Claudette Visco opens up about how her songwriting has evolved, what inspired Where I Died, and how she balances vulnerability and vision in her music. #ClaudetteVisco #WhereIDied #MusicReinvention #WomenInMusic #IndieArtistry #SongwriterSpotlight
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00:30Thank you for allowing me to interview you.
00:47I went through your work and I'm really impressed.
00:51I'm actually a bit inspired as well because one thing we have in common is we love to write.
00:56But the thing with you is that aside from writing, which I envy you because you have two novels, am I right?
01:03Two or more novels.
01:05Yes.
01:06You made that shift to music.
01:09It's kind of rare for me, although you can do that.
01:12But the first thing I want to ask you maybe is what made you do that?
01:17Or was it something you really had planned?
01:21Well, to be honest, I was always doing music from a really young age, as young as seven, really.
01:27I was trained classically on piano.
01:29We actually moved into this house in New Jersey with this big yellow piano in the basement.
01:35So my parents were just like, all right, let's send her to piano lessons.
01:37And they did.
01:38So I got a really basic music training from the start.
01:41I started singing really young, too, when I was – I went to, like, the Rutgers Children's Choir out in Jersey, too.
01:48So, you know, music was always very, very much a part of my life.
01:51Writing, though, too.
01:52I was writing poems when I was a young kid, too, and, you know, all sorts of stuff like that.
01:57I always loved reading.
01:58So, you know, literature and songwriting always kind of went together for me, naturally, you know.
02:03My father, too, is a poet, English teacher, high school English teacher.
02:08Always my mother, too, is a, you know, music appreciator.
02:12So music and dancing and, you know, good, you know, Italian and Puerto Rican food were always very prevalent in our home.
02:21So, yeah, I mean, the two always kind of – there was never really a big shift, I guess is my point, because it was always kind of there.
02:27But there was definitely a focus shift.
02:28And the focus back to music really happened about five or six years ago.
02:34It's just this – I had to.
02:35I mean, it was a personal kind of compulsion and just – it's kind of – there was truly nothing else to do at that point.
02:43So it all kind of came together again.
02:47So, yeah, I mean, I don't really say that I change, so to speak, because it's always kind of been there.
02:52But – and it keeps coming, the songwriting, and I don't know, I may be writing something else soon.
02:57I may be doing a short film soon.
02:59We'll see.
03:00So there's a lot that I like to keep open.
03:03Was there anything that influenced you, I mean, any artist, any person, any genre that made you make that move?
03:10I think when I moved to Oakland, and this was – I was living in Oakland up until about three years ago.
03:15And at some point, it's just – you know, I always grew up with a lot of classic salsa music.
03:21My mother, you know, always exposed me to all the classics.
03:26So it was very much always there.
03:29But, you know, as a kid, it's like it's always mom's music, right?
03:31So I never – it was interesting.
03:33There was a shift where something – I don't – I can't really quite place what it was.
03:37But it pulled me back into that world, and something clicked, and something really stirred something in my soul, and I became very much addicted.
03:45And it was just constant salsa.
03:47Hector Laveau, Willie Colon.
03:48I mean, the list goes on and on and on.
03:50Dito Puente, of course, I grew up with, too.
03:52So La India, like the voice, her power.
03:55I grew up with a lot of smooth jazz, like Toni Braxton, too, Sade.
03:58So the combination was very interesting, right?
04:01Of, like, jazz standards, of course, too.
04:04Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald.
04:06I mean, so, yeah, it's interesting how that kind of brought me back.
04:10And then just the writing kind of happened at the same point, and it was really a beautiful, just passionate, natural, necessary experience, you know, a growth experience, you know, opening up to myself and the world and, you know, a way that actually matters to me.
04:26It makes me, you know, feel good and inspired.
04:29So that's kind of where I go with that.
04:30So that's kind of where I go with that, you know, a very deep narrative-driven, your work.
04:36So do you, being a writer, I mean, do you approach this, like, storytelling?
04:41Oh, absolutely.
04:43I think that part of songwriting, kind of like writing books and short stories and poems and things of that nature, it is a narrative.
04:49I think it's a narrative that artists are often speaking to themselves, you know, in whatever way works for them, you know, hopefully creative, hopefully engaging to somebody else who'd be watching or listening.
05:00But it's about that kind of connection, right, like that narrative between yourself and the narrative with the world and whatever it is, you know, is fueling you on your mind.
05:08So absolutely, I think storytelling, and again, very, it's always been natural to, you know, how I've worked, how I've just expressed myself, really, from a really young age.
05:20So, but it wasn't until recently that I kind of, like, got that confidence to just do my own thing without having to be too concerned about, oh, I'm too different, or I'm not like this person, or I'm not like that, I don't fit here.
05:33I mean, there was definitely that struggle, well, in lots of different regards, but definitely the songwriting, right, because it's either Latin or it's everything else, right?
05:41So the blending of the two worlds for me, not only is a personal experience being of both, you know, worlds, but the, you know, music, absolutely.
05:48I mean, I'm all over the map from Hector Laveau to, like, you know, the Stone Temple Pilots, like, it's, there's a lot of, a lot of, you know, diversity in my, in my taste.
05:58So, absolutely, storytelling, yeah, that's part of the story, too, so.
06:02All right, because of what you're doing, there are, there are people who call you a visionary, visionary artists.
06:10Oh, that's nice, thank you.
06:12What does this mean to you?
06:14I mean, does this make you, encourage or entice you to push boundaries, do better?
06:21Absolutely, you know, visionary is a really interesting word because I think it can really encompass, you know, lots of different ways of seeing the world, right?
06:30Whether it's actually visual, whether it's something emotive, whether it's something spiritual, whether all these things, right?
06:36So, to hear that is, you know, very humbling and inspiring.
06:41And I'm grateful because I think that's, you know, the best way an artist can really hope for is to communicate that vision.
06:49And so, yeah, I do, I have very visceral, real, interesting, unique experiences, you know, from, you know, the spiritual world to creative.
06:56I mean, things do kind of come together in really unique ways.
07:00I have a lot of lucid dreams, you know, things like that.
07:03So, it's a very visceral, visionary experience to begin with.
07:09So, yeah, to hear that is very, is really nice to hear because that means I'm communicating something that I'm authentically experiencing myself.
07:17So, you know, it's the best I can hope for at this point.
07:19So, thank you.
07:21Okay, you write, you compose, and you perform.
07:26Which of those three for you is the most fulfilling?
07:30Well, to be honest, the performance as, this project is relatively new as far as it actually coming together since I've moved here in Tucson.
07:40So, you know, the performance as, I can't really speak for that just yet because it is in a very nascent form.
07:46I'm kind of getting all the singles out there right now so that, you know, there's a good repertoire to refer to at home.
07:53But, so, can't really speak about the performance.
07:54What was the other one?
07:55Compose and?
07:57Perform.
07:57Perform.
07:58Write.
07:59Write.
07:59So, yeah, right now it's mainly the creative, composing, producing, getting music videos made.
08:06So, I think they're all important.
08:08I kind of perform naturally a lot in what I do, like whether it's dancing in my living room or just, you know, it's a, it's, I do it without necessarily intending to do it a lot.
08:19So, I'm really interested to see what happens when I do get on stage with all of this kind of, you know, put together.
08:24Because, yeah, it's, it's been a long time in the making now, relatively long, but, you know, so there's a lot to, you know, see what happens and experience with that.
08:35So, absolutely composing though is where my focus has been for the past five years or so with all this.
08:41So, I've got, I've got about three albums that I'm in the process of producing.
08:45So, there's a lot more to come.
08:48Yeah, I bet.
08:50Okay.
08:51So, having done this, I mean, I got to ask you, what do you hope that your audience would take away from your music and stories?
08:58Because in each one, I, I noticed that there's a certain message you're trying to send across.
09:03So, what, what is, what are you, what do you want the listeners to, well, take away from your music and stories?
09:11Um, really whatever speaks to them.
09:14Because they are all pretty different.
09:15And I think they'll, you know, continue to be so as I keep releasing music.
09:21So, that said, there's kind of a mood, a mood for every song, a song for every mood.
09:24So, and you really, music's so interesting in that way.
09:27Because you could have somebody like Kate Bush, for instance, um, go viral, you know, as of like five years ago because of Stranger Things.
09:34And, you know, suddenly people who had never heard Kate Bush before are hearing her.
09:39So, it's, it's really interesting to see how that can, that can, uh, evolve over time.
09:44So, yeah, you never really know what people are going to connect with or, you know, what song they're going to connect with, even when.
09:50You know, Kate Bush is a great example.
09:51So, really whatever speaks to them, you know.
09:55Being successful, being one of the, being successful in what you're doing, what's the best advice you're going to give to other artists who are trying to create their own paths?
10:08Be patient.
10:10Be patient and be open to things working out in different and unexpected ways that actually drive some creative force that you didn't anticipate.
10:20There is a certain mystery about the whole creative process, of course, and kind of works in tandem with all aspects of life, I think.
10:27But, you know, the more that you can be open with not necessarily setting your standard in a particular place and whatever that is, right?
10:34Whether it's a style of music or a time period in your life or, you know, just a creative inspiration.
10:40Like, you know, keep it open because the more patient you can be through the whole process, not only, like, you know, helps you stay sane, you know, with all of it.
10:51Because you have to deal with rejection.
10:52Especially if you're doing something new and different, expect a lot of pushback.
10:57People are not necessarily going to be open to something new if they haven't heard it before.
11:02So you kind of have to find your way of pushing through that, having your own kind of grounding, meditative, creative, you know, magic and process that, you know, becomes kind of a ritual.
11:13Because you know kind of what to expect after the first few times you're releasing things.
11:17And especially if you're doing something different, you can always expect somebody to say, this is crazy, this is weird.
11:21What are you doing?
11:23Like, where's the, you know, real music?
11:25Whatever it is.
11:26So you have to kind of, and it's different for everybody.
11:28Everybody's got a different kind of process of handling that.
11:33But just keeping it open because that's also fuel, right?
11:36To like, that builds the confidence, that builds like the skin you need really to like push through whatever negativity you may be hearing and still create something that's your own first and foremost.
11:47But that will definitely be interesting to somebody else because it came from you, not, you know, somebody else necessarily doing if you're, it's authentic in other words.
11:55So you got to find that kind of sweet spot, but be patient and keep, I mean, it sounds cliche, but you just got to keep going and stay open, I guess.
12:04The best advice I can offer at this time.
12:06I guess that holds the same with other things that anyone is doing right now, not just music, right?
12:13Yeah, exactly.
12:14Absolutely.
12:16Okay.
12:17So I want to talk to you about your latest single, the one that Logan sent to me, Where I Died.
12:24Okay.
12:25Okay.
12:25It's very, very interesting, the title.
12:28So I had to watch it.
12:30So it delves into the themes of personal trauma and transformation.
12:33What was the inspiration behind this track?
12:36I mean, how were you, how were you, have your experience, did you experience anything that implements inspiration?
12:44Absolutely.
12:45Well, I think the most basic response I can give to that is even just recently and, you know, of course, through everybody's life, you know, you kind of experience these cycles of, of course, real death of loved ones.
12:59My brother passed away a couple of years ago, tragically.
13:02So there, you know, there's the physical death, you know, of that.
13:07Then there are the more inner, you know, spiritual deaths that we all go through many times in a lifetime, like at different times too, based on all sorts of stuff.
13:14Trauma being one of them, of course, whether it's sexual assault or, you know, abuse, you know, the list goes on and on of the ways that people experience these things.
13:24But I think it's really just a combination of all of that, you know, these cycles of like death and rebirth and kind of, you know, what to make of it.
13:32And, you know, at the very least, how to express it and feel it and then have the courage to really like just completely push through it and just really come out as something not just a lot stronger, but a lot more creative, a lot more confident, you know, of course, wiser in whatever experience it was.
13:52And, you know, all that stuff can take time to really like settle, of course.
13:55And I think that's different for everybody, especially I think the younger you are, when you experience like, you know, very traumatizing events, it could be a little bit harder and longer to kind of unpack all of that, you know.
14:08So, yeah, I think it's and I think that especially now, you know, the song actually, if it was up to me, it would have come out like two years ago.
14:16But it's actually better that it didn't because I think there has been so much that has happened, not just in my own personal experience, but for everybody.
14:24I mean, for the past five years have been very intense, especially in these cycles about life, death.
14:30What do I make of all this? How do I get through it? Am I the only one? Right.
14:33Like, am I crazy? Like all these things that people suffer through these cycles and maybe feel like they don't have somebody to relate or, you know.
14:42So I hope at the very least, this song can kind of like peel that back a little bit and a little breath of fresh air, maybe like a rhythm to kind of get the spirit moving, you know, through it.
14:53And yeah, and I hope it helps in some. I hope it's a cathartic experience on multiple levels.
14:58So between the video and the song, I think they both kind of cover, you know, at least for me, the most important aspects, especially as a woman, you know, and going through lots of different ways of how we understand trauma.
15:10But in tandem with how we understand ourselves. So, you know, I hope it helps everybody.
15:17But yeah, definitely anybody who's experienced any kind of trauma, I hope it helps.
15:21Anyone who goes through trauma is going to have a difficult time. I mean, getting your mind back together.
15:25I mean, on your end, you were able to create a song out of it.
15:30I mean, writing is, well, it's hard enough, but creating a song and trying to transform it into something helpful, therapeutic.
15:38Like, I mean, was it difficult on your end to do that? And did it have any impact on you?
15:45Absolutely. I think the best part about releasing music is releasing music, right?
15:50First, the first creative process of actually getting something, you know, melody and lyrics.
15:55Like, I think that's probably the best feeling, to be honest, is when a song is like created, you know, and you could really like it may not be perfect to start may have some missing pieces, but kind of that moment where, you know, I just created this song and I love it.
16:08And I don't really understand it. It's maybe not totally done, but that release, right?
16:13So there's that release. And then, of course, there's the public release, which I mean, personally, it's yes, it's very I haven't been through it enough times to, you know, say definitively what the consistency is.
16:25But it's also powerful, but not quite in the same creative sense, because I think there's a little bit more anxiety, you know, coupled with now I have to release it to everybody else.
16:37So it's not just me and my little studio, you know, having a great time.
16:43It's like now I have to. And of course, with that comes all of the questions of judgment and, you know, so on and so forth.
16:49But absolutely, there's different ways. And again, once you start performing, then there's another release, right?
16:54There's like that live stage release, which could be a very different experience.
16:58So I'm really excited to see how all of those things kind of continue to evolve.
17:02But yeah, the creative release is probably my favorite.
17:06Okay. How challenging was it to make, to do Where I Died compared to your other songs?
17:14Was there any difference or was it harder or was it easier?
17:20I have to say that the process of actually recording it was pretty straightforward.
17:25And actually, it was the first time I recorded a song here in Tucson.
17:29Up until a year before that, the producer I was working with, Sergio Mendoza, we were working remote.
17:35I was still in Oakland at the time. He was here. So Poole is totally remote.
17:40Where I Died was the first, I actually came here for three days and we recorded it in two, mixed it on the third.
17:47And yeah, I mean, it was magical. First of all, it was my first time in Tucson ever.
17:54I ended up moving here a year later because the experience was so great and the community, everything.
18:01I mean, Latin music is very much thriving here in culture.
18:04And so there was a lot that just organically came together.
18:07And he's obviously an excellent musician and producer.
18:09So we already had an understanding on that level.
18:12But being here physically probably made it a lot easier because there weren't that many revisions because I was actually physically there.
18:18And it just came together really just naturally where there wasn't much, you know, question.
18:26It just, you know, it's one of those moments.
18:28So that's kind of when you know you have something extra special too, when you don't have to force too much.
18:33You don't have to think about everything too much.
18:35So yeah, I'd say where I Died actually, you know, on the production side of things and actually recording came out the easiest so far.
18:42Okay, you said more projects moving forward.
18:46Absolutely, yes.
18:48Are there any more bigger projects, things you're going to do moving forward?
18:54Yeah, so I mentioned I have about three albums that I'm in the process of producing and getting put together.
19:01Right now I'm focused on releasing singles just because it's easier, it's less expensive, right?
19:06And it's a good way to kind of, you know, be a little bit more liberated with who I can work with as well, right?
19:12Not necessarily getting locked down into an album at this moment.
19:16So yeah, at this point, it's kind of like I just need to choose which song it's going to be.
19:22Because it's interesting how I'm sure you've heard a lot of artists talk about songs having their own time, you know?
19:27And the song may be done, but the world's not ready for it.
19:30Or there's something else that needs to come into the fray.
19:32And so it's going to be interesting to see once I decide, decide.
19:37But I do have one in particular that so far seems like it's going to be the next one.
19:42So definitely, definitely got plenty of other things going on.
19:47So just have to shoot.
19:49My last question for you, Claudette, I think I read it from your site.
19:54You practice karate or you did karate?
19:57Karate, yes, yes.
19:58Okay, did this help?
19:59I do martial arts too.
20:02Oh, do you?
20:02Me, I do taekwondo.
20:06Okay, cool.
20:07So whatever, regardless of whatever martial arts that includes focus, concentration, and calmness.
20:14Did this help you?
20:15Absolutely.
20:17I get the chills, actually, when people ask me about this because it just, that kind of birth of that part of me, the karateka side, right, helped me through so much.
20:30Like, just speaking of trauma, like that absolutely helped me to like, in a just very natural way, kind of focus energy in a more, you know, healing, productive, focused way.
20:42That's less reactive and more, you know, I guess, not meditative, but, you know, again, focused, right?
20:49And the discipline that comes with that and just showing up on the dojo floor every day, even when you can't throw a punch that great, or my roundhouse kick sucks, or my back kick doesn't even hit anything.
21:00I mean, the first few years were very, you know, daunting on my patience with myself, because I do like to, I could be a perfectionist at times.
21:10And, you know, I think like everybody, you always want to be good when you start, but of course, it's not the reality for anything, especially martial arts, where it's a whole like mind, body, spirit balance that you have to achieve for what you're doing.
21:21So absolutely helped me channel my anger, which was part of the trauma. It also helped me to, you know, open up more creative doors, do things differently.
21:31I had lived in Kyoto, Japan for teaching English, actually, for about a year. So, you know, a lot of just the beauty of the culture and the serenity of it was always very familiar to me.
21:43So, again, one of these more natural progressions that happened, and then I reached a point where I'm like, I gotta do some kind of martial art and like punch it, like all this stuff.
21:52And yeah, and I have to say it, actually, like some people get confused, and they think, oh, well, if you do martial arts, that means you're probably more violent or more aggressive, right?
22:01And absolutely not. It's the opposite. It disciplines you so that you don't get violence.
22:07And statistically, yeah, people who are trained in martial arts are less likely to get into fights after, of course, they've been trained, typically.
22:14So, you know, I think it's been absolutely creative, spiritual, and just personal more than anything else.
22:20Get in great shape, too. So I hope, you know, more women actually start getting involved in whatever martial arts.
22:26There's so many to choose from, too, all over the world. So, you know, choose your fight.
22:31It goes back to your advice earlier. Patience with martial arts helps you extend your patience, am I right?
22:39Right. Exactly. Absolutely. And, you know, your patience with yourself, which is the biggest kind of, you know, people always say it's your own worst enemy, right?
22:46And I absolutely agree with that. And I think that the more that people can get comfortable accepting that and learning from that and like challenging themselves in different ways,
22:55you know, the easier things could be all around, you know, so absolutely. Patience.
23:02All right. Clodette, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for your time.
23:07And I hope I can get to see you or talk to you more when you're famous and more popular than who you are now.
23:14Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much, Brian. It was a pleasure.
23:17Okay. Thank you.