CAZWELL

///BY Michael Cook

What was the path to working with Luciana?
Well, I was about to go to Miami and I met a guy at Eastern Bloc and he said, “You should work with Luciana. I kinda know her: I could totally make that happen!” Then I went to Hawaii, and someone else said, “You should work with Luciana, I know her!” I definitely took that as a sign, and myfriend Ian, who does know her, got me her contact info, and my producer Fagault (or Russian duo Fagault & Marina) had sent me three beats, and we hooked up back and forth online, and we actually did not get to meet until the night before we shot the video! We connected really fast, we’re both Cancers, and our chemistry was great. It’s the easiest video I’ve ever done. It’s J.B. Ghuman Jr., the first one I didn’t really micromanage it. I trust him, and we shot it in L.A., so I definitely trusted him.
All of your videos are defintely unique in their visions. How would you describe your sound if you had to consider it a certain “type” of music?
That’s a tough one. I used to say, “If Biggie Smalls ate Donna Summer, that would be me.” My first record was very inspired by disco, and the more I worked with different producers, my sound changed. I definitely would call it “smart rap party music.” It’s not LMFAO exactly. [laughs] My music is definitely for smart people. I consider myself a funny guy, and my friends are all funny people, and I think that definitely shows in my music.
You’re doing a new track with Manila Luzon from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” right now I hear?
Yes! It’s called “Helen Keller.” It’s about when you end a relationship, and you need them out of your life totally, you can just “Helen Keller” them, you don’t see them or anything. Basically, if I say I “Helen Keller” you, I don’t see you, hear you, anything; that’s what the song is about, so it does definitely go into a somewhat darker territory. There’s also another drag queen named Roxy from the Danny Tenaglia, Junior Vasquez, late ‘90s era, and she actually sings the hook in the song. The track is very reminiscent of old-skool house music, but there are definitely some new elements to it also. Manila is also rapping in the song, and when she actually asked me to do the track with her, I told her that I really wanted her to rap, and she is great at it! I think “Helen Keller” is the most meticulous I’ve ever been, she actually recorded it twice with me, and I kept changing things. I produced the beat with Richie Beretta, who’s great to work with too. I just watched the video again today, and it’s really “witchy,” very old skool Eurythmics; that’s an era I really like. It should be out this month, that’s the plan. I’m just getting all of the parts mastered.
You just appeared on Bravo on “Watch What Happens Live” as the guest bartender, which is a pretty coveted spot. Would you ever want to perhaps experience your own reality show?
F**k yeah! That’s where power is; you’re really someone when you can get your own show, and you really get to sell yourself. Of course, I would like to have as much control over that type of show as possible, but I’m not really sure. I’ve talked to people about doing a reality show before, and it always comes down to what famous people you know, what glamorous and affluent settings you can put yourself in; 99% of the people watching this show are getting a peek into that world through your show. I have a very interesting life, but I think it may be tough to convince Andy Cohen of that! Like with “The A-List,” (which ran for two seasons on Logo), I met a couple of those guys in real life, and the way they were did not translate on camera, and they did not, in my opinion, come off as very “likeable.” I don’t know, I definitely think some people are better at that than others.
What’s next for Cazwell?
That’s a great question! I’ll tell you I’m going to be dropping a new video every eight weeks for the rest of the year. I have another short video coming after that, and then another
called “Captain Dogs” that I’m working on now. I have two videos that I’m working on while I’m editing two more. I’ve always been a single-based artist; I’m just trying to do that more frequently and do some catch up work. It’s tough for me to go back to songs I worked on for a full album and not want to change them when I’m ready to release the album. I do want to release an EP or an LP, but it’s all about the timing. I’ve sold out of all of my CDs, and I’m so fortunate. When people buy a CD, I try to make it a different kind of package: videos, a poster, all kinds of fun stuff. It’s a different kind of world. You definitely gotta make sure you keep it interesting!

cazwell.com