Caden Jester Talks Musical Background, Challenges & New Track Inspiration [Exclusive Interview]

Rising into the music industry is no easy job. It comes with challenges, changes and sometimes even disappointment. But it also comes with a lot of fun, fans, and awesome music. This time, we asked rising Dj and producer Caden Jester to take us through this journey and talk about juggling life and music. Although he is still in his youth, the artist has a complex background and his original productions are starting to catch attention. Here’s what Caden told us.

RaverRafting: Hey, there! Can you tell us everything about your musical evolution so far? You’re very young and yet there’s a lot of attention on you right now!
Caden Jester: Of course! Originally, my dad got me into producing when I was very young. I was messing with keyboards and drum machines ever since I can remember. When I was 10 years old, he showed me Garageband, and that was the spawn of my musical journey. Since then, I’ve made pretty much any genre you can think of. I started with pop/hip-hop stuff that I heard on the radio, then I started making electronic stuff, mocking artists like Basshunter, Skrillex, Deadmau5, Avicii, etc. I got really heavy into dubstep from when I was about 13-15 years old, then moved toward future bass and was just experimenting for a while. Then, when I was 16 I started making the pop/EDM sort of stuff you hear me releasing today. I think having such a wide background in producing different genres really allows me to have a lot of freedom when working on a track, cause I can basically do whatever I want. I definitely plan on evolving my sound over the next couple years (and onward) however, you can definitely expect there to always be a catchy pop element to it.

RR: Talking about attention, isn’t it difficult dealing with it on a daily basis? How much do you feel your life has changed since you began producing? Are there any things you had to say goodbye to?
CJ: Honestly, I don’t really have that much attention to where it impedes my daily life. But, when I do get noticed on the streets, I will say it feels verrrry good to know that people know who I am. Online, though, I have had to keep my personal life and music life somewhat separated, that’s really the only thing I’d say I’ve had to “give up” because of it.

RR: What is your biggest challenge when it comes to your career?
CJ: Staying positive. It can get really hard going through writer’s block and not being able to make anything, paired with all of my other responsibilities as a son, sibling, student, boyfriend, etc., so just pushing forward and working on music every day and staying positive about it really is the hardest part. There are days where I want to just drop the whole music thing and just pursue a normal career or whatever, but the thing that keeps me going with music is my love and passion for it. I’ve been doing it for 10 years and still have not quit, nor do I ever plan to (even when I’m in a negative mindset about the whole thing).

RR: Certainly, it must be overwhelming seeing support coming your way from all over. What are the things that keep your feet on the ground?
CJ: Knowing where I came from and who has supported me from the beginning really helps. Also, in my head, I am just a normal 20 years old doing normal 20-year-old things. I go to school, I hang out with my friends, I have a girlfriend, I drive my siblings around to soccer practice occasionally. I don’t feel any different than anyone else. I just happen to make music, and people happen to like it.

RR: Musically speaking, how did your particular sound evolve over the time? Is there something you want to experiment with but are yet to do so?
CJ: Since I elaborated on how my sound has evolved so much in the first question, I’ll answer the second half of this question. I really want to release music with my own voice on it. I have been singing for about 2 years now (actually practicing), and I even have a couple tracks with my own voice. I have gotten very good feedback on them, and people have told me that they are their favorite tracks of mine. I’m just a bit cautious to release them because I can’t see myself getting up on a stage and singing for an audience just yet, my voice is defffinitely not that reliable yet. Plus, those songs are in a bit different style as well. There is no “EDM” element to them, they are straight up pop/r&b tracks with my voice. And I’m not sure if that’s something my fans will be receptive to or not. But, I know one thing for sure: they are good tracks, and while maybe not everyone will like them, the right people will like them.

RR: Let’s talk about “Serpiente”. Tell us, why choose a Latin influence?
CJ: I was born and raised in San Diego, CA. There is a huge latin community here. My mom is Colombian, and most of the family I see on a regular basis is Colombian. I have always loved Spanish music, and I even speak a good amount of it. Doing a Latin song is something I’ve always wanted to do, so I did it. It’s really that simple.

RR: What would be your dream collab?
CJ: Honestly, there are so many talented artists that I want to work with, I really couldn’t pick just one. If I’m allowed to pick a couple (which I hope I am!), I’d pick John Legend, Miguel, Daniel Caesar, Maluma, Disclosure, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Skrillex, and Diplo. There are definitely more, I just don’t want to write 6 pages of my dream collabs lol.

RR: Any future plans?
CJ: For now, I’m just going to keep making music and going to school. I also want to start doing shows sometime in the next year or two. Ideally, music will eventually take up such a huge part of my life that I physically cannot be in school anymore. I want to live and breathe music for the rest of my life. But until then, I will keep doing as I’m doing, as it seems to be serving me pretty well.

You can listen to Caden Jesten’s new track “Serpiente” below. We thank Caden for taking the time to talk to us and hope to hear many good news from him in the future.

Connect with Caden Jester:
https://www.facebook.com/CadenJesterMusic
https://twitter.com/cadenjester
https://soundcloud.com/cadenjester

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