Today we’d like to introduce you to Cole Soileau.
Hi Cole, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started with video games learning how to play instruments through rock band contemplating if this is what I seriously wanted to do with my life forever before I actually committed to it.
I started out singing in Christmas programs when I was a kid but later around age 16, actually started trying to figure out how to record myself, and I was trying to make grunge rock but like reinvent it and make it new somehow.
But by 19 years old, I was already experimenting with my sound and really taking a crack at writing songs for the first time. By 20 years old, I had my first single release and then I ventured off to make a full length album of songs and it was just really experimental. This album was called “hide behind a smile” I’m currently I’m working on a new EP “Don’t Die” which is about to wrap up production soon in the near future.
I’m now 25 and a lot more locked in and I take my music career really seriously even still today.. but at the same time, I kind of forget how to be a professional.
When I was a teenager, I used to work really crappy jobs. I hated just to try to get by and overtime. This kind of took a toll on me mentally and physically enough for me to say I don’t want to work for someone else and I wanted to become something I wanted to become even if it meant like unstable income and suffering for like the first 10 years just to get it off the ground. Today, I’m trying to find ways to pay the bills while actively grinding out music and trying to release singles.
So yeah, more stuff on the way!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it definitely has not been smooth all the time. It used to be pretty horrific actually. I had been abused as a young adult and as a child, you know, like constant dealing with narcissistic people and taking hard paths because I felt like I had nothing left or nothing else to turn to. I used to be very vulnerable and I guess like certain men would like that too much as well. And I definitely got taken advantage of so you know just a lot of really bad shit like my mom passing away really fucked me up so that’s probably why I write a lot of stuff sourced from traumatic events or I don’t know the truth is so dark it becomes hard to admit and talk about and when I have to perform songs that are pretty triggering for me, it’s not easy to do and it’s just kind of very risky work mentally. I love that I’ve gotten to take my time with Music and hone in on my craft a lot with these last years. I struggle to find my sound because I often teeter on the edge of deep fake moments and a mix of authentic pain with whatever musical skills I can harvest from to create these songs. It took a lot of time to figure this game out and to get really good at it. I got really good at just trying to manifest things and next thing I know the rest is history. So yeah, I mean it’s been pretty hard as a kid and it’s getting easier as an adult because now I can focus more on my craft without disturbances and then all that’s left is my own worst enemy… Myself.
On top of all of this, I’ve had the entire world, doubt me, and then people turn around and act like that opinion didn’t exist. It sucks when you wanna show somebody your music and you just wanna cool interaction or just to connect with them and they say some really whack shit and it kind of makes you feel bad or maybe they insult you or maybe their opinion just strictly sucks. So I guess it’s more motivation to keep going and see where it leads because if people were telling me to quit, I feel like I would do the opposite of knowing what I know now. I’m like a walking contradiction.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve been known to aspire to be a well-known musician who mends a grunge/alt-rock/punk influenced sound scape with heavy melodies and extremely built tracks some more raw than others, and the soundscape really fluctuates, depending on the song or the topic. The goal was to push the heavily inspired sound into the spotlight by fusing it with something interesting and making almost like a new genre out of it or something. I guess you would call it a digital edge, nu-grunge with like often described as emo trap/hiphop tense cadences and darker themes finding a middle plane between cryptic emotional poetry and ranting emo rap/trauma core vibes producing open sound experiments all the way from songs that turned out to be accidents to songs that seem to serve a bigger purpose.
I don’t know I mean I’ve heard my sound has been pretty 90s in 2000s Influence and I can really see that because those were some of my favorite eras of music ever especially growing up. I was obsessed with Nirvana since I was a kid so I tried to start a tribute band like a long time ago but now I’m in one and we played gigs on occasion so I’m pretty proud of being able to use that obsession for good and I think what sets me apart from other artists is being able to have different avenues of musical expression whether it’s with instruments or songwriting. I’m kind of able to make it all happen myself with just a few people in my corner backing the project and it’s not really a commodity because a lot of people complain about not having the talent or some type of excuse but really they just haven’t tried. I think what’s so crazy is that I never actually really wanted to ever be an artist. I wanted to be a drummer at first and being in a punk rock band banging on the drums to keep the lights on. Probably because I’d go tell people to pick up a drum kit or want to inspire others to get into music, especially for therapy reasons and I felt really attached to that so it really just takes picking up a new instrument and trying a different dynamic of your songwriting because the skills are all transferable at the end of the day. It’s like.. dude just grind it out. I think I’m definitely proud of the persistence because life has been pretty whack until I started following my passions for real.
Oh, we’re just getting around to the good part, did I tell you I make music? Lol
I kind of just stick to the instruments when I need to use them and then I write the words when I feel them too.. I don’t know. I mean, I love making songs, but yeah, I’m a heavy audiophile and restless gamer. I guess I’m just trying to specialize in simply existing.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can find me on socials or get my contact relatively easy and it’s not like I have a whole fortress wall of management to breakthrough right now so opportunities can flood in. I invite them.
I have probably a little merchandise I could sell, but I really need some new designs.
The best way people can support me honestly is help the aligning to my goals go smoother and finding some way I can help them in the process I like making trades and I definitely like growing together with people and building relationships and doing really cool stuff so in that way, I feel like I picked the perfect industry to pursue.
Music is just like playing Arc Raiders you just gotta find people you can trust to not shoot you in the back when you make it out… I hate that game by the way I deleted it after someone stole my bobcat and aphelion with a loaded set up and everything and my friend disconnected out of the match so yeah I pretty much deleted the game after that. But you guys get the point.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Kim Farnel
Josh Datánt
