In The Spotlight: Cali Reed

Cali Reed knows no limits and wants you to cross boundaries with her.

Cali Reed's video for her latest single "Die Hard" is an intimate vision into the vistas of a talent dedicated to the business of musical production as much as audible art. Her talent with the technological tools of the trade gives Reed the personal power to decide what her music will do, combining rock, EDM, hip-hop along with influences worth loving...Nicki Minaj, Avril Lavigne, Missy Elliot and more.

Reed's motivation to make music began early. "I always felt like a musician, singing and writing songs, growing up with a musical family. They all played piano and sang, too." She had the talent to turn it into a career. "Around age 16 I was exposed to the whole creative process of the industry." To some, witnessing a money making, male dominated machine would scare them off. Reed felt no fear. "Seeing that filled my motivation."

An education in classical musical theory gave Reed the ability to improvise beyond mundanity. "It exposed me to classical music. I was always listening to elaborate arrangements from other musicians." This made a difference with her listeners, who can be used to the same boring sounds. "If a song does have piano, it is usually just basic chords. The audience appreciates it when you do more."

Like any real human being, Reed has interests that go beyond music. "I love food, cooking and gardening." If she wasn't a musician, she would do more of that. "I would be a chef and start my own my own restauraunt using sustainable agriculture, which is something I am very passionate about." She believes that our future success involves having a planet to be successful on, together. 

How can Reed's music be described to a person who has never heard of her? "It's pretty dynamic. It's different from song to song. I love deep spacy sounds so my music reflects rock and electronic. It can be very poppy...very animated." She avoids predictability."My music is pretty dynamic." Her influences grow from deep foundations. "Rock, pop, hip hop and electronic music." 

For anyone interested, studying professional music production presents a few challenges. Reed has advice about the hardest aspects. "There are two. One is learning it. You have these visions of what you want your art to sound like. And when your education, knowledge and experience is not quite there yet it can be very uninspiring to go there. The other thing is a lack of support. There are not a lot of females out there." 

What's the hardest part of her job? Not the music. "Promoting and selling myself as a product or brand." In Reed's business, the musician is like a bottle of toothpaste or can of beer, so personality mattters as much as talent. "You kind of have to have to be always 'on' and presentable. Always present on social media. Sometimes that can be a job in itself. It's required. Being an entertainer...you enjoy it...but there has to be limits."

While modern media romanticizes the lives of artists, harsh reality means every musician, even Reed, is taking what they're given because they're working for a living. What is a typical day for her like? "I don't think there is such a thing for me. I write for other artists as well. Other days it's time to focus on my own projects or recording or being present on social media."

"We want to be so authentic," Reed muses. "We want to bring life into our art. Putting ourselves on display seems counter-intuitive. Almost fake, in a  kind of way." When displaying her music she remembers that to an audience, what's old in her mind is different to their ears. "It's is all interesting to fans, friends, and family." The loved ones she trusts to witness the process of creation inside the studio inspire her morale. "They love seeing the process."

What is the scariest thing about working in the music industry? Self isolation can also be an echo chamber. "I would say when you are so one hundred percent behind a project and you don't get the response you respected. You start to wonder if you are biased because it's your own stuff." If a new creation is treated like an infant, an instinct to protect it is next.

"There's always a different reaction from all sorts of people." With emotional vulnerability comes unstable neutrality, and a negative response can produce a similar reaction. Reed worries about staying cool in the face of criticism, constructive or otherwise. "You think you are going to blow up over one thing. I think learning to realize you have a fan base and a giant group of haters there's going to be a lot that."

The video for her new single, "Die Hard," features inconic imagery representing time, creativity, finding freedom in music, and survival. While Reed's specialty is music, creating videos is a fun, seperate adventure. "It's pretty different in a sense that it could be anything. To me it's just transporting your music into a visual form." To Reed, the beauty in a mind can be heard, seen or both, it's just her job to manifest it for an audience. "I can appreciate an abstract concept."

Creating a song can be a journey into the mind for any artist. "It can start from either a melody or sound I hear." From that inspiration, she builds the track. "I'll put words and feelings to it later." Reed enjoys composing with a companion, too. "My husband I create together, starting with instrumentals." A happily married couple making music for a living? Even Romeo and Juliet are jealous. "I couldn't see it any other way. It's romantic."

Already experienced, what advice would Reed give to another aspiring musician? "You always have to start somewhere. The most seasoned veteran had to start with nothing." No matter how great, they all began small. It's a thought that keeps you humble. "That's just how it is. You have to take that first step and just keep on going. You just have to keep working at it." Be true to yourself. "Don't try too hard to be like somebody else." Work hard and keep dreaming. "Don't be afraid to be inspired."

What advice would she give yourself, if Reed had a time machine to do it? "I definately would have told myself about software and music production." Modern musical composition requires musicians to play computers, too. For some artists, finding the right program to make it happen is like choosing the best instrument. "I would hve been a prodigy by now. It's alot of work. It's not just playing music...you have to translate it all into a digital form."

Modern music still needs someone with soul to create it, even if the tools are widely available. "You have control. You also don't have help. You take from inspiration, do experimenting. There's a lot of tools out there that are laid out in front of you. There are different softwares. I had to learn about filters and track vocals," she says. Reed's extra work mattered, giving the artist more freedom than many musicians before her.  

As a professional musician, which part of a song is more important, the lyrics or the music? Reed shares her opinion. "I would say the music. Many younger people these days vibe to the song, but if they knew what the lyrics meant, it would be different." People dance to the beat, not the words. "I think that happens alot today with modern music. People don't pay attention to what's being said."

Reed promises her next album, one that she's only begun to write, will be something you don't get tired of halfway through. "It's going to be very dynamic. It's going to take from every genre. It's going to take someone on an emotional journey." Her future album will tell a personal, emotional story. "It's not just going to be a bunch of singles. There's an art to the whole album project. It's really fun for the listener."

She's young, successful and famous. So what's Reed's plan for the next five years? "Definitely to network as much as possible. I want to meet and work with so many awesome, talented musicians. I want to end up on an artistic world tour. Traveling to perform something that was made for the audience." Sounds like a beautiful life anybody would love to have.