R&B has another edition with the Florida-bred crooner, Casely. Born Jean Carlos Casely, the 22 year old is making waves with his hot single "Emotional." After attending world-famous Berklee College of Music on full scholarship, this classically trained pianist is a singing-acting-dancing-songwriting quadruple threat who embodies what it means to be a child of the 80s - his influences range from Prince and Michael Jackson to Death Cab for Cutie and John Mayer, and it shows. On 1985, Casely's debut album for Epic Records, we find a brave new artist bringing it back while bridging a gap to the future.

Check out his debut video "Emotional below and continue reading for our exclusive interview I had with the up and coming singer...


Melody: Tell me about yourself and how you ended up at Epic records.

Casely: Basically, I’m 22. I’ve been signing and doing music since I was about 6 years old. I’m a songwriter as well. When I was about 12 I started taking piano lessons. I started writing and recording when I was 14. I’ve been trying to get a deal for a very long time. It wasn’t just an overnight type of thing.

I released an independent album a few years ago called “I’ll Be.” I’ve worked with several producers like Jim Johnson and Develop. I’ve just been trying to spread my music out and trying to get deal for the past 8 to 10 years. I linked up with Diaz Brothers last March and we got into the studio and did a few records. I wrote and recorded “Emotional” and they brought it to all the mixtape DJs that they had a relationship with and knew [they put out Pittbull before Casely]. The response was really good and B96 in Miami decided to push the record and response was so great that they upped the spins to 70 to 90 a week. That got the attention of Epic Records and we had the meeting with Epic, everything was lovely and here I am today with a music video for “Emotional” and a single all over the radio.


Melody: Tell me a little bit about growing up in Florida.

Casely: You get the heat, you get the beach, you get the sun, so it was definitely an experience that I loved, that’s home right there. It definitely played a part in my music and the creative process.


Melody: How would you define your style or your music?

Casely: My style of music is definitely R&B at its core it’s very synthesized, very electronic. A little left field but it’s something brand new. I tried to set myself a part with this record.


Melody: Let’s talk about your hot single “Emotional”

Casely: You know the Diaz Brother, we were doing through some beats and we came across the one for “Emotional” and I said, ‘hold on, back that up, what that right there?’ I definitely do something with that. So I took the track home and then I started writing the first verse and the hook in the car. That was my little challenge to myself, if it was catchy enough for me to remember by the time I got out of the car. We recorded it and I was really excited about it.


Melody: What can we expect from your album?

Casely: You can expect a lot of high energy music, a lot of good music. I know everyone says they want to bring good music back but honestly this is it. It very vibey, get your neck bobbin’, and something new and unique. If your tired of the same old stuff on the radio, then you going to want to pick this up.


Melody: Cool, so who are you working with?

Casely: I linked up with Jim Johnson, he did a couple of record, Diaz Brothers, Infamous, and that’s it for right now.


Melody: When can we expect this album to come out?

Casely: Around May or June.

For more information on Casely, visit his Official Website or on MySpace

Labels: Casely, Exclusive