Kelaska on “Old Ghosts”, Post-Pandemic Touring & More

artist interview

Jun 27

Kelaska, born Kelli Wright, is a Connecticut based singer-songwriter. After gaining a following of over 30,000 subscribers on her Youtube channel, she began to write and create her own music. Blending waves of current day indie pop and the nostalgic sounds of the 70s with relaxing nature samples, Kelaska has found her own unique genre of music.

Gulie Carrington: First question: who are you? (Answer however you’d like!) and why did you join the music industry?

Kelaska: My name is Kelaska and I’m a singer songwriter from CT. I’ve always loved singing and I’ve been writing songs since I was 8.

GC: Nice to meet you, Kelaska! What was your “aha” moment that made you say, this is it! My dreams are coming true? A first performance, a great song you composed, can you speak on that?

Kelaska: I think there were two separate moments for me. The first came when I started receiving really nice feedback on YouTube. It was so great to connect with people and see how much they enjoyed what I was putting out there. The second was when I released my first single, Bridges. I didn’t really know what I was doing yet in terms of releasing a song and getting it out there, but it made me feel like I was finally becoming a real artist.

GC: That’s awesome! I have to say, being in the pandemic and being able to connect with amazing creators such as yourself has been a huge benefit. I believe people are much more open to connecting and getting more comfortable virtually.

That being said, what’s life been like for you during the pandemic?

Have you done anything differently?

Kelaska: Absolutely! Honestly, I don’t think the pandemic has held me back too much, creatively. I’ve been able to livestream and create music just the same. It’s the live show aspect that I struggle with, just because I’m a homebody. So it’s given me an excuse to work on the strengths I have in the moment.

GC: that’s great to hear! Tell me a bit about your creative process. From start to finish, what’s your journey in creation?

How do you know when you have a finished product?

Kelaska: Each song starts in a different place. Sometimes there is a full song written that needs production, other times there’s just an idea. For the ideas, I’ll gather songs that resonate with what I’m trying to create and I’ll use them to make my own track to write to (with the help of my producer.) After the song is written, I get to see how we’re going to bring it to life. We try a million different things, some work, some don’t. You really have to trust your gut because a song is never really finished. There’s always something more I could add or change to a song. It’s mostly about deciding when to say enough is enough and I’m happy with what I’ve got.

GC: Interesting! The trial and error approach is my go to as well lol (although I am not musical)

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Kelaska: It’s a great method for almost everything.

Inspiration comes from a lot of different places. Some songs are things I’m experiencing in the moment, others are ideas from books or poems, and sometimes it’s sparked from something someone says.

Occasionally I’ll hear a song and think “man, I want to write a song like that” and I’ll do my best to write my own version of it, just for fun.

GC: That’s beautiful. What are you listening to lately?

Any projects have your attention at the moment? For me, I’ve been listening to OJIKAE’s 3033 EP. Hes an Australian R&B singer with the silkiest voice!

Kelaska: That’s awesome, I’ll have to check him out! Lately I’ve been just listening to a lot of the classics. I’m on a Paul Simon and James Taylor kick this month. I wish I had someone new to mention. I’ll probably think of something a couple days from now I should’ve said.

Maggie Rogers seems to be in the process of releasing something soon so I’ll be looking forward to that!

GC: Love Maggie!!! Same, my best responses always come well after the fact lol

Thanks Kelaska! Lastly, what are you working on next? What can we expect in the future, any new releases on the way? Touring?

Thanks so much! I actually have a new song coming out at the end of July called Old Ghosts that I’m really excited about. It might be my favorite song I’ve made so far. Im also working on some other new songs to be released the end of this year. Nothing is set up yet for touring, but maybe we’ll try and tackle that in 2022 🙂

GC: Sick!!! I’ll look out for it for sure. Thank you so much for your time!

Check out Kelaska:

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