Conversations with KASIO

Today we’d like to introduce you to KASIO.

Hi KASIO, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was exposed to such good music at a young age. I grew up in the church so I’m quite familiar with gospel music. My mom and dad introduced me to funk, jazz, vintage R&B and soul music. I used to sing in the choir and I would imitate song covers on a Casio keyboard that I first used when I was a child. I say my musical journey as a whole started to enhance when I decided to pick up an instrument. I started playing a saxophone in middle school. I was quite a solid player as a beginner. I was better than most, and I would just start playing song covers on the saxophone. Sometimes I would make my own runs and licks try out different ideas. and I would put in so much time with it, I just started becoming a really great saxophone player. I played throughout high school played in the top band won a couple awards played in the top bands across my district. At that time I started making beats because a couple of my friends were making beats on FL studio, and I always wanted to use something where I could create my own ideas. So I just started making beats everyday when I get home from school or band practice. I decided to take music production, more seriously by the time I went to college and finished my first year.
I went to LSU for a year studying marine biology, but I always would skip class to just make beats and try to get my beats sold so I decided to transfer to Tennessee State University and just study music . I got accepted on a music scholarship for playing saxophone at Tennessee State University and I got my first placement with Fetty Wap, but since then it was quite a tough journey, learning the ropes of the music business and all that. I was producing for different artists in my hometown. And I started recording myself when I was at my last year of college and dropped my first project in 2020. Ever since then I’ve just enhanced my craft and found my sound and realize my music actually can change lives. It’s inspiring and a blessing to see. Anyway I went on a graduate with a bachelor of science in music my focus was commercial music, audio engineering, and music business. And I began my business I would sell beats, I would engineer artists and record them from time to time, and I Would also record myself. I’ve listened to so many different types of music it plays a part in my sound. Me learning an instrument just gave me a broader perspective it plays a big part in the music I create. It just shows how much I appreciate it and take time to learn it and become open minded about it. I’ve recently just dropped an 11 track project titled “Nice Guys Finish Last”. Out now on all music platforms!!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Honestly, no not really. I’ve just struggled to find that one big opportunity. I’ve worked really hard to try and get the right people to believe in me and my music, my vision. Some people just used me and took advantage of me. But I wanted to win and I was willing to be a team player. I thought that I would work as a producer for the rest of my life, I was just going to make beats maybe engineer a couple of artists. I never would’ve thought that I would be pursuing a career as a music artist. I just went through that journey of grinding and working on my craft. Finding my sound making connections, have opportunities come by and go away. Also understanding that you will always be the number one person that believes in your music. It all starts with you. It’s a long journey, learning the ropes of the music industry while you’re actually trying to stay in the music industry and not just for a couple of years for decades that’s not easy. It’s not a guaranteed that you will get your shot no matter how much you feel like you deserve it. You have no choice but to work for it. Anything can happen at any given time the thing that you need to focus on is preparation and learning how to be spontaneous and think on the fly. Learning how to be assertive and firm, but also humble and genuine. And most importantly, making sure your music and your craft is undeniable. These are things that you have to work for. These are things that you have to experience trial and error for. You will spend most of your time failing but having small gains. The losses I took didn’t feel like losses or even challenges. All I had to do was just learn and try again. All of my challenges I faced in my career was simply just trial and error.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My artist name is KASIO. I am a music artist, engineer, producer, and songwriter. I am also a saxophonist. I play all saxophones from soprano to bass so I gig from time to time. I went to school at Tennessee State university and studied music business performance and audio engineering. Everyone knows me as the producer and saxophone player because that’s what I started with. It took a minute for some of my peers to get on board with me being an artist. One thing that I take pride in is trying new things— experimenting with new sounds and effects. I want to utilize live instrumentation a lot more and find ways to make my music become more authentic, but also interesting. Not settling for one genre and being open-minded to collaborations that wouldn’t be expected. This is the time to introduce who I am and my original sound however, I don’t think my sound has reached its highest potential. So in order to reach for that, I have to try new things. Not necessarily follow trends, but be more open-minded to new things and blend it with my own originality. That’s pretty much the way music evolves in general to me. What set me apart from others in this sense, is how fast I learn and evolve. I’ve always naturally been musically inclined. It honestly doesn’t take long to learn a skill in music for me. All I need is a few reps.

Any big plans?
I want to be solidified as a true music artist, producer, songwriter, and musician. I see Grammys, Plaques, Sync and TV placements, Movie Soundtracks, touring opportunities, endorsements and sponsorships, US and overseas. I see the craziest collaborations with some the biggest music artists of all time. I see my music being played in marching bands. Radio stations spinning 5-7 songs of mine endlessly. Crossing over to classical and jazz music and becoming a composer. Just looking to see bigger payoffs in my career than what I see now. Like I said, currently I just dropped a tape on November 1 so right now I’ve been promoting that and getting visuals done. So I just wanna keep the consistency going. Every time I set a little goal for myself recently, I’ve exceeded my expectations every time. So at this point, I feel like this sky is the limit. And I need to turn it up a couple notches and continue to build that confidence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/_KASIO
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_kasio1?igsh=MXY4dTR0dm5zdWo2&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCZuf948g3fTy03kX0fgTuCA