A Chat with CSLTY (02.10.2020)
CSLTY is drawing on the quiet time of the early morning for his debut EP The Night Is Dark And Full of Power. Exclusively released on Bandcamp last week and out on streaming platforms at the end of this week, the album is packed with subdued beats and cinematic tones. We sat down with CSLTY to talk about the EP, his creative process, music, future plans and much more!
OSR: What is your earliest musical memory?
CSLTY: My earliest music memory is watching old school rap videos when I was a kid with my family in our living room, the first song I remember listening to was Black Sheep ‘The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)’.
OSR: What was the inspiration for your debut EP The Night Is Dark and Full of Power?
CSLTY: I’ve always been a fan of soundtracks, so that’s kind of always been my goal; to create a soundtrack. What inspired this soundtrack is that small quiet bracket of time between 3 AM-5 AM, right before the chaos of the day picks up again. The calm before the storm.
OSR: When creating the EP, did you start with a concept or did you allow each single to form organically?
CSLTY: I allowed each song to form organically. It wasn’t until all the songs were done that I realized how well they fit together.
OSR: How has the pandemic affected the way you make music?
CSLTY: It definitely gave me more time to work on music. Balancing music and a 9-5, you only get so much time in a day. So, it was nice to have more time to put into something I’d much rather do for a living.
OSR: Did you find that certain tracks on The Night is Dark and Full of Power were easier or harder to create?
CSLTY: Not so much, like I said each song came organically. Not to say there weren’t moments of frustration but I think that’s natural when you’re creating anything. I had no plan to make an EP at the time so I was just letting my creativity flow, some songs came out great others needed more work. It was a nice balance but I wouldn’t say there was any tier of difficulty during the process just a matter of what sounds good and what doesn’t.
OSR: If people could remember only one thing about your music, what would you like it to be?
CSLTY: It would be that it’s a way to escape. Music has always been an escape for me and I hope my music can do the same for others.
OSR: You wrote, produced, mixed and mastered this EP, what was the biggest challenge you faced when doing this?
CSLTY: I think mixing and mastering was the biggest challenge when it came to this EP. It’s a tedious process but it felt good once I got everything the way I wanted it. It’s something I’m still learning how to do but it was fun. I think it all came out pretty good.
OSR: If you could play this EP at any venue in the world, where would it be and why?
CSLTY: I’m from New York City so Madison Square Garden would be a huge accomplishment for me but I’d truly be grateful to have it played anywhere else in the world.
OSR: What do you feel is the biggest influence on the music you make?
CSLTY: My biggest influence would probably be music and movies from the 90s. Everything had a different feeling then and being in NYC you got a little bit of everything from everywhere. I was into a bunch of different things growing up, still am.
OSR: What can we expect to see from you in the next 12 months?
CSLTY: You can expect a lot more music, more projects and some cool collabs. I have a few things lined up that I can’t wait to share.
Thanks to CSLTY for chatting with us! You can find more about him on his Twitter, Instagram and Bandcamp.
