StreamLINE Artist Feature & Interview : CAT CALABRESE
StreamLINE Artist Feature & Interview : CAT CALABRESE
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Hey StreamLINE World! In the latest installment of our Interview Series, we had the pleasure of catching up with emerging pop artist Cat Calabrese and learning more about her budding music career and empowering inspiration behind her music.
Read on to get the scoop on her current projects, background and other interesting tidbits. Enjoy!
- Hi Cat, Welcome to StreamLINE! Thank you for taking the time to speak with us about your music career and artistry. We’re looking forward to our audience learning more about you. Thank you for sharing your story. We appreciate it!
- Please tell us a bit about your background, where you’re from etc. What were your early music influences?
I grew up in Lakewood, OH which is right next to Cleveland. I have an undergraduate and masters degree in accounting and I have been working in the field for almost 7 years. I always loved music from a young age and started playing piano when I was 6. However, I only started to share with everyone that I sing about 3 and a half years ago.
I’ve loved to sing since I was really young, but I lacked the confidence to pursue it or even tell people that I could. My parents exposed me to a lot of different types of music growing up, everything from Van Morrison to Frank Sinatra, so I have just always been a true fan of music.
- How would you characterize your sound and what inspires your musical creativity?
It’s been an incredible and rewarding experience so far; like I mentioned not long ago no one even knew that I could sing. And a year ago I had just begun my solo career, so it’s been really fulfilling to see the progression in a short amount of time.
I will say though that this business can be exhausting; it demands all of your time and it often feels difficult to shut it off and take a break. But that drive is what has gotten me here and there’s nothing else I’d rather devote my energy to.
I’ve learned to follow my instincts and it feels good to see that paying off. I’m really proud of how hard I work and continue to push myself. It’s cool to watch yourself doing something that you once thought you could never attempt.
- Please tell us more about your debut single “Quicksand”. How did the song come about and how did you link up with DJ London Bridges to collaborate on the remix version?
It was a great experience! I connected with the co-producer, Wavy Duder in October 2020 and I first heard the original beat and knew that I wanted to write to it. We started working on it a couple of months later and Wavy suggested that he bring in his friend and songwriter, DJ London Bridges to help us take it to the next level. We’ve been working together ever since.
Bridges is multi-talented and one of his main focuses is producing and creating house music. He started building the remix and when he played it for me, I knew we had to put it out. He then suggested we bring in his friend, JSansi to lay down a rap verse and it all just came together so seamlessly. Bridges has been with me every step of the way and has produced all of my music that I’ve released so far.
Quicksand
Listen to Quicksand on Spotify. Cat Calabrese · Song · 2021.
- We reviewed your latest single “Psyco Therapy” in a prior article and have raved about it. Please tell our readers the story behind the song and the meaning behind the powerful lyrics.
Thank you so much for that amazing review! I experienced varying degrees of betrayal and emotional abuse in my last relationship; there were awful things going on behind my back that neither I nor anyone in my life ever suspected that this person was capable of.
Imagine if you woke up one day and someone told you that your entire reality was nothing more than a dream, nothing more than a lie constructed to make you believe one thing while something else entirely was actually taking place. That realization shook me to my core, it still does. The only way I knew how to cope with that trauma was to write about it, and Psycho Therapy was my way of getting it all out.
I confronted him, but most importantly myself, about all the anger and sadness that I still deal with every day. The song is my therapy as I deal with a fallout from a person who has no empathy or conscience. In this era of “me too”, I felt particularly compelled to write this song not only for me, but for all the other women I’ve met on this journey that suffered from the hands of the same person as me. I decided that I would sing louder than anything he tried to do to me or anyone else.
Psycho Therapy (Official Music Video)
Cat Calabrese – Psycho Therapy (Official Music Video)Stream Psycho Therapy:►https://catcalabrese.com/psycho-therapyFollow Cat:►Spotify: https://open.spotify….
- Each of the music videos for your releases have been captivating visually. Do you develop the concepts yourself or work with a team to bring your songs to life on screen? How has the process been filming them?
Thank you so much! I am a really visual person so as I’m writing and recording the songs, I start to imagine what I want it to look like on screen. My videographer and photographer are both great at coming up with concepts so they listen to the songs and my ideas and then build off of that.
I really trust their vision so if they suggest something, I like to run with it because I know that we’ll get a great product. I’ve loved the process so far; each time the 3 of us work together we get to know each other better and how we work. As that comfort builds, I think the quality only continues to improve.
- You appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show earlier this year! How did that come to fruition and what was that experience like?
The power of social media! One of the producers of the show and I were commenting on the same photo that someone posted on Instagram. My comment caught her eye and she DM’d me about whether I would be interested in talking to Kelly and Jake Hoot about their duet. At the time, it was about to debut.
I shared my breakup story with the producer I’d met and the rest of the production team and they decided they wanted me to tell the story on the show! Meeting Kelly was amazing; she was so kind and down to earth whether the cameras were rolling or not, she made me feel like we could be friends.
The timing of it was truly perfect because I was just about to release my first single and it was so awesome to be able to tell her what music means to me. It’s also pretty cool to be able to say that my breakup story made Kelly Clarkson drop her jaw.
- You have treated your social media followers to a collection of intimate vocal covers. What drives which songs you choose and do you feel the performances bring you closer to your fans?
I created my Instagram account in August 2020 and I was looking for ways to start to build my followers and create engagement. I think covers are a great way to introduce people to you as a new artist and while I was waiting to release my own music, I thought it would be great content to share.
Some of the songs I chose were really popular at the time and I wanted to share my own version, others were just some of my favorites or pertained to how I was feeling at the time,, and some were vocally challenging that I wanted to attempt as I continued to work on developing my voice.
- What has been your most memorable experience performing live thus far? What do you enjoy most about performing in a live setting?
I would have to say my first performance as a solo artist earlier this year was most memorable. Prior to being a solo artist, I was in a band for a couple of years. The experience didn’t end well and its ending was the catalyst for me pursuing music on my own. So my first performance on my own felt like a reclamation of what I had lost; I got to perform music that is fully representative of me and who I am now and that’s something I wasn’t able to do before.
- Let’s play a game of Word Association! What’s the one word that comes to mind which sums up each of your tracks?
Love that idea!
“Quicksand” : Confident
“Scared of Me” : Revenge
“Fever Dream” : Alive
“Psycho Therapy” : Power
- We love to hear what other music artists are vibing to. What’s a few songs that are personally on repeat for you or at the top of the list in your personal playlist?
I am a huge Ariana Grande fan, so I always have her on repeat. One of my favorites right now is “goodnight n go” off of her Sweetener album. One of my favorite songs of all time is Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and that’s always a go-to for me. I am also loving The Kid Laroi’s new album and I’m obsessed with Justin Beiber’s “Ghost”.
- What’s next up musically for you as 2022 approaches and beyond? Any projects, features or live shows on the horizon?
I have 3 songs currently ready for release and I’ll be announcing the release date for the next song very soon. Since March, I’ve been committed to releasing a new song every 8 weeks and I’m eager to keep on that schedule for the next 3.
I recorded multiple songs in the same studio session so I have been releasing those throughout this year. But as I come to the end of this batch of songs, I am starting to write more and gather ideas for the next round. I also have a few collabs and features in the works right now that I’m extremely excited about and am looking forward to being able to share when I can.
Listen to Top Tracks of Cat Calabrese on Spotify
Cat Calabrese
Hailing from Cleveland, Cat Calabrese is a pop vocalist and songwriter. She writes her lyrics with fearless vulnerability while weaving in memorable and catchy pop melodies. Cat began her solo career as a way to cope with and heal from trauma. Feeling stripped of all control, she looked to music to regain her power and begin fighting back.
Follow Cat Calabrese
- Official Website : https://catcalabrese.com/
- Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/catcalabresemusic/
- Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/catcalabresemusic/
- Twitter : https://twitter.com/cat_calabrese_
- YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/c/CatCalabreseMusic/videos
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