Meet Cestari | Independent Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cestari and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cestari, how do you think about risk?
As an independent artist, you come across risks in every facet of your work. All the time you’re taking risks, both on and off the stage, and judging them is a skill like everything else you develop. When it came to my immersive concert series “Cestari Experiences,” much of what I had to do was balance between curating a unique live event simultaneously evaluate and mitigate all the risks involved. As I’ve done more events, performed in different venues, and collaborate with different musicians, I’ve become more aware of how many risks I take whenever I plan or perform. Although each situation is unique, I have to ultimately trust my instincts and commit to whichever decision I make.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Many people have come to know me as a jazz-pop artist, however I’ve recently let go of that sound. I love the music of jazz and the culture surrounding it, however I’ve found that the musical style of it didn’t fit me as neatly as I had previously thought. I started listening to more rock, metal, and experimental music, and have progressively made music that fit into that world. Much of what I do can still be traced back to jazz, however if I had to describe what it is I now do it’s experimental alternative. It’s intense, noisy, free, but still reminiscent of rock/alternative.

The change wasn’t simple, however nothing about making music as a career is particularly simple. With social media’s place in the artist’s life we have to think more critically about our image and style than ever before. It can be incredibly toxic at times, especially with all the noise and filler out there, however it’s made me much more aware about my own decisions as an artist, how it helps build my world, and how other artists do the same. You have to embrace the world of social media, while simultaneously be aware of its pitfalls. It’s been a great tool in connecting with other artists, or even studying them to see how they curate their image. If you can do that, you can start to develop your own plan on how to find and connect with your audience, which is the most difficult but the most crucial aspect.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There’s so many places I’d think to go to but the top two places I think of first are Rubulad and DMG.

Rubulad is a venue in Brooklyn that regularly hosts rock/punk/metal bills. As soon as you walk in you’re surrounded by surreal statues and colorful lighting, and the music is always some of the most intense I’ve ever heard.

DMG (Downtown Music Gallery) is a record shop in Two Bridges, Manhattan. However once a week they host free shows of improvised music. This was where I first heard improvised music live, and many memories I look back on are from my experiences there. It’s a tiny place that almost always is way too hot, but if you enjoy the music or want to experience something truly different it’ll blow you away.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A few months ago I reached out to a saxophonist named Zoh Amba that I had been listening to, I first listened to her purely because I thought her name was cool. Out of all the musicians I had reached out to she was the only person who got back to me. Zoh’s work as an improviser is among the few that I seriously enjoy listening to, so being able to have a conversation with her was almost nerve-wracking for me.

We spoke on a FaceTime call for a little over an hour just talking about music and her approach. Near the end she spoke about awareness, how it was integral in improvising both as a soloist and in a group. And following the call that’s the very thing I focused the most on. Awareness of your environment and actions in everyday life made life and music not only more exciting, but gave me more sources of inspiration. Ideas for songs were not just coming from other songs but books, movies, things I’d see out on the street, or even a sentence on a billboard I thought sounded cool.

There were many more things Zoh spoke about during that singular call, but that alone shifted my entire perspective on my capacity as an artist. I have never met someone so articulate yet so impassioned about this stuff.

Website: https://www.cestariofficial.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cestari___/?hl=en

Other: SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/038QrLny84OqxerVdMxwvx?si=eDo98iBrTLaciTHqepNvlw
TUMBLR: https://www.tumblr.com/thisiscestari

Image Credits
Siena Canela
Vincent Felix