Hello Gabriela! Welcome to RealStreetRadio! Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hey! Thank you so much for this opportunity. I’m Gabriela. I’m a 20 year old Latina R&B/Pop singer and songwriter. I was born and raised in Mcallen, Texas but am currently based out of Nashville, Tennessee to professionally pursue a music career. I’ve been making music for as long as I can remember and officially released my first two singles within the past couple of months. It’s been an amazing journey and I am extremely grateful to be where I am at right now as I continue to grow as an artist.
You are getting a lot of hype for your first two singles ‘Grow Up’ and ‘Sun & Earth.’ Have you done any music before releasing these two?
Thank you so much. Yea, it has been so exciting to receive as much positive feedback and love on these singles as I have and they both mean a lot to me. As I said before, I’ve been making music for a long time. I started writing songs at 8 and I’ve been playing music/singing my whole life, but within the past few years is when I started professionally pursuing music. In that time I was performing live throughout South Texas whilst making my most intentional music as I tried to find my sound and discover myself as an artist. I think ‘Grow Up’ and ‘Sun & Earth’ are both great representations of what I learned in that time and the sound I intend to build off of and develop as my own.
What convinced you to sing both in English and Spanish on ‘Sun & Earth’ ?
Coming from Latin heritage, my culture is something that I connect with and similarly draw inspiration from. When I started making this song it was entirely english and I felt it needed a more personal aspect. As well, while writing it I had a lot of influence from spanish artists I had been listening to at the time like Mana and early Shakira. I felt like blending the world between this new era of dark R&B/Pop and the Latin music I grew up with. Doing this made the song have a more well-rounded feel. It also added a dimension of myself that I felt was really necessary to the meaning, as well as to introduce as an aspect of myself early on in my music career because I am proud of my roots and they have a place in my musical background.
Which music genre do you feel the most comfortable with? So far, you’ve delivered a fusion of so many!
I like a lot of different styles of music so I tend to reflect that in my music but, if I had to pick one genre I would say I feel most comfortable with R&B. That’s mainly the genre I grew up finding myself falling into a lot more often, when looking for new music and even now when I’m just driving around it tends to be my default genre. A lot of my influences are R&B artists or artists that toe the line with that genre. I find myself listening to people like SZA, Lauryn Hill, Kehlani, Frank Ocean, Miguel, Masego, and many more within this realm of music.
Like I said in my previous question, you serve a fusion of sounds, what inspires you to create such unique music?
Writing music has always been a very cathartic form of self expression. It’s something that I have done for almost all of my life and that I find a passionate joy doing. Likewise, music as a whole is something I love to indulge in, whether it be through finding new artists or listening to the great legends. It’s something I try to keep up to date with and as I age so has my taste in music and my musical palette grown. I like to learn from what I listen to and I often take ideas from a plethora of genres/artists. I try to use aspects of different forms of music theory and songwriting styles from a wide range to highlight my own thoughts and ideas often through melding them as one. I think in much of the history of music what is universally connecting is music that pushes the envelope enough to make you feel something. The idea of that excites me and it’s what I hope to accomplish.
Who are the artists you look-up to?
Off the top of my head one of my biggest artist inspirations for me is Taylor Swift. Her form of storytelling-songwriting and how she came into music played a big factor in what pushed me from an early age to want to pursue music to do just the same. Similarly, I also look up to her because of her fight for equality for women in the music industry and artist rights overall. Other artists that inspire me are Daniel Caesar and SZA. Daniel Caesar’s “Pilgrim’s Paradise” and SZA’s “CTRL”, helped me realize that the kind of music I wanted to make was R&B. For a long time I was discovering my sound and the interesting instrumentals within these elaborate and enticing works paired with raw/relatable lyrics felt very fitting for me.
Will you tell us about your future plans? What’s next for Gabriela in 2021?
In the future I look forward to putting out a body of music that has a lasting effect on people. I hope to continue to push boundaries and connect with all walks of life through the medium of music. In 2021, I am excited to continue to put out new music and to be able to have a more interactive experience with listeners. There’s a lot of surprises on the way and more than anything I am just consistently grateful to be able to do what I love. I will be keeping fans/followers up to date with all things music, releases, interviews, and videos as it comes via all social media platforms. I think 2021 has a lot to offer and I can’t wait to share more of my music with the world!