We recently connected with Jorge Cajías and have shared our conversation below.

Jorge, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

As a kid, even before I realized it, I was always bound to create music. I dabbled in the arts from very small, and I always had an involuntary urge to create. I would often watch a movie, hear a song, listen to a conversation, and feel an overwhelming urgency to draw, perform, or anything my innocent hands were capable of.

Nowadays I call myself an artist, producer, songwriter, but that is just a vague, tangible nomenclature for this life-long urgency to just make stuff that you leave behind; to create, little by little, a small mountain of your own human feeling that might somehow explain the unexplainable to somebody else.

I dabbled in music since really young, but at 12, the bug of songwriting bit me and it changed my life. I didn’t have any frame of reference. I didn’t want to be like or better than any of my peers. I just wanted to be like or better than my long-dead idols. I think the key factor that made me become the professional I am today is that I blindly followed my gut. By pure chance, I stumbled upon the thing I’d end up doing the rest of my life and grabbed it by the throat with all my might. This mild obsession snowballed into me doing it every waking hour, conscious or unconsciously, up until this very day.

I was an incredibly shy child, and had some trouble socializing from early on. Therefore, I found comfort in writing, recording, and crafting my music isolated in my room. A big chunk of the music-making of today requires the communal aspect, so that is an aspect I wish I could have put some effort in from early on. Nevertheless, I try not to spend too much time thinking of what-ifs of the past, because that time can be much better spent acting upon the still-unwritten future.

Jorge, 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?

As I mentioned, I’m a producer, engineer, songwriter, and most of all, a recording artist. Ever since I can remember, my goal in life has been serving the artistic vision. When I went to music school, I discovered there was an extremely wide spectrum of careers to pursue, and then and there, I realized there was a music production major. I had no clue that music production was what I had already been doing for years, but the aspect of learning the ins-and-outs of studio recording enthralled me. Thus, I arrived into the music industry and have been happy to make a living within the diverse avenues I’ve pursued.

In my day to day, I work as an audio engineer at a studio, as well with private clients of a wide range of musical genres and renown. This includes me recording and editing them, to the point of mixing and mastering. I also intensely work as a music producer, both for friends and clients who require my creative skills to bring their visions to life, and for my own music, of which I’m most proud of. Likewise, I also spend countless hours writing music, performing and managing my social media, which is something I find utterly important.

Within all of this, I think the thing that sets me apart is the fact that I’m first and foremost married to the world of sound and lyric. I’ve been submerged in it so long that I breathe and live it. So, when I work with someone on a music project, I always bring the immense passion I have for it and give it my all when perfecting their music, because that’s the only standard I seek with my own.

In this search for the best and most real product, I’ve profoundly developed my taste, discernment, decision-making, and technical knowhow, which allows me to look beyond the simple task of getting things done. To me that’s the key of art: mastering the humdrum of the long, mundane hours in order to look above for the true purpose of it – making a lasting creation.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

This is an aspect that really intrigues me about any musical career. As we know, being an artist nowadays (or any era, for that matter) is not just music. The people who consume your work want to do so because of YOU. This was originally a strange idea for me to grasp, but when I think of my favorite artists, it’s all true – I get fascinated for their music, but I do want to know down to the very last detail of their life, because they’re the person who made that thing I love to death.

Social media, then, is the way to do this today and there is no way around it. I, like I imagine most people, have a love-hate relationship with it. I find that the thing that made it sustainable for me and relatable for anyone else is that I try to just do things that I like, truly like, and that make me happy. I try to take every aspect of my personality that I enjoy, warts and all, and portray it as cleanly as I can.

Building an audience, to this day, is a very overwhelming concept for anyone starting out (and every other creative person, including the one typing this). In the end, I think it’s all about finding the things that you like to do, that have potential for resonating with a lot of people, and doing it extensively. Rhythm and consistency are key – sadly, if you can’t keep up, somebody else will.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Throughout my whole life, I think the aspect that has made me the musician I am is my self-belief. And I don’t say it in a hollow, passing fashion. I mean true self-belief: the fact of knowing, in every fibre of your body, that your actions have a purpose – having no one believe in your goals, yet realizing that you must believe them before anyone else will.

My parents are wonderful, yet they’re doctors and their music understanding is next to naught. My older brothers played music when young, but never gave too much trouble to inciting their little brother in his own search for meaning. The school I spent most of my life in, although musically-leaning, constantly imparted in me the idea that my slight musical abilities would get me nowhere. All of this could’ve been able to obscure the twinkle in the eye of any child, yet somehow my mind allowed me to little by little construct my own resilience. If no one was to believe in my talent, I would.

That’s how I stumbled into the guitar. I had been trained on violin since the age of 7, and I was mediocre at best. I adored classical music deep inside, but I was even encouraged to quit it by my teachers. Rock music, the guitar, and songwriting became my rebellion. I didn’t have to find hope anywhere but between the air that I breathed and the notes I emanated.

I look back on those days, and I remind myself that same lesson: whenever I feel doubtful about the road ahead, I remember I don’t need to do much except follow my own nose, for no one can ever give me advice on the true thing that matters – being me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/cajiasmusic/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cajiasmusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JorgeCajias

Image Credits
Adrianna Curcio, Valeria Peñaranda