We are so excited to welcome the multi-talented Atlantic Records artist CARYS to our On The Rise series! Today is release day for her brand new single ‘No More’! Check out our interview below and her new single here!!
For readers who aren’t familiar with you and your music can you share with us how you began your musical journey?
I started to write songs around the age of 10. I would bring them to school and shamelessly make my friends listen to me perform them at recess. As I got older, I became a little more embarrassed to share my music so I kept my songs to myself. My high school drama teacher encouraged me to put myself out there more so I posted 3 of my songs on Soundcloud and shortly after, I was approached by my first label! Put yourself out there! You never know what’s going to come from it.
Your new single “No More” is so catchy and dreamy! Can you take us through your process for creating that track?
Thank you! Gavin Brown, Ryan Stewart and I wrote this song in the beautiful city of Toronto. Ryan came in with a track and as soon as I heard it, I knew it was divine intervention that brought us together via the music Gods. The session just flowed so naturally. I remember feeling so emotional when we came up with “you’re not somebody I wanna lean on no more”. There was just this sense that it was going to be special.
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2HQeMbQzaM&w=640&h=480]
Growing up, who did you admire in music? Was there anyone who inspired you?!
My two huge ones were Avril Lavigne and Taylor Swift. Their music really influenced the person that I am today and I feel like you can hear a lot of their influence in my music now as well.
Being from Canada, did your location attribute to your music? Is your hometown musical?
I remember going to see a Toronto jazz band play last summer and left feeling so uplifted and inspired. Hearing live music is what connects me back to why I love it so much. I definitely want to make it more of a priority to experience more local music as venues start opening up again.
As a musician, do you enjoy taking part in artistic elements of your releases such as photoshoots, cover art, music videos, etc?!
It’s been something I haven’t always enjoyed because I do feel a bit outside of my comfort zone in those scenarios but the more I do it, the easier it gets! I feel like the No More music video is one where you can truly see who I am. That makes me proud. But my favourite part of my job is the songwriting, hands down.
What was it like waking up to 40m+ streams on ‘Princesses don’t cry’? What did the journey of that song look like from its inception to its release?
It was more like, waking up to 2 million streams after it being under 1 million streams for 2 years and being like… okay cool… but then a week later seeing it get to 3 million streams and getting suspicious like, who the heck is listening to my song? She just kept climbing! I traced it back to Tiktok and the rest is history. We re-released it as a single and made a music video and it’s given me so many opportunities I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise so THANK YOU, Tiktok, and to anyone that has been listening!
What does your typical songwriting session look like? Where do you usually find your inspiration?
I’ve always felt like I listen to a guitar riff or a track and when I resonate with the sounds I’m hearing, I just sing from my heart and work with whatever comes out instinctively. I am a strong vibe-matcher and usually, if I just trust where my gut wants to go with it, we usually end up finding messages in the mess of emotions and re-structure it until we have a song! My inspiration really comes from looking inward and all of that intuition was built by the music that shaped me growing up. It’s a very spiritual experience for me and where I feel most like myself and most at peace.
Being an actor & a musician, How do you juggle both worlds? Do you have any advice for other musicians and actors wanting to start out?
Both jobs are super unpredictable so you really have to be good with going with the flow. When I’m doing more music work, I do acting lessons to keep that balance and when I’m doing more acting work, that’s when I do a lot of writing because usually, I’m in a really present state. I don’t really have any concrete advice on how to make it work but if you wanna do it, find ways to do it! Start a class, post videos online, reach out to other actors/musicians you know in your community for advice, and build connections! As long as you put yourself out there, you’ll find your way. And keep a growth mindset because there’s a lot of rejection in both fields.
What would your dream role be?
I’m drawn to characters that are further away from my own reality because I find those the most fun to play with. I would love to be the antagonist in a superhero movie.
How have you been handling quarantine? Do you feel more or less productive?
At first, it was hard because it was all so unknown and my anxiety was hanging out way too often. But uncomfortable situations always bring growth as I try to work out feelings and patterns that I may have been previously unaware of. This has been a great time for reflection. Once I was able to accept the reality of the situation, I feel like it became one of the most productive times of my life!
Credit: Ryan Faist
What’s next for you? Can you share any upcoming projects with us?
I’m hoping to release the music we’ve been working on soon! We have a lot of songs ready to go but no official word on when they’ll be out there for the world to hear. I usually post updates on Instagram when I have them! My username is @carysofficial!
Lastly, being a musician where do you envision yourself being in five years?
I hope I’m still writing songs and learning and growing as an individual and as an artist. This feels like it’s only the beginning. Hopefully, I’ll have a fan base that can be learning and growing with me. I just want to be happy and share the love with people.
Connect with CARYS: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
