Pandemic lockdown shuffled and reset a lot of people’s careers and life paths. Something about crisis and change makes people braver, it seems. For New York City-based songstress Catherine Landeta, that meant embarking on a personal journey into music making, penning original material that’s now been collected in a stunning EP, ‘Desires’. Originally an actress, the American creative then got fed up with the field and looked for a more authentic, accessible form of expression.
“With acting, you have to be chosen for a project; you have to have permission. After years of frustration, I wanted to be autonomous and take art creation into my own hands” – Catherine eloquently explains. ‘Desires’ showcases the result of such a transformative process, with Landeta delving into pop, R&B and electronic territories with honesty and elegance. Bathing in a wide pool of references involving the last four decades of popular records, the gifted songwriter found a worthy refuge in the neo-soul, R&B shores of ‘Say What You Wanna Say’, or the kaleidoscopic buoyancy of ‘Lo-fi Letter’.
Packing five relatable and charming episodes, there’s no denying that ‘Desires’ is a rather impressive debut effort, one that’s bound to take Catherine’s cathartic lyricism to a wide audience around the world. Delving deeper into the inspiration behind the EP, Landeta explains: “This has been SO MANY YEARS in the making. My artistic journey, my whole life, has led up to this project. Creating my original music and videos, just being a CREATOR, has made me feel the most aligned I’ve ever been. Listen to the EP in order, and maybe you can figure out the storyline :)”
Recommended! Discover ‘Desires’ on Spotify:
