Vesta On the Making Of ‘Castle On The Moon’
What was the creative process like for this particular album?
Since I was in elementary, I've always been a natural creative writer with fiction being my strong suit. My previous albums were all very biographical, pulling from real life and putting it to music, but the idea of a concept album really appealed to me. I thought the best next step for myself as an artist was to fuse the two; blend a fictional story with real life events I've been going through for the past few years. Once I settled on the basic idea of a man living on the moon in a castle, the rest fell into place from there.
I sampled quite a few artists that I know personally throughout the album, as sampling as an art form is something I adore.
As far as the narrative structure, I took heavy inspiration from the videogames System Shock / Bioshock with the way they give you the story after the fact, leaving you as the player to piece things together.
How did you work with the producer or engineers to bring your vision for 'Castle On The Moon' to life?
Everything was produced and mixed by myself, which allows me complete creative control over what I want everything to sound like. I had a clear idea sonically of what I wanted, and the finished product stays true to this idea, aside from a few happy accidents or spur of the moment ideas.
Can you talk about any standout tracks on 'Castle On The Moon' and what makes them special to you?
When I listen though the album, I always find myself gravitating towards the tracks "My Own" and "Tree of Life."
My Own was one of the first songs I had done for the album, even before the scope of the narrative was written and fully realized. It samples Ivy Hollivana, who I've shared a bill with at Cafe Mustache, and it encapsulates the core of the entire album's story: finding your life’s path amongst the curveballs of life and its changes.
Tree of Life's instrumental dates back to 2017, and has juggled between projects over the years before finally finding a home within this story. I sent it to my friend Chase Oros, an equally talented musician in St. Louis, who sent me a rough melody in gibberish. That melody would become the basis of the chorus of the song.
While recording for the album, I sent a demo of the song to fellow artist Nora Voilyn, who I've known since my junior year of high school, and they added 4 or 5 layers of harmony to the chorus on a whim. I adored the depth that her voice added to the harmony, and I kept them in the final mix.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
I was born in Carson, California, and I actually became interested in music from listening to videogame soundtracks. Megaman and Kingdom Hearts particularly grabbed my attention. However, upon my discovery of Daft Punk and their live album, Alive 2007, and their use of Ableton to create it, I decided to get it myself and figure out how to do the same. The rest is history.
How do you continuously grow and evolve as an artist?
I always experiment with fusing different genres that I love together, and I push myself to build upon my previous work as not to grow stagnant.
I also keep myself open to learning and trying new skills production wise, taking on skills that I like, and putting my own twist on others. That sort of thing.
