“Art is something unique and universal that brings us all together” – Sebastian Kole

The year 2016 was full of interesting new acts in the world of pop music and one of the most promising for the years to come is the Canadian singer Alessia Cara. Here – the first single of her debut album Know-It-All – was one of the most aired songs during the winter reaching the top position in Billboard’s Hip Hop and R&B charts, getting a double-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and taking Alessia to tour the whole world.

Behind Alessia Cara’s success there’s a relatively hidden figure, an amazing songwriter from Alabama that helped her shape the record and recently released his first album: Soup. We’re talking about Sebastian Kole.

Sebastian was born in Birmingham. His first approach to music came through church where he started to sing, and he also learned to play the piano and write original songs as early as five years old. When he was a teenage he started rapping and while being in college he started putting up his first shows with covers and originals. After getting his degree, he went back to Birmingham where he continued writing songs. His first great shot as a songwriter came in 2012 when a song he had co-written with a friend ended up being Goin’ In by Jennifer Lopez. At the end of that year he was signed by EP Entertainment/Motown and that’s when he started working with Alessia Cara. This year, four songs of Sebastian’s debut album were used on an equal number of chapters in Grey’s Anatomy which helped him foster his popularity.

In november 2015 Sebastian Kole visited Miami Art House for a songwriting session and he told us a little bit about his experience as an artist and his spiritual relationship with music:

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“Encuentra tu estilo, encuentra tu voz y síguela hasta las últimas consecuencias” – Leonel García

El catálogo musical de Leonel García es inmenso. Además del éxito internacional obtenido como solista y como integrante del dúo Sin Bandera, García es el autor de canciones popularizadas en todo el mundo por artistas de la talla de Thalía, Alejandro Fernández, Carla Morrison, Ha-Ash, Pepe Aguilar, Gloria Trevi, Jessy & Joy; entre muchos otros.

El álbum Hasta La Raíz, de Natalia Lafourcade, fue reconocido como Álbum del Año según la Academia Latina de Artes y Ciencias de la Grabación en 2015. El disco fue co-escrito y co-producido por Leonel García (en compañía de Cachorro López) y es una muestra más de la versatilidad de este compositor, cantante, pianista, guitarrista y productor mexicano; que encontró su vocación a una edad temprana y se dedicó a perseguirla sin descanso.

Hace unos meses, Leonel García visitó Miami Art House, y estuvo hablando con nosotros acerca de su experiencia como escritor de canciones, las similitudes y diferencias en los procesos de composición para sí mismo y para otros artistas y lo enriquecedor del proceso de co-escritura.

Leonel remató la charla aconsejando a los artistas jóvenes tener la paciencia necesaria para aprender su oficio y no dejarse obnubilar por las promesas de fama y fortuna que venden los medios de comunicación.

Los invitamos a escuchar la entrevista completa a Leonel García en nuestro Cuarto de Invitados.