An Interview with Gen Z Musician, Declan Cashman

In the wake of the release of 13-year-old singer-songwriter Declan Cashman's latest EP release, we sat down to discuss the good, the bad, and the interesting about being a Gen Z musician. Stream "3" here.

Calm Down Magazine: Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Declan! What does making music mean to you? How did you decide that you wanted to undertake the challenge of releasing an EP at the age of 13?

Declan Cashman: Music is my life. It’s my way of communicating with people—I can touch people’s emotions or make them think about their own life. It’s a creative process for me—I can take sound and lyrics and turn it into something beautiful—even in my bedroom! I decided that I only have one life and wanted to make the best of it. I always felt that I had to wait until I was older to release my music because I thought I needed a whole team, that is, a producer and so on. But then I realized I could do this now on my own through my phone. Plus, I had been writing and creating so much music on my SoundCloud that I just wanted to start sharing it with the world.

CDM: How has quarantine and the pandemic in general impacted your music-making? How are you finding inspiration at this time?

DC: Much of my inspiration comes from being outside in nature. Since the pandemic, I have spent a lot of time walking or going to local parks and just enjoying the beauty around me. For example, the inspiration for my song “Cosmos” (which will be released this November) was a small creek that I was sitting near one afternoon. I was looking at the water flowing and reflecting on my life so far and what I hope to accomplish in the future. In the song, I am looking back and telling my younger self not to be so caught up in life, but instead, I should be able to “go with the flow” like the creek.

CDM: Congratulations on your new release, 3! How would you classify the themes of this EP? What was the most challenging aspect of making it? Did you face any unique challenges because of your young age?

DC: Thank you! The theme of my EP “3” focuses on the steps needed to heal from a toxic relationship. The biggest challenge of making my first EP was not knowing how people would react to my lyrics and music. I had so much original material that just choosing which songs I wanted to represent this journey was really hard. I was concerned that my peers would make fun of me or that I would receive hate comments because of my voice and my age.

CDM: Do you have a favorite track from the EP? If yes, why? And what does that track mean to you?

DC: I would say that “Move On” is my favorite. That track runs super deep for me because it reflects the emotion that I was experiencing during that time. Plus, I didn’t expect so many people to be able to relate to that song.

CDM: Do you have any fun stories about the making of 3? 

DC: I recorded the EP using a microphone stand with my phone clipped to it. I just needed hour to record two of the songs, but since I share a room with my twin brothers, I was always getting interrupted! Not too mention our family cat “Pickles” kept coming in and meowing! I think it took “three” hours total to record it!

CDM: What do you hope listeners will get out of your new EP? Your music in general? How do you hope to impact the world as an artist, especially a young artist?

DC: I hope my listeners will understand that they will meet many people in life who may try to manipulate them, but they should just always “move on” from this negative energy and be true to themselves—even though it may be hard sometimes. As for being a young artist, I hope to inspire other young artists to share their gifts and not feel like they must wait. Instead, they can just use their phone, like me, to share their creativity with the world.

CDM: What are your future plans for releasing music? Any upcoming projects you're working on?

DC: I have the track “Sad Boy Summer” coming out on September 4th and two singles in to be released in November. You can check all this out on my Instagram, @declan_cashman.

CDM: Thank you, Declan! You can stream Declan's new EP, 3, here.