Xuavage Love practices his craft with the goal of embracing art itself as his guiding principle. Drawing inspiration from transforming luminaries such as Jim Morrison, Prince, Robert Plant, and Anthony Kiedis, among others, his art is a form of storytelling from the energetically sovereign frequency of love. Ultimately, he just wants people to feel something when they listen to his music. He believes that too many people nowadays are numb and missing out on the pleasure of experiencing ourselves through our emotions and experiences. He invites everyone to join him on this voyage of love through sound, and letโs reconnect with our feelings. Check out his song KISS CASH and the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
XUAVAGE LOVE: Well I come from a city called the I.E in a small town called Redlands California.
I have always been around music my whole life my father is an exceptional drummer and musician. I always played sports so i never really got into music until I started hanging out with my friends after high school and they would always freestyle and do rap battles, and this gradually grew on me.
Then i moved to LA with my best friend Alec Groulx and we would record music on our iPhone with a 99 cent microphone the size of a carrot in our bathroom! Then over the years our expertise knowledge and style and overall seriousness for the craft grew into something much bigger and my overall passion to become a song writer expanded into something much larger than just rap and here we are today with KISS CASH.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
XUAVAGE LOVE: I have no training except for natural ear training from my father from him since i was young always testing me and asking me things about songs he would show me and testing my knowledge of the instruments and voices and harmonies i would hear and not hear. Its pretty much all just natural what I have accumulate dover the years. I have recently started taking singing lessons with a wondaful vocal coach. So, my live performances this next year will be off the Richter scale!
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name โXUAVAGE LOVEโ?
XUAVAGE LOVE: My first influences were Lenny Kravitz, The Lizard King, Anthony Kiedis, Robert Plant and Prince. My strongest influences would have to be Bob Marley for the mindset that he has and the messages behind his music then Jim Morrison aka the lizard king for his fearlessness and stage presence and Anthony Kiedis for his amazing vocal personality being so wide and range and experimental with his sound and lyricism within his story telling.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
XUAVAGE LOVE: iI just believe the music that God allows me to create has so much love infected in it! Itโs not about it always being happy or sad or angry itโs the love that is inside all of these feelings and thatโs what we can all resonate is with is emotions and feelings but still have love as the core structure of them. It sounds crazy but thatโs what they say is the new divine Crazy is the new Devine and this music is on Gods divine timing. Well, how would my personality describe my sound? One word infinite!! I mean some people have multiple personalities they say i believe i have infinite and i believe we all do itโs all about letting loose because theoretically we are all the same right? I think it can just get a little dangerous when you start playing into all the ways you feel, and act and one can lose themselves like an actor getting lost in their role and losing sight of who they truly are. Honestly though thatโs the risk Iโm willing to take because I love music and being lost in the music Iโve never felt more found! I believe thatโs when I can be a vessel from God sometimes and deliver a message that can and will make an impact on someoneโs life. Im not perfect in anyway shape or form but I rely on the infinite sounds and frequencies to guide my music through this world to have some type of healing effect within this atmospher.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as INDIE?
XUAVAGE LOVE:
You know originality is so hard to search for sometimes because of our past and current artist predecessors and the amazing art they have created and are still currently creating. So often honestly i juts go with what feels good to me and the souls that Iโm creating with thatโs originality to me! What feels good organically and naturally and if my subconscious picks up a melody harmony or some lyrics that someone mad have used in the past then I just listen to my heart at that moment and ask it how this feels and if it feels good i go with it and say F$$$ the rest lets rock out baby and give credit where the credit is due and say thank you to the creator! I mean it all comes from God anyways none of this is ours we are just vessels sharing a message we were blessed to inherit.
6. Whatโs your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles โ and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
XUAVAGE LOVE: You know to answer this question I just do what I feel artistically. The music is a form of all of these! But mainly music is free it cost nothing to write or sing and whatever i create is just what my heart was telling me to do along with my infinite personalities. I can say this i am touched more by the beat acoustic arrangement of a song that will mainly guide my intention behind the songs I write. All that being said it can be any of the above things:)
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
XUAVAGE LOVE:
I am completely overfilled with fulfillment with the music I am creating and the souls i am creating with! Now it took a while, but I can truly say I am receiving fulfillment and it is so balanced and that is what I am so in love with the natural law of the universe giving me exactly what I put into it itโs so amazing.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
XUAVAGE LOVE:
I start in all ways sometimes i just have it in my head other times the beat or just chord progressions from an in instrument can inspire a whole idea from a song.
I do love to collaborate with others i have an ep that i was able to release this year fully produced by Bondeyes an amazing artist and soul band even better friend!
Also, i have really connected with just an amazing producer, artist, Drummer Campbell Rambo who has taking my music to a new height helping me grow exponentially!
He will sometimes send me even his ideas and melodies and will build off of them and this is new to me inviting someone in within my melody process but this kid is something special and i fully trust his judgment and creative ideas! Be on the lookout for Campbell Rambo Hes coming in hot!
9. What has been the most difficult thing youโve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
XUAVAGE LOVE: The most difficult thing was dealing with people that have the worst interest for me and want to use me for all I have and leave me dry! Thats a whole different story 2020 was a year of removing the devils out my life to walk with God once again.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
XUAVAGE LOVE: You know seeing the release of this song and how well it did and is doing organically and the responses from critics and music specialist has been such a proud moment! I feel like i can finally say Iโm making good music and not just good real music! MOM! DAD! weโre doing it slowly but surely!
11. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
XUAVAGE LOVE: I donโt ignore it I just embrace it. You canโt make everyone happy or even like you, ya know itโs not for everyone itโs for everyone that itโs for. I truly am focused on just being me and if that means i have 100 loyal fans or 500 billion loyal fans I will be just as happy i am just grateful for the love and support its truly a blessing.
Everybody gonโ say something Iโd be worried if they said nothing
12. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
XUAVAGE LOVE: I mean I love creating at home and the studio because thatโs where you make what didnโt exist come to life :) There is nothing like it in the world when whatโs in your head or heart comes out to life in a frequency you can share with other soul YESSSS!!! that is priceless! But i will say nothing is more exiting then performing your magic live with other energies connecting and healing each other its truly a moment you wish you could pause and live in forever! The beauty though about should that exist in the present moment you can always hold on to that feeling and take it with you wherever you because we all share feeling and emotions so if you stay in the present, you can harness that and hold it with you :) I pray you do!
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