you never imagined. Sometimes you got to fight for what you believe in, but others, you really do just have to get out of the way and let The Divine work. The way this project has come together has been simultaneously the most beautiful, stressful, awe inspiring, and testing artistic experience of my life. It wouldn’t half of what it is today without each and every challenge that stood in its way. Somehow every single roadblock has ended up making it better in the long run. The way its evolved has given it layers upon layers to dive into and I am so proud of how its come together. It’s been a really beautiful experience.
Over the course of its creation, this project became the foundation for entire relationships that have helped shape who I am as a person and at least a decade’s worth of story telling and ideas that I’m itching to dive into. I’m really interested to see how all of that evolves moving forward. I’ve definitely it can be uncomfortable having things change in unexpected ways, but I’m a strong believer that even with how much everything changes, the heart still remains. If you’re on the right road but you venture down the wrong path, things tend to work themselves out. You’ll find your way back. Just keep your heart open, give the universe space to do its thing, and never stop learning and growing. Sometimes its the universe that steps in, sometimes its us, sometimes in obvious ways, and sometimes in the most subtle and unexpected. That’s really what’s beautiful about it all. I’m a strong believer that nearly nothing is a coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. There’s a certain poetry to it all. And that’s really what I’ve learned through making this project.
When I started building this, I never imagined how much it would mean to me. How personal it would end up. How much it would impact my life. It’s been an incredible chapter and it’s surreal that it’s coming to a close soon. In these final months of putting the project together before really starting to share it with the world, it’s a bittersweet feeling. I’m a bit scared lol. But I’m also really excited. I’m excited for it to be done. I’m excited to share it with the world. And I’m excited for the next chapter of my life.
This is a long winded answer to your question lol. But I hope it got to the core of what you were asking. I think when it comes down to it what I really want people to know is that my work is meant to be different. It’s meant to be weird. I’m weird! It’s meant to pull you into a new world and take you on a journey. If I could leave you all with one thing, Our world doesn’t need another somebody else. The world doesn’t need more average and normal. Our world need the one and only you. So embrace your weird. Live your life to fullest. Love hard, live hard, cry hard, and never let ANYONE tell you how you should do any of it. Speak your truth unapologetically. Do things differently. Nobody has ever made history, at least in a good way, by doing the same things as everybody else. If you decide to listen I hope you go in open minded and stick around for the ride. Enjoy it and take everything you can from it. I really have put my all into it. There’s a lot to dive into. Above all, I hope it makes you feel something, I hope it inspires you, and I hope you take something from it. Thank you to every single one of you who checks it out. I love you all.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
It’s funny, I’ve actually had quite a few conversations with other artists about this lately. Especially with Spotify wrapped happening recently, it was fascinating to see the dialogue around this sort of thing. Because while yes, streaming does generate revenue for artists, it’s a minuscule amount in the grand scheme of things, and unfortunately the streaming giants are only continuing to cut it back more and more. I’d say you can equate streaming a song to liking a picture on Instagram. Yes, you are helping them get further into the algorithm on that streaming platform, just like you are on Instagram when you like a post. Don’t get me wrong, every stream does count and is appreciated! Stream artists’ music that you’re a fan of! It does help them! But there is also a lot more you can do to show your support.
I’ll even start with things that are completely free! You can share your favorite artists’ music and/or content, send it to your friends, add it to playlists, follow them on streaming platforms and social media, comment on their posts, add their songs to your library, post them on your stories, talk to people about their work, use their music as a sound on TikTok or Reels… there are so many free ways to support the artists you love and every single one helps them out more than you know. Theres a lot of noise out there, and it’s tough for artists to get noticed in all of it. The more you can vouch for and validate the artists you love and believe in the more you are doing to help that artist out.
Now, if you’ve got some money you want to use to show your support… you can buy their merch or physical art, go to their shows, commission them to make work for you if you need it, contribute to their Patreon, subscribe to them on Twitch, donate to them on streams… the list goes on. Hell, if you like a local artist and see them out after their set go buy them a drink and tell them well done! I guarantee you’ll make their night. But if you’re gonna do that, just make sure you realize goal is to quickly make their night and support their art, don’t linger around or be creepy about it lol.
Really the best thing you can do to support a thriving creative ecosystem is be an active member of that ecosystem. Create art, share art, make art, learn about art, appreciate art, support art. You don’t have to do it all, just do what interests you. But if you enjoy art or you want to support an artist just be an active contributor! It truly makes all the difference and I promise you the artists appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.
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.
As someone who really enjoys making experimental, weird stuff it’s always fascinating seeing the reactions of people who don’t identify as creatives. It doesn’t always manifest this way, but a lot of times when its people close to you and they didn’t dig too much into the work before forming their opinion it’ll sorta sound like “I like ABC and they’re doing really well, you should try stuff more like that.” “Why didn’t you do it more ABC way and not so XYZ way?” “This is really (insert uncomfortable emotion), you should make stuff that’s more (insert positive emotion)” I find you hear about these things happening a lot with family members who just don’t really get it… because they’re close enough to the artist to hear their stuff but they don’t understand the context of where it exists in relation to the landscape of art today or the work that came before it, so their seeing it on an island not connected to the work that inspired it. It’s usually not even that they mean anything by it, they just simply don’t understand the context of the work that’s being presented to them or the process that lead the artist to that product. They may not have a taste for it simply because they’ve never been exposed to anything like it.
So I’d really urge them to take time to take in the work fully before writing it off or forming an opinion on it. Try to really hear what the artist is trying to say and understand how they got to that point. A lot of artists, especially those trying to branch out and push boundaries, are creating from a place of intimate emotion – however that may manifest for them – and trying to understand why they made the decisions they made goes a long way to 1) making them feel heard and understood 2) making them feel like you care and 3) making them feel like you’re a safe person to talk to about the things they’re expressing in their work.
If you have the opportunity and you don’t understand, ask them personally. Ask them why they made the choices in the work that they did. Ask them who influenced the work and let them show you examples. Ask them what the work means to them. Once you fully understand or you’ve done you’re best to, then sure, opinionate away. But one thing I’ve learned is in a lot of cases, if you don’t understand a piece of art, or you don’t think there’s anything to appreciate in it and other people do, there’s a good chance you’re looking you’re looking at it the wrong way. You might be looking for the wrong things, listening to it at the wrong time, or you may just not be giving it the attention that’s needed to fully understand what the artist was trying to do. Art appreciation is a learned skill and I strongly believe it’s one that’s worth honing. The more you appreciate the art all around you, the more you’ll feel connected to the people around you and the brighter your days will be because you’ll be able to appreciate even more beauty in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: Alesdi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alesdiofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlesdiOfficial/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlesdiOfficial
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQv-KaGezEE15BqjbO_ftxg
- Other: Links to everything I do: Alesdi.com/links
Image Credits
Grant Ross, Devin Cline, Whitney Miller, Michelle Maile