We were lucky to catch up with Shayda Velasco recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shayda , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am definitely more happy as an artist/creative. Sure, sometimes it’s difficult because you’re chosing to follow your dreams which isn’t as sure of a thing as a 9-5 salary job, however I don’t have it in me to not do what I love. Have I thought of what it would be like to have a 9-5? sure I have, and I always knew it wasn’t for me even before realizing my passion and my dream.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

What I do, is I am a DJ and music Producer, and I play many genres all within the electronic music spectrum such as Trance, Techno, Electro, and many sub-genres in between. I play mostly at clubs and underground warehouse parties, as well as highly established online streams from abroad.

The way I got into the music industry actually started a really long time ago when I discovered Trance while I was in freshman year of high school and started going to Ultra Music Festival that year as well as raves around the city or at friends houses. Shortly after that I moved to Europe where I was exposed to the same scene but on a different level and with different music, which fast forward four years later I ended up at my first nightclub job in Miami at the iconic Mansion Nightclub on Miami Beach. I’ve been in the scene ever since one way or another which brought me to where I am now.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal and mission as cheesy as it my sound, is to just do what I love. Music has been the main part of my life since the day I was born due to the fact that I come from a family of musicians. My mother and father met as a duet, and my uncles, aunts, grandparents on both sides, all played music professionally. It took me a bit longer that I would’ve imagined to finally decide to pursue it, but I’m glad I did. What drives me and motivates me to continue, is the constant rebirth of older generations of music, the newborn ones, the advancement in technology, and the fact that I learn every single day more and more about how to create it myself and lose myself in my own creativity.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Unfortunately but also fortunately, I learned a lot of hard lessons. I say fortunately because when I look back at them, I am grateful for those lessons because they brought me back to earth and humbled me down, plus made me work harder overall! A particular lesson that comes to mind now that it’s being mentioned is one that took me some time to learn because I was under the “guidance” and “leadership” of a business man who acted as my manager. I was very young and he was much older and life experienced, so I followed. Mind you, he had zero music industry experience at this point, but worst of all had no moral compass which took me a few years to accept. I had no idea what I was doing business wise, all I wanted to do was play music and have fun doing it, but what happened is that this man tried to instill in me a bunch of not-so-pretty thought processes, ego, and gatekeeping. This led me to turn down quite a few gigs in Miami as I followed his orders thinking it was in my best interest. The gigs I was told to turn down were from local collectives that all just wanted the same thing the I did deep in my heart, which was to play music and have fun doing it, while still al growing together. However, I was poisoned and told that these people were “nothing” and going “nowhere” and that I had to separate myself from them to become successful, thus distancing myself from my own community. THIS is what the lesson is right here… I was pushed to focus only on success and thinking less of others because I trusted someone deeply to guide me but ended up getting pushed further and further away from my spirit, my heart, my morals, and the reason I started in the first place. So, long story short; I learned that if I’m going to follow my heart and dreams, I shall never again lose sight of my soul and my beliefs, and stay true to myself no matter who comes along trying to darken my sunshine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shydamusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shyda.ofc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shyda.ofc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND7u7qfuv7w

Image Credits
Ramses Martinez Albert Name