Meet Cindy Latin

We recently connected with Cindy Latin and have shared our conversation below.

Cindy, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

My creativity stays alive when I allow myself the time and space to explore other interests outside of creating. When I allow myself to go out and do new things (socialize, go to concerts, travel, sporting events, etc.) I’m having experiences that usually inspire my artistry. It can get pretty stale sitting at home writing all the time (like I used to), now I am able to find inspiration by living a more balanced life.
Additionally, by seeking out new music and artists to listen to, this often motivates me to work on my own material. I may hear something I’ve never heard before and want to find ways to incorporate it into my own work.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a professional musician based in NYC. I’m an artist, songwriter, producer, arranger, and educator. My music is mostly R&B/Soul with a Jazz influence. In addition to performing, creating, and releasing my own work, I work with and for many other musicians on their projects as a music producer. I’m also an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music in the Electronic Production & Design Department and teach privately and in schools around New York City.

I just released a new single, titled “Rich Girl” on Friday, October 20th, and it is available for streaming and download on all major music platforms.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
It’d be easy for me to list and touch on the specific musical skills that have enabled me to do what I do, but I’d rather list personal qualities that I feel can help anybody in any area of work achieve their goals, music based or otherwise.

  1. Curiosity! I’ve been able to learn a variety of musical skillsets because so many of them seemed intriguing to me! I started with performing and then that led me into learning about writing. Once I was writing my own songs I was dying to know how to arrange and produce them. Then I needed to know how to mix them and make my arrangements fuller. It never stops, there’s always something else to know! Even with my hobbies outside of music, I feel the same way too. I play Ice Hockey for fun, and what started as a one time a week class has led to me playing in a league and even the occasional private lesson or extra clinic. I’ve just started picking up golf as well.
  2. Independence. It can be really amazing and rewarding to collaborate with other people, especially those who you respect tremendously and communicate well with. That being said, I have always loved being able to work alone and achieve whatever I need without relying on others. Because of this, I pushed myself to pick up many of my skills so I wouldn’t have to ask or wait for someone else. I always say that collaboration should be a choice, not a necessity.
  3. Being easily influenced. Though this one sometimes can be a curse, I think for creators it can also be a wonderful blessing. The more I expose myself to different artists, different types of music, and different sources of inspiration in general, the more I find myself influenced in my own artistry. Depending on what I’m listening to at a certain point, my work is going to sound a certain way. I love this because it can get dull for me when I feel that my work is all starting to mush together and that many of my songs sound the same. I like to have different eras of my artistry where the art I’m consuming at that moment shows itself through my work!

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The last few years I have truthfully struggled a lot with self motivation. It was never an issue before for me until the pandemic. The pandemic began right when I graduated from my undergraduate studies, so the timing of all of that put me in a pretty negative headspace about my work and the need (or lack thereof) for it. When you’re a college student, everybody is so excited and there’s so much going on, it’s hard to sit still. There are on campus events and there’s a need for you to contribute. Life also still feels like it’s coming later, rather than happening now. Sometimes I think about how I used to say “one day, I’m going to do ___,” but now I think “one day” is now! I’m not a child or student anymore and the things that I want to do, I have to put into action myself. There’s no age or education barrier preventing me from going after opportunities. This realization is pretty scary and sometimes paralyzes me creatively. I’ve allowed myself time away from the constant art grind I was on before, and now I see that finally, the desire to create (without someone giving me an assignment or deadline) has come back. It started a little bit when I did my masters, but now that I’m a professor at the university that I attended, it’s come back a lot more. Being surrounded by young, hungry, and talented artists in a space where I did some of best and most inspired work has reminded me that creating can actually make me feel fulfilled and can be fun. Watching them work and get excited with all the new tools they are learning brings me back to that time in my life and how good it used to feel! I’ve been creating a lot more since I started this job, and I’m pumped to be releasing new music!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Clarissa Rubin Ryan Nava Mica Hourbeigt

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