Carly Gibert on New Music, Going With The Flow & What It Means to Be A 10:22 PM/Def Jam Artist
Today, 19 year old, bilingual Spanish-born singer/songwriter Carly Gibert comes through to share her story and shine a lil’ more light into the world in the form of a new Hype Off Life interview. As a rare and relatively new artist to the scene that bounces from Pop to R&B and House with an ease and clarity of vision that belies her age, it’s no wonder that Carly has already amassed a huge following and streaming numbers well into the millions.
Carly Gibert cites her bold approach to music as a direct result of her upbringing, which included Carly picking up a guitar at age of 4 and posting covers of Beyoncé and Adele on her father’s YouTube channel a couple of years later. By the time she hit her teens, she had already amassed a large social media following thanks to her velvety vocals, mercurial style, and quirky originals like “Lavish” and “LSD”.
Following the release of her latest single, “Beam Me Up”, we had the chance to chop it up with Carly for an exclusive interview, in which she got into her background, starting to incorporate Spanish into her songwriting, manifestation and more. So, get to know 10:22PM/Def Jam’s next rising star below, and be sure to tune into the journey @carlygibert.
Thanks for coming thru! How has 2021 been treating you?
Thanks for having me! 2021 has been pretty good so far. Lots of ups and downs and self-discovery. I've been in Spain since January working remotely, started recording everything on my own and found out that I actually love it. I've written some of my favorite songs during this period. I'm ready to go back to LA now though and start making things happen!!
So, you just dropped a new single, “Beam Me Up”, which has English and Spanish lyrics. How does being a bi-lingual artist give you a different perspective when writing songs?
To be honest I just recently started writing in Spanish. Growing up I was super insecure about singing in Spanish cause I hated my accent, I thought it didn't sound cool or natural, it was just awkward. I’ve been working on my diction and practicing more and turns out that I actually love it, I have other songs with Spanish verses on the way. It doesn't really change my perspective when writing music though, if there's something I want to say that sounds cool in Spanish I will just go with it. I don't think about it too much, I let it flow naturally.
In addition to incorporating different languages, you also explore various genres with your sound, like Pop, R&B and House. What similarities have you noticed all genres of music share?
At the end of the day it's always about what feels good. I listen to many different genres and I want to incorporate them in my music. I think it's all about finding a balance in between genres, not too Pop, not too House, not too R&B, just a bit of everything. The next song I’m releasing has a Hip Hop sample, I grew up listening to Jay-Z and Kanye so there's a huge Hip Hop influence as well. I want this to reflect more on my upcoming music.
Creatively speaking, which one of your songs challenged you the most as an artist?
I would say "delta waves", which is also one of my favorite ones. I wrote "delta waves" at the beginning of lockdown 1 and there was a lot going on in my head. It was also the first time recording myself on an original song and doing my own vocal production. One of my best friends from Barcelona sent me the beat and I re-arranged it and started recording on the same day. I don't know why but it felt so special.
Two million streams as a relative newcomer to the scene is very impressive. Why do you think your music resonates with so many people?
I just write about what's in my head and I like to think that people can relate to it. Writing songs that mean something and that are a 100% true to my life experiences.
What does it mean to you to be a 10:22/Def Jam artist?
Never in my life I would've thought that I'd be signed to 10:22PM/Def Jam. I got signed to 10:22PM when I was 16 and the trust they had in me motivated me so much. If it wasn't for 10:22PM I wouldn't have met my team at Roc Nation or Def Jam, so I’m super grateful. I share a label with some of my favorite artists which is crazy to me. It's amazing being surrounded by so many talented artists and most importantly great people and a great team.
You’re 19 now, with so much potential and so many possibilities ahead of you. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
I believe in manifestation. So, I’m just going to put out in the world that I’m going to be doing what I love always staying true to myself, having the most amazing fandom and going on world tours, working with my favorite artists, and basically getting everything I’ve worked for since I was a kid. Some random things I want to achieve 5 years from now, I want to perform at the Grammy’s, have my own clothing brand and of course have a few albums out.
Anything else we should know?
I have an EP coming out by the end of this year, which I’m super excited about!! I’ve had these songs sitting on my files for 2 years and I can't wait for everyone to listen to them. It's also my first project ever so I’m kind of nervous, in the best way. Before that I’m dropping another song august 20th, my favorite one so far, and it finally has a music video!! I know that my followers have been waiting for visuals so I really hope it does justice to the song. Very exciting end of the year ahead.
