Music Star Natalie Del Carmen On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry
An Interview With Guernslye Honoré
Journaling is songwriting without the pressure to potentially make it public– I’ve been keeping a journal since high school, and writing casually like that has weirdly offered a lot of ideas to jump out at me. It’s a similar process to writing lyrics, but there’s way less pressure to get it right.
As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Natalie Del Carmen.
Natalie Del Carmen is a 22-year-old musician, songwriter and artist native to Los Angeles. Her musical path has been an acute exploration of the Folk-Americana genres, interwoven with some exciting detours into the realm of pop music at a former time.
Her debut 11-track album, Bloodline, was released in March 2023 and delves into themes of fleeting love, diligence and the passage of time. Working alongside BruNjo down Nashville, TN in the project’s entirety, the title track, “Bloodline,” pays homage to her love of the Nashville terrain, and remains a heartfelt ode to cherished individuals who have played pivotal roles in her life.
Del Carmen’s succeeding EP, Tandem Songs, signals a shift in her musical direction toward the warm embrace of Americana. “Achilles’ Dire End,” produced by Billboard Chart-Topping engineer and songwriter Zack Burke, is a playful tune that explores one’s willingness to love, while “Hollywood Reviews” delves into the modern-day phenomenon of excessive screen time and the insidious habit of comparing one’s life to others in the digital world. Traveling back and forth from LA to Nashville in the summer months, she was lucky enough to work with Wyoming native, Coburn Larsen, for a second time to create “Love in Vain.”
Having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA at the age of 21, she immersed herself in the art of Songwriting. Natalie is currently working on her next project in LA, and dedicates many of her waking hours to mastering her new favorite instrument: her grandfather’s 1930s banjo.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in the valley of LA County, and I don’t think I’d trade those formative years for anything. There’s something to be said about being raised somewhere that is so dynamic, and that isn’t just in the music space. The wide diversity of food, people and activities in LA kept me excited, wide-eyed and consistently creative as a kid. When I think of exploring music now, especially here, I think of family, too. My origin story really revolves around growing up in a household that celebrated music and art. As a kid, that meant having invaluable opportunities like piano and vocal lessons, and an unwavering support to spend a lot of my days teaching myself guitar on YouTube. As an adult, I think of how grateful I am to have been so supported in discovering music, and that supportive environment absolutely, in part, led me to where I am today.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did your journey begin?
What led me to take music seriously was when I finally encountered Folk music. When it comes to things you love, I believe some passions are seeded within you deeply, but I know a lot of what I aspire to and chase comes from the inspiration of watching someone else do it so well. There are obvious memories of deciding to take music seriously, like when I heard Gregory Alan Isakov’s This Empty Northern Hemisphere album for the first time. There were also logistical things– learning how to fingerpick, analyzing songs I loved and also reflecting on why those songs worked so well.
Ultimately, though, I pursued music for a dual belief: it was something I felt good at and also passionate about for the long haul.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I love The Lumineers, especially around 2016, and I had just started getting into making demos and experimenting with recording. I attended their show down here in LA at The Fonda with a close friend, and Wesley Schultz ran through the crowd during the set and just happened to stop and sing right in front of me for a bit. I think that was the first time I was truly starstruck.
It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
While I don’t think it’s been a super public mistake (or so I hope), there’s definitely a level of songwriting that I aspire to that can sometimes lead you into writing more like a thesaurus than a normal person. Poetry is a huge part of my life, I think that’s why I feel that way. For songwriters (or any writer, really), I trust there’s an underlying pressure to come up with new, innovative ways to talk about the same concepts that have been written about a thousand times over.
Even still today, but definitely starting out, I’d bring demos to trusted people in my life who would kindly point out words that didn’t mean the definition I thought they did. That led to a lot of my ideas getting lost in translation, but it’s fun to laugh about that now. It always brings me home to the idea that I should continue to write things that simply come in flow, and not always because I found a cool, “big” word to make something out of. But hey, I’ve learned a lot of new vocabulary by just being open to trying.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My parents are two people I owe endless gratitude for. They are hard workers who set an example for my brother and me every day. The love they give is unconditional in every department of life, and they both have wonderful views about being a young adult and what it means to just be getting started out career-wise. Within music, Ilona Tipp is someone I don’t think I thank enough every day. She was my vocal teacher during my time at Berklee College of Music, and she completely transformed my voice on a technical level. She altered my diction and health of singing so drastically, and beyond that, she is just a light. She believed I could achieve something before I even knew I could. We got randomly paired together at Berklee, and sometimes you just have to thank the world for the people you meet along the way.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Tell us a bit more about your new single “You Weren’t Even Listening.”
This year in 2024, I’m on the single-release train. Last year, I released an album and an EP, and it was so fulfilling to be able to get those songs out on bigger projects. “You Weren’t Even Listening” is the first stop on that train this year, and it’s an upbeat, long-winded tune that I’m proud to release at the start of 2024. I challenged myself in 2023 to write music that had more humorous undertones, and to have fun with what I was writing in general. This song came about during that experiment, and it’s ultimately one that reflects on a relationship far past its end date. The tune was produced by Zack Burke here in LA County, and I hold a lot of fun memories from those sessions together on this song. Getting to work with him is consistently enjoyable.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Diversity that is represented in music and media is absolutely multi-faceted. The first thing that comes to mind is the range of perspectives that diversity brings within art– the endless stories and personal experiences that might otherwise go untold. Writing or showing individual experiences challenges a lot of stereotypes and helps to bring a level of open-mindedness as well. I also trust that diversity within entertainment encourages future generations of people to continue in that same pursuit of career and excellence for more representation in groups of talent. The presence of diversity in entertainment also means having a better sense of identity and belonging as well, especially in the art realm. People every day turn to music, art and entertainment to feel a sense of inclusion and connection, and prioritizing diversity absolutely plays a large role in that.
As a successful music star, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated? How do you overcome obstacles in your career?
Continuing to stay motivated and excited about my path forward is something that I dedicate a lot of thought and gratitude toward every day. There are some days when your wins are huge and that path forward is straight and wide, and other times when things feel slow, winding and narrow. On the times when feeling motivated is harder, I trust that life is long (if you’re lucky) and that good things come in waves.
Sometimes an obstacle can be as simple as being told that music is not a true career, or a stable one at that, and just working through that pressure that other people put on you is half the battle. I remind myself that I am only me every single day, and I don’t know what it’s like to be somebody else. There is beauty in that because life is a slow unwind and all you can do is be proud of what you pursue every day. Some things take time.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
1 . Journaling is songwriting without the pressure to potentially make it public– I’ve been keeping a journal since high school, and writing casually like that has weirdly offered a lot of ideas to jump out at me. It’s a similar process to writing lyrics, but there’s way less pressure to get it right.
2 . A fanbase is never too small– Getting a message from someone I know (or have never met) about the music I make is never small. Cherishing people who see something in you and reach out will always inspire you to keep going.
3 . Learning the basics of how to create a simple demo is life-changing– In the times I’ve graciously gotten to work with producers and engineers, a solid demo helps someone understand the direction you want to go in for a song you have in mind. Only you can hear it in your head!
4 . If there’s an artist or song you unexplainably love, study it– The times I’ve felt a push in my songwriting into a new direction was when I analyzed my favorite songs and why they work so well.
5 . Not everyone will always understand you– and that’s really okay. It’s an age-old message, but surrounding yourself with people who want good things for you is huge. Maybe it’s someone who completely gets every facet of your life because you’re just that similar, or maybe it’s someone who just wants you to be happy. They’re both important.
Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you approach songwriting? How do you approach musical collaborations?
While I’ve always wished my creative process was consistent and daily, I sort of don’t mind that it isn’t. I think the gears are always turning– if you have the urge to write a lot of music, I’m sure there’s a good amount of stuff going on in your head at any given time. I do journal every day with random thoughts, but my approach to songwriting comes when I’ve felt a resolve about something and I feel like I have enough to talk about. It’s always me and a guitar, and I’ve written 90% of the music I’ve released in my childhood bedroom in LA. I’ve gotten to work with Wyoming native Coburn Larsen a few times now and he is the epitome of natural, God-given talent. Working with him in the past has been wonderful because I think the songs came easy and we listen to a lot of the same music by chance. Our ideas tend to overlap when it comes to producing the song, too.
Your music has resonated with so many fans worldwide. What do you believe sets your music apart?
While it started as something I felt unsure about, I write very conversationally and I think that is something I’m really proud of. I first got the hunch to do that from Alec Benjamin– his music is so individual, like listening to someone talk, but it all rhymes. Sometimes there’s a pressure to be poetic and write something that people might have to dig for, and while I love doing that, there’s simplicity in a stream-of-consciousness song. I hope that my music is relatable that way, even if it’s wordy.
How do you connect with your audience?
Social media is a whole other part of being an artist, but I do love making content. Video editing was one of my first passions through YouTube, so that has translated well to TikTok and such. I like to put all the music content out and think of fun ideas that surround the release of the song as much as I just like to film my day-to-day. Going to a session, running an errand. I think it’s great to connect with people through the music and outside of it.
With your busy schedule and demanding performances, how do you prioritize self-care and maintain a balance between your personal life and career in the music industry?
My family has always considered me to have a very structured personality, and I think that has helped me a lot when it comes to balancing my personal life and career goals within music. Making a set time for whatever I am dedicating to on a given day has been very helpful over the years. I don’t often do work-related tasks at night, and save that time for writing or personal projects. I’ve found that having set time limits and personal deadlines works well for me– if I get a slice of every area in The Pie of Life each day, I feel good.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I’m very keen on supporting today’s independent artists by continuing to offer ways to have strong platforms, fair compensation and more innovative ways for listeners to discover smaller artists like myself. Besides that, and while perhaps an ongoing movement in life, I think pushing for kindness and inclusion is huge for me as well. Both of those things might be considered core values, but they stem into so many areas of life, whether you’re a child, teenager, or adult. I mentioned earlier how you only know what it’s like to be yourself in the life you experience, so having compassion for others (especially online), and having an open-mindedness for inclusion is really the center of the relationships we have with others.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
It’s an exceptionally close tie between the songwriting prowess of Brandi Carlile and Izaak Opatz. The two of them are masters of their own craft (in my eyes) and just inspiring individuals all around. Carlile and Opatz are two people who write the kind of music you just can’t believe exists.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
You can find all my music and future endeavors at www.nataliedelcarmen.com !
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About the interviewer: Guernslye Honoré, affectionately known as “Gee-Gee”, is an amalgamation of creativity, vision, and endless enthusiasm. She has elegantly twined the worlds of writing, acting, and digital marketing into an inspiring tapestry of achievement. As the creative genius at the heart of Esma Marketing & Publishing, she leads her team to unprecedented heights with her comprehensive understanding of the industry and her innate flair for innovation. Her boundless passion and sense of purpose radiate from every endeavor she undertakes, turning ideas into reality and creating a realm of infinite possibilities. A true dynamo, Gee-Gee’s name has become synonymous with inspirational leadership and the art of creating success.
