Anie Delgado

00:02 Manny Delgado so happy to have you on 00:05 that every day enthusiast you are a 00:07 musician a social-media influencer and 00:10 we've worked very closely with you for a 00:12 year and we all know you're gonna be a 00:13 superstar one day a big one yes thank 00:18 you thank you 00:19 so you're an East Coast girl right 00:20 that's right I'm originally from Miami 00:23 Florida and then I grew up in a smaller 00:25 beach town in Florida called Melbourne 00:27 and then I moved to New York and I 00:28 finally made the leap in came over to LA 00:31 now is that to pursue your career as a 00:34 musician or like you know did you tried 00:36 in New York first and try that out as 00:37 well or what's inspired you to make the 00:40 move yeah I went to school in New York 00:42 for integrated Performing Arts and the 00:44 curriculum was heavily musical theater 00:46 and that's what's in New York so I did 00:48 that for a little I'm ended well I was 00:50 off-broadway a number of times and gigs 00:52 around the country but it wasn't really 00:56 my passion and music was always my 00:57 passion and so finally I was like okay 01:00 there's not a lot of pop music in New 01:02 York necessarily and so I decided to 01:04 move out to LA and also I hate winter so 01:07 that's so funny I've heard of you for a 01:09 year and I didn't know you worked 01:10 off-broadway 01:11 oh my gosh tell me a little bit about 01:13 that like like what plays for you 01:15 anything like people would know or 01:16 really need the classics 01:17 well my first my debut was actually a 01:20 Shakespeare play which Marian would love 01:23 I'd hear about nothing and then after 01:28 that I did a show that was developed 01:31 like literally from the ground up called 01:33 molasses in January and it's a musical 01:36 adaptation of a historical event when a 01:38 molasses tank exploded in Boston and 01:41 killed a bunch of Italian people so oh 01:42 my gosh really it's a really obscure 01:45 historical thing that happened during 01:47 World War one what that's really 01:49 interesting though so then so then 01:51 obviously you didn't you didn't feel the 01:54 passion there you wanted to create your 01:55 own original music so you headed out to 01:56 LA yeah I mean I felt kind of um I was I 02:01 was living the dream for theater like 02:04 for somebody so young like being able to 02:06 make money in New York City doing 02:07 theater and I wouldn't have you still 02:09 and I knew that music was my passions 02:11 that's why I came to LA and 02:13 was that like an easy start like getting 02:16 your way into the industry or like when 02:19 you first moved out here were there any 02:20 horror stories of like oh gosh I 02:22 shouldn't have trusted this person or 02:23 were people you know leading him down 02:24 the wrong path there's definitely been a 02:27 handful there's a lot of shady people in 02:29 the industry so when I first was out 02:30 here which was before I moved I came for 02:33 like three months I worked with somebody 02:34 who's a bit shady and it wasn't the 02:37 worst case scenario like I did a number 02:38 of songs with him but they weren't the 02:40 right kind of songs that I should be 02:41 making they were very like hip-hop not 02:46 really like authentic to who I am as an 02:47 artist and a person and so I ended up 02:50 cutting ties with him and then when I 02:52 came back out here I had a great 02:54 experience right away I met this great 02:57 producer named KJ Bianco um he produced 03:00 for the Jonas Brothers Demi Lovato with 03:02 harmony lots of people and he did my 03:04 first song galaxy with me so I brought 03:06 him the song that I wrote and then he 03:08 produced it and I worked with another 03:10 I've been coming pretty surname Nick Lee 03:12 he recently did stuff for stray kids 03:15 which is a really big kpop band I 03:17 thought yeah I've heard of them I've 03:19 heard of them lots of really good people 03:21 and I had an interaction with this 03:23 manager who was kind of a little bit 03:25 Katy I mean JD's a funny term in the 03:28 industry because so many people it's 03:31 just like a leverage game so you can't 03:33 really blame people when they're trying 03:34 to like leverage things from you and get 03:38 the best possible for themselves I 03:40 wouldn't call him shady so much is just 03:42 a little advantageous and so I could 03:45 type with him and then I met my manager 03:47 who is amazing her former husband who 03:51 passed away was actually the head of 03:53 music a PA and had a bunch of legendary 03:56 rock stars on his roster like Led 03:57 Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac and stuff and 04:01 so once I met Holly things have really 04:03 spent any take off so yeah it's been it 04:06 was easier I guess long story short it's 04:08 been easier than than acting it also 04:11 sounds like you have a lot more creative 04:13 freedom with your new set up here like 04:15 is that empowering as an artist and a 04:18 musician to be able to do what you want 04:20 yeah it's super nice so I'm an 04:22 independent artist right now we have 04:24 meetings kind of set up her for once my 04:26 next song comes out to release my EP 04:29 under a label hopefully and I'm aware 04:31 that once I get attached to a label I 04:33 might have to sacrifice a little bit of 04:35 my creativity to fit sales goals or like 04:38 the goals of selling records but it's 04:41 been really nice on this EP because I've 04:43 been working with a producer who signed 04:45 to a label and knows commercial pop 04:46 really well but he also does a really 04:48 good job of honoring like my own style 04:51 of music and creativity and I think it's 04:54 a TP that sounds the most like what my 04:58 kind music is so it might get like more 05:00 further commercialized but I think that 05:02 the sound is really authentic right now 05:04 how would you describe your sound like 05:08 how would you I mean would you say it's 05:09 a pop kind of sound you see she's she's 05:16 so popular guys everybody's just trying 05:18 to get her it's it's like dream pop with 05:23 arm being like influences so very much I 05:27 hope my goal has always been to make 05:29 something that's just a little different 05:31 than mainstream pop and so I say where I 05:33 fall differently is that you're getting 05:36 like really dreamy robust sound scapes 05:38 um included in like the typical pop 05:42 lyrics and stuff and I think I'm a 05:44 little bit more of an ethereal writer 05:46 this is so funny I was just about to use 05:49 that word at their Eli's like and I 05:51 listen to music it feels very relaxing 05:55 and also at the same time like there's 05:57 this a message behind the music it's not 05:58 like it's like it's easy listening but 06:00 it's also like it kind of pumps you up 06:02 in a way it's a it's nice feeling your 06:06 kind of music is a listener it's like 06:07 you know if the sounds are like moving 06:10 you and like doing something to you 06:11 emotionally and then you're curious you 06:13 listen to the lyrics and you're like oh 06:15 there's more there to discover 06:17 absolutely who would you say are your 06:19 biggest musical influences growing up 06:23 Taylor Swift was the biggest like 06:25 songwriting influence I don't think my 06:26 music sounds anywhere near her music but 06:29 I definitely learned how to express 06:31 myself through music from listening to 06:33 her music forever all right her music 06:36 has evolved so much 06:38 over the years she I mean she's 06:39 completely pop now I mean I love I loved 06:41 every album she's done I love the 06:43 country stuff and I love the transition 06:45 she's made it's it's interesting and a 06:47 you know she's really changed as an 06:50 artist you can see that and I mean do 06:52 you see that when she changes an artist 06:54 like you follow that and be kind of 06:55 respect that he's missed the old Taylor 06:57 oh I love it 06:58 um and that's I was just gonna say 07:01 that's all I can hope for for myself as 07:03 I even if my sound becomes a little bit 07:06 more commercial and pop I really 07:08 appreciate the way Taylor can like make 07:10 a killer pop song and if you listen 07:12 you'd release an album there's 07:13 influences from all over the place so I 07:16 think that's exciting I love listening 07:18 to all kinds of music and so I can see 07:19 myself putting all sorts of influences 07:22 in there I grew up listening to like 07:23 classic rock like Led Zeppelin which is 07:25 crazy that I'm not working there agents 07:28 for my wife and yeah I like what Halsey 07:33 is doing I like any artist who is in the 07:36 pop world what kind of breaks the rules 07:37 I like that I like that one you must 07:40 have also been a pretty big fan of you 07:41 know Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac I'd 07:43 imagine too and you're working that must 07:46 be so gratifying to work with the people 07:48 that work with your eros yeah it's 07:50 pretty crazy like my manager Kelly talks 07:52 about Robert Plant all the time and how 07:54 they're you know I like grew up 07:59 listening to this with my dad that must 08:01 be encouraging it's like you know you're 08:02 on the right path if you're doing what 08:04 they did now like when you were a kid 08:08 were you like really always passionate 08:10 about pursuing this like were you a 08:11 musical child as well or is this 08:13 something you kind of developed later on 08:14 yeah there sure there's plenty of videos 08:17 of me like walking around dancing and so 08:20 as a small small child but I got my 08:22 first guitar in fourth grade I heard 08:25 Stevie Friday with Lindsey Lou and like 08:28 one is peanut girl bands so bad and 08:30 that's when I started to like writing 08:31 songs and Taylor Swift came out like 08:33 shortly after and then that's when I 08:35 started like writing my own songs really 08:37 what do you play a guitar I didn't know 08:39 that here do you play any other 08:41 instruments I kind of play the piano but 08:43 like not I would perform pnn esse Sara 08:46 Lee but I use it to song right sometimes 08:47 because I took music theory 08:49 I know so like do you ever like play the 08:53 guitar on your own songs like together 08:56 or is it like you usually happen at 08:57 guitars play or do you do the 08:59 instruments and the vocals as well well 09:01 you know a lot of my songs end up being 09:03 really electronic and so it usually 09:07 writes out with me playing the guitar 09:09 when we're like in the studio working on 09:12 the song and then it ends up are usually 09:14 gets cut but like for galaxy for example 09:16 I obviously really electronic song but 09:19 that's started with like four chords me 09:20 and my guitar like sitting right here in 09:22 my living room 09:22 um and yeah I just didn't end up being 09:24 on the track but it definitely was the 09:25 foundation for the track so a fern 09:28 electronic song how does the production 09:30 work do it does it start with like 09:32 typical yeah you know instruments and 09:34 then you distort the sound or do you 09:36 know editing on it how exactly like do 09:38 you come up with the beat for that it's 09:40 always different and it always depends 09:41 on the producer like some people like to 09:43 work from a place of like coming from 09:46 like an influence like saying like oh 09:48 we're gonna make a song like this song 09:49 and so when I was you know for Galaxie I 09:51 played them the song on the guitar and 09:53 then the way that they started 09:54 production is saying her voice kind of 09:57 has similar qualities to Selena Gomez 09:59 and so we looked up a song that Selena 10:01 Gomez had and we kind of like took 10:03 inspiration from some of her music to 10:06 you know come up with what kind of feat 10:08 it should be the way that the pacing 10:11 should be of the song that's the 10:13 producer I currently worked with is an 10:15 incredible musician and he plays guitar 10:17 and is like a total wizard so the first 10:20 session we had he like just played 10:22 guitar for like almost three hours and 10:24 recorded things and use it used the 10:27 music programs to reverse the sounds and 10:29 and manipulate the sound so and so like 10:33 and are you in there listening to the as 10:35 he does the work and you're like that's 10:36 it like is there a moment where you just 10:38 like oh we found it yeah I mean we our 10:41 process has been different he's done my 10:43 whole EPS or four songs and every single 10:46 song has been a different process one 10:47 song 10:48 I literally just wrote on guitar and it 10:50 brought to him and then he made the 10:51 guitar more interesting sounding but but 10:55 the process that I was just talking 10:56 about he was doing that for about three 10:58 hours I was like feverishly writing new 11:01 in my notebook what was making me feel 11:03 doodling pictures and stuff and then 11:06 finally yeah we got to a point where we 11:08 were like okay we like this we like this 11:10 we like this and then we set up beyond 11:12 structure of the song and then so you 11:15 know once you complete the song I mean 11:16 you've done a couple music videos now 11:19 did you fund them yourselves like how 11:21 did you go about you know producing an 11:23 entire music video yeah I'm totally 11:26 self-funded right now so I'm a little 11:27 sprout when I produce things like music 11:30 it doesn't show it's excellent it's 11:32 really really well done the production 11:34 quality is so impressive Annie it's 11:36 really well done thank you and the one 11:38 that you told me you just watched that 11:39 was shot at YouTube studios I'm really 11:41 lucky because it was also my boyfriend 11:44 he has a YouTube channel that's really 11:46 popular and he I used that ability you 11:50 know to get into the YouTube studios and 11:51 we have the ability it's a great thing 11:53 that they're doing we got to use like 11:55 super expensive lenses super expensive 11:58 expensive cameras they're whole like 12:00 lighting situation so that music video 12:03 didn't cost that much even though it 12:05 looks really nice and then the other one 12:07 now let's see it I just threw a party at 12:09 my house over and like that's one way to 12:14 do it possible but going forward you 12:17 really want to try it you know be a 12:21 little bit more selective with what 12:22 we're shooting music videos for so I 12:24 love it if you're a real a DIY musician 12:28 you know and and the one for 12:31 kaleidoscope that was saying to correct 12:33 those music video it's a it's so 12:35 colorful and I mean did you also do like 12:38 the art direction for it and like the 12:40 concept for it like did you I mean 12:42 basically the visual concept for the 12:44 video is that your brainchild if you 12:46 will yeah my my boyfriend he's always 12:49 telling him he can come up with whatever 12:51 he wants and I usually end up being like 12:54 and so that was my idea 12:57 I saw a few photos that I really liked 12:59 online and I just decided that I wanted 13:01 it to be I've danced since I was three 13:04 two and that doesn't come through 13:05 necessarily my music career that often 13:07 and so I was like it would be fun to 13:09 just do like a really visceral dance and 13:12 choreography that's really human and 13:13 shows like what 13:15 means to connect on this level which is 13:17 what the song is about and then we got 13:18 this pool 13:19 they're like little filters that 13:21 crystals hidden from the camera and that 13:24 is what made like they're really cool 13:25 kaleidoscope effect interesting 13:27 interesting and obviously one way that 13:31 you reach your audience through social 13:32 media and I think you're an expert at 13:35 that of using social media to your 13:37 advantage do you have any tips for you 13:40 know up-and-comers like yourself who are 13:41 trying to spread the word if you know 13:44 that here's my new song here's my new 13:45 video check it out how do you use social 13:47 media to get the word out yeah I mean 13:50 first thing I'll say is that unique you 13:53 um I have a lot of artist friends that 13:55 don't really want us to come to like the 13:59 marketing end of things but it's so 14:01 important like the the fact of the 14:03 matter is like there's so much stuff on 14:05 the internet if you just put your stuff 14:06 out there and don't market it nobody's 14:08 gonna see it so I've ended up going 14:11 through like probably every strategy 14:13 known to man help on social media and I 14:18 went from it being super polished to 14:21 being like super not polished and 14:24 whatnot 14:24 I I would say the best thing to do is be 14:26 genuine and to connect with the people 14:28 who invest in you and that was where I 14:32 saw my movie successes and I heard this 14:35 from a person that I used to work with 14:36 I'm throwing my account the reason my 14:39 account grows so quickly and continues 14:41 to grow is because I'm always connecting 14:43 with my audience and for people who are 14:46 afraid to go out and put themselves out 14:49 there in that way because their family 14:50 might judge somewhere their friends 14:52 might judge them I had all of those 14:53 fears too when I first started but I 14:55 just did it because I got the advice 14:57 that there's an audience for everyone 14:59 out there you just have to find them and 15:01 end up finding them and then once I 15:03 found them I rewarded them for listening 15:05 to me and spending time on me by talking 15:07 to them and hearing what they had to say 15:09 and connecting with them so I think 15:11 don't be afraid don't be afraid and just 15:14 do it 15:14 you know and I'm sorry go ahead 15:17 there's just an audience for everyone no 15:19 matter who you are absolutely and it 15:22 seems like one key to your strategy is 15:24 organic interactions with your audience 15:27 and that's really the heart of the 15:28 hundra's you know social media can be so 15:31 esoteric and people just put things out 15:34 there and it's very brandi but when you 15:36 know you were a you know a musician and 15:38 you're directly connecting with your 15:39 fans and they know it's you behind the 15:41 keyboard there's a real organic feeling 15:43 there and it's a very special it's 15:46 really important I even have a good chat 15:49 with like my most engaged like top fans 15:51 and they've become friends even they're 15:53 all really sweet they're all from 15:55 totally different places in the world 15:56 somebody's from Greece Pakistan here in 15:59 LA Texas everywhere and I just check in 16:02 with them a few days and talk to them 16:04 and see like what's up and you know I 16:06 know all about them like I had one from 16:08 Italy who was experiencing like really 16:10 difficult time with the corona virus and 16:12 I can imagine yeah it's just really 16:15 creating a community out of your people 16:17 and that's what the tundra is all about 16:18 to have because you're you know I mean 16:22 obviously the industry at large has been 16:24 impacted by coronavirus but of have you 16:26 seen any I mean in fact I mean you 16:27 dropped a video during it I mean I've 16:29 you actually I mean I imagine more 16:30 people out there computers who may be 16:32 having a more uh more opportunities to 16:34 interact and engage with your fans yeah 16:36 I mean when this all started I was 16:38 really sad because I was supposed to 16:41 meet with Universal Records annoying no 16:44 no no and then we were like well 16:47 probably record labels won't have like 16:49 the budget or like maybe it's not the 16:51 right time to be doing this and then 16:53 there was a huge pressure to make music 16:55 as fast as possible but I was working on 16:57 a full project and so it always takes 17:00 longer than you want it to with like a 17:02 full album and we needed to find the 17:04 right songs and stuff and so there's 17:06 been plenty of obstacles even last night 17:08 I was just talking about how I'm so 17:10 tired of waiting I just want to get this 17:12 music out there and it's almost done now 17:15 and the first song is gonna come out and 17:16 about a month but yeah there's been 17:19 plenty of obstacles and what we're gonna 17:22 end up doing is releasing my first song 17:24 independently but then we know more 17:26 label meetings after the first song 17:27 comes out to to to see about like 17:33 releasing the rest of the EP with a 17:35 label and so you know it's nothing that 17:37 I couldn't overcome but it definitely it 17:40 has forever 17:41 like put a bump in the road and like 17:44 maybe reassess how you do things but at 17:46 the end of the day I think it's also a 17:47 great time because I had more time to 17:50 make the music and make the exact kind 17:52 of music that I needed to be making yeah 17:55 so it's been good and then I got an 17:57 opportunity to start working on songs 18:00 for sync licensing - during this time so 18:02 I'd have to say that yeah and you know 18:07 what any that meeting all those meetings 18:09 will happen and you know what I will you 18:11 have to find a silver lining and now 18:13 your music is just gonna be even more 18:14 perfect when they hear it next exactly a 18:17 believer and things happen when they're 18:19 supposed to happen even though I'm like 18:22 these happen I think nature will take 18:27 its course 18:28 so I'm not so the big EP or did you say 18:31 it's finished or it's almost finished 18:33 really close to being done I'm going in 18:35 on Thursday to do the last bit of it 18:37 it's four songs and you know we've been 18:40 working on it since like January so 18:42 exciting that it's fun and one can 18:45 everyone expect that job pretty soon the 18:48 first single is gonna come out in about 18:50 a month and then we'll have another 18:51 single I believe like two weeks later 18:53 depending on how that person dies and 18:55 then probably an EP within like two 18:58 months that is so cool all right well 19:00 just to wrap things up just one more 19:02 thing do you have any suggestions or 19:03 tips for other people trying to break it 19:05 into the industry I mean don't be afraid 19:07 and just to jump right in but anything 19:09 else that you want to share as an expert 19:11 here yeah let me think um there's so 19:15 much I could say I think this is gonna 19:18 sound very woohoo but like I think just 19:20 being genuine to yourself and true to 19:22 yourself and listening to your gut and 19:24 being present and everything that you do 19:26 I could give a million like technical 19:29 strategic advices like you know go on in 19:33 Instagram and not work with people or 19:35 whatever but I think at the end of the 19:37 day with the world that we're living in 19:39 with social media being such a prominent 19:41 thing if you're out there looking for 19:43 opportunities they're gonna come but 19:44 always listen to your gut on which once 19:46 or the right wants to take showers 19:48 people to work with awesome alright well 19:51 thank you Andy I need oh god oh she's 19:53 doing it 19:54 she's a DIY musician she's a superstar 19:56 we're watching her Thank You Annie so 19:59 much all right take care all right