Meet David Cerquetti | Composer & Songwriter

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

Hi David, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Taking risks is everything. I believe that in any artistic field if you don’t risk something you will never achieve success. Well, then you also have to know what success means, it is so different for each of us what this word means. I believe that anyone who wants to pursue this kind of career must have a predisposition to risk as well as to make sacrifices. Moving to the United States without any job security was a huge risk, giving up admissions from USC, one of the top schools in the world, was an equally big risk. But at the end of the day these risks brought me to where I am today, there are no right or wrong choices, only choices that you then with your motivation turn into the right ones. Take risks, there is only one life, if it makes you happy, take risks and follow your dreams. I would rather have a short life but full of experiences than a long life dreaming without having the courage to follow my dreams. Hopefully it will be a long life anyway.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Art for me is a means of communication, the art itself as a form is not important, what is important is the message and what people take in. We have math to explain the universe, but we have art to explain the meaning of life and the human soul. Whether it is music, painting, dance, sculpture, the ultimate goal is the message you want to convey, the medium is not that important. I do not consider my art important as such, but only from the moment I know that through it people can be somehow moved.

As for my craft, I consider myself a colorist, which is fun because my music is impregnated with melodies. But for me, color is more important and comes first in the creative process.
In a nutshell: I am a sound nerd. If cinematographers use a color palette to maintain a certain atmosphere during a film, similarly composers use a palette of timbres. I usually spend months researching the correct timbre of the film, so I can find a unique sound that only your film can have. Once I’ve built a template, I use it, so that I can achieve consistency and cohesion and create an immersive sound experience for the audience, which is much more important to me than having tunes to whistle. I want them to be moved and remember an emotion, not a melody. But I do use melodies of course!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh this is a difficult question. I would probably find it easier to explain how I would want to visit the city if I were a guest of someone for my first time here. I am a great lover of art, stars, fashion and nature. So I would start the day with the Getty Museum and then continue to the Griffith observatory and have lunch there, then a little hike down to Hollywood and from there stop for coffee in Jurassic Magic Cofee in Mid City, an art café that is really a hidden gem. If there’s time a stop at the Fashion District in Downtown and then I’d end the day at the beach in Venice watching the sunset. If there is time maybe consider a beer in North Hollywood at the Idle Hour at post-sunset . That would be a fabulous day.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh, there are so many. Starting with my family who since childhood allowed me to grow up in a safe environment and to dream. There are dear friends who have been there for me during the darkest periods of my life, and my thoughts go out to them as well. Finally, there are people who professionally have formed me, educated me and are role models for me. When I arrived in Los Angeles I was alone, knowing no one, lost in the middle of nowhere. Among them I certainly want to mention Lawrence Shragge, a gifted, talented Canadian composer and a delightful person. I learned not only to become a better composer thanks to him, but also to live and see life in a different way. I am grateful finally for the life that I have, there are people on this planet who have not had the good fortune that I have had and I really hope that I can help and dedicate myself to making things better, even in a small scale, but somehow make a difference for people who have been less fortunate than me.

Website: https://www.davidcerquetti.com/

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