I don’t know about you, but when I’m experiencing a complicated emotion that anchors me down, I’ll often turn to music. Depending on the type of emotional state I’m in, I’ll put on that perfect song or album that catalyzes my ability to express those heavy emotions. This is an unparalleled capability of music: Providing listeners with a type of support that shows them they’re not alone in their experience.
For Argentinian-born and Toronto-based singer-songwriter Sebastian Javier, this musical capability is the foundation for the ways in which he hones inspiration and engages in music-making.
The blended pop, R&B and Latin-influenced singer explains that about a year ago, he logged on to a Zoom call with his team to start the process of making what would become his most recent single “Pretend” (2022). They engaged in their usual opening chat to situate themselves as a team on that day. Sebastian describes, “Specifically that day, I was feeling pretty numb to emotion. I just felt for the past couple of months at that point, I’ve been pushing off my emotions. That brought the concept of: Why do we pretend like we’re okay instead of dealing with what we’re going through?”
The song’s concept was found. Sebastian went on to say that the musical production and the rest of the lyrics’ prose were created in an hour. He points out, “It felt very natural. Certain times, sessions will go on for a while, but I’ve learned to not force things to happen. If they don’t happen naturally, then it just wasn’t meant to be that day.”
“Pretend” speaks to the journey through denial and then acceptance after a breakup. It just so happens that after this track was created, Sebastian went through a breakup himself. At the same time, he moved into his first house and had been spending a lot of time alone with his thoughts and feelings. The singer referred back to his newly constructed track and was reminded to let himself feel and to be okay with those feelings.
“I think it was a perfect time for me to really be with myself, understand how I was feeling and validate myself. I started therapy and started talking about how I was doing. All of these things mashed together to now feel more comfortable on the daily.”
Sebastian stresses that we need to give ourselves permission to feel in those hard times, rather than just pushing it down and ignoring it. He explains, “When you suppress it, it comes out differently. It’s always there, even if you pretend like it’s not. So dealing with the emotions really opens you up so much more and you realize how much you were hurting. A lot of it is invisible, until you deal with it.”
The singer reflects that the beautiful thing about storytelling in music is that “you can be wherever you want to be and listen to specific songs with different stories.” Unlike film or TV, the auditory and imaginative nature of music enables listeners to personally connect with the songs themselves and form their own stories.
Sebastian encourages his listeners to attach interpreted meaning to his music, but the songwriter’s tracks are still rooted in lived experiences and intimate perspectives. When asked what it’s like putting his life on display for the world to see, Sebastian expresses, “It’s wonderful. I think it’s freeing to let go and let things be.”
Sebastian approaches inspiration openly and honestly. The singer says, “There’s no specific thing I need to do to feel inspired. It just comes and goes.”
Inspiration can find us at any moment, but it’s how we hold onto that inspiration that leads to creative flow. Sebastian defines how he maintains his inspiration: “[Being in] a good mindset really [helps] me. So, creating good habits like meditating, running and doing all these things that help me stay present [allow me to be] inspired. When I’m present, I feel like I can talk about things and think clearly which leads to better songs. I mean, again, everybody’s very different. I think it’s interesting how others experience inspiration, but to me, I need to feel present to feel creative.”
Since signing to Elektra Records last year, Sebastian’s digital platform and devoted fanbase has only grown. Having signed to the major label right before the pandemic hit, the emerging star has had an unconventional introduction to the mainstream operations of the music industry. He explains, “It’s been incredible getting to meet all these producers, writers and the team at Elektra. It’s just incredible. There’s a lot of new people coming in and out, but the core team of mine, I adore and I’ve loved the chance to meet them and get to know them and collaborate.”
Sebastian plans to jump off from his evolving platform at Elektra to experiment and make new music, get back to touring, and play at music festivals. Beyond that, the singer contemplates tapping into his other creative passion of video-making as he moves forward in his career, jump starting his YouTube channel once again. Starting in 2014, the singer first captured international audiences on YouTube by posting vlogs in English and Spanish, covers and original songs. Catch his most recent Spanish-speaking video here!
On the precipice of an expanding musical career, the star is hopeful and forward thinking. We winded down our conversation with some good old fashion dreaming. Catch Sebastian Javier in his dream destination, Japan, for a performance, combining video and music-making, and being featured at music festivals. Manifesting energy on and hearts open to whatever comes next!