full scoop: VIRTUAL REALITY by CASHTON
“Virtual Reality” is the newest project by singer-songwriter Cashton. A tastemaker of many sorts, the DJ, event host, and all-around personality gets to express another layer of his creative expertise with this super-solid debut EP. Blending a variety of influences (from Azealia Banks, Sylvan Esso, Miguel and Chic) into a production style, Cashton pairs it lovingly with pillow talk vocals and a serious message.
We got the chance to catch up following the celebration of their album release.
How did you come up with the title?
A major inspiration and motivating force was the exploration of my relationship with fear and escapism. I always knew I wanted to do music, but fear has held me back since childhood. I would binge watch live performances from my favorite artists and imagine that it was me. Like, I’m a professional escapist and I would always compare escapism to virtual reality technology. Overall, I got exhausted with living in fear and felt like if I didn’t at least get my ideas out— my escapism would become destructive. So I just started writing and expressing concepts to my producer, Deuce Ellis, and the music started coming together. One day, we were in the studio and I blurted out “I can’t believe this is really happening!” I was actually singing in front of other people and recording it no less. In that moment, Virtual Reality downloaded into my consciousness and I was like “that’s the title!”
What was your favorite song to work on? Why and how long did it take?
We loved working on “Virtual Reality,” the title track! It’s actually the last song I wrote. I named the album first then the song came to me after. I was hanging out with a group of people one night, and everyone was passing their phones around showing their “internet crushes.” I began to think about how that’s really the dating landscape these days. Hit someone up online, think you have something going, then they ghost and you’re freaking out as if it was something real anyway. Everything is expected to be so quick but still thorough and authentic, and it just doesn’t always pan out that way. But sometimes we prefer to live in illusion. I wrote the song about that.
What did releasing this EP teach you about your creative process?
It really taught me that my process is my process. My path is my path. My road is my road. You really truly cannot create authentically if you are constantly comparing yourself to others - whether it be the timeline in which you work or the rasp that someone else has in their voice that you feel you don’t. I had to constantly re-frame my perspective and remind myself that my ideas are mine and they wouldn’t be inside me if they weren’t supposed to be shared. I just have to create from the most authentic place possible, and trust that the art will land where it should and be received. Ultimately - create because you are a creator, and leave the rest to the universe.
“Virtual Reality” is available everywhere you listen to music.