Meet Cael Dadian | Singer, songwriter, and producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cael Dadian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cael, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I think it’s safe to say I didn’t choose a career in music but rather it chose me. Just about every aspect of the creative process consumes me and I find myself looking at the clock counting the minutes doing just about any other kind of task. Whether it’s songwriting, production, performing, video editing, brainstorming concepts, or reaching out to other creatives, I feel fulfilled and find fulfillment in the process.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I always say I’m a million miles away from being where I want to be and where I know I’m going to land. I’m still laying the foundation, building resources, and throwing paint at the wall every day. My friend and mentor Brandon Edler told me something once that always stuck with me – he gave me some props on my music because “it doesn’t sound like you’re trying to make some cool music to go impress girls at Bootsy Bellows” and as funny as that is, I think he nailed it. I’m certainly not and furthermore I’ve always written music from an extremely vulnerable place. I’m usually trying to portray my current reality, struggles, desires, and insecurities, or visions for myself in a way I hope others might identify with. As an artist I want to be that friend who has his hand on your shoulder getting you over that hump. I still have a lot more music to make before I feel like I’ll have achieved that but every song is one closer to it. As far as where I’m at, I’m very lucky to get to not only develop myself as an artist but to get to work on music for other brands and artist and that list is growing every day. Working on music for others is the ultimate exercise and I think it’s made me twice the producer I was before. Collaboration has been key for me too – I love hiring live string players, drummers, guitarists, pianists, etc. to add that extra level of musicality to my production. I’m in a great place where those resources are growing and my music is developing across the board.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I hate to say it but that friend would instantly become my content buddy and rather than going bar hopping we’d probably be cruising around San Diego thinking of how to engage the city for Tiktok videos we’d probably end up finding strangers to write songs for. I definitely have my go-to food spots like True Foods, Din Tai Fung, Flower Child, or Sweet Greens that we’d hit daily. My friends and I would be eating right no question but they may be disappointed in the night life with me.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I always have to shoutout Karyn Spencer. Karyn recognized me from a concept music video I posted on Twitter about phone addiction. She was an absolute power player in the entertainment, influencer, and marketing space and she gave me major opportunities creating original music and content for major brands which at this point is how I’m able to truly say I have a “career” in music. These opportunities have snowballed into so many more and given me a confidence boost unlike anything else. Karyn has also been a mentor like figure to me and is a one of a kind human being who has embraced me, my close friends, and is one of the very few people out there who walk the walk. She embodies every single value she shares and stands behind unlike anyone I’ve known. I also have to shoutout Brandon Edler who I will always deem “my favorite dude in LA.” I’ve met countless creatives and this is a person with no agenda and someone who also lifted me up very early on giving me my first ever job as a photographer/videographer at Finish Line. This is a man of extremely high taste and someone who never fails to check in, see how I’m doing, and send me musical ideas of all kinds. He’s an all-encompassing creative that has planted to many seed in me personally and musically. He’s brought songs out of me that wouldn’t exist without him and I am grateful for every minute I’ve spend learning from him.

Website: caeldadian.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caeldadian/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caeldadian/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/caeldadian

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaelDadianMusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjoRL0BgQ5a_7jstpBGEf2A

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@caeldadian

Image Credits
Photos by Matt Brambila