Meet Serena Carretti

We recently connected with Serena Carretti and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Serena, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Great question! My purpose, right now, is to be a musician, but I believe I had found only one purpose. I am pretty sure we can have more than one purpose in our lifetime, or even have no purpose at all.
Why do we think life needs a purpose? to me the meaning of life is to simply “live” and the rest is up to each of us.
I know it’s a bit of a controversial opinion, but take it as food for thought.

I found my current purpose at a weekend course at a college in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time I was spending a gap year in the US (I am originally from Italy) and my visa required me to get some university credits therefore I applied to a few classes here and there when I wasn’t working.
I didn’t think twice, I saw on my laptop screen “drama, singing, piano lessons” and I selected and hit the “submit” button.
I drove through the night from Ohio to Maryland, with a friend, and proceeded to experience three extraordinary days, surrounded by students from all over the world and experienced teachers.
I was on cloud 9 all the time.
And a week after, a wild, scary yet so simple thought insinuated in my head: “Why can’t I be this happy every day? What can’t this be how my life looks every day?”
I have always been a very creative child interested in the arts, but this was the moment when I took action and decided to take my life into my own hands.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Serena Carretti, on stage “SERENA” and I am a music artist.

I am a singer, songwriter, producer and entrepreneur, and I take care solely of every aspect of my career.
We call ourselves “DIY Artists”, as in Do It Yourself.
These days, thanks to technology, it is possible to skip many steps of a music release, steps that not even 20 years ago were impossible to do without a record label by your side.
However, there are pros and cons that come with this path: a label has more funds to invest in projects and a bigger platform and connections to showcase the final product.
On the other hand, the pros are full creative control over everything that comes out with my name on it, and I get to build my fan base via social media and in face-to-face interactions by presenting my true self and not a “persona” that someone else decided for me.
Since 2017, I single-handedly released 6 singles, one EP, 2 remixes, 5 music videos, played shows in iconic London venues like the O2 Islington, Notting hills arts club, and The Troubadour, but most importantly shared my unfiltered point of view with my songs, under my own terms, and no one else’s.
Yes, I had to postpone music launches, and couldn’t afford tours or dates, PR campaigns, or extra hours in the recording studio.
But I persevered, and didn’t compromise, and I am grateful for every single being who streams my songs, buys a ticket to a show or chats with me after a concert.

Last month I released my latest single “Lipstick On a Glass”, a fun, upbeat track about self-empowerment; and it’s available on all the major music streaming platforms.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Hunger for knowledge: there is always something to be learned, different areas to explore and skills to acquire. You are never “arrived”, but always at the “starting point”. Don’t be discouraged and keep going forward. Talk to as many people as possible, get out, seek new experiences, research, do the hard work that no one wants to do and thank yourself later for that.

2. Self-criticism: I personally never thought of the importance of self-reflection until I embarked on this journey. This job requires so much of your time and energy that carving out a moment for introspection seems rather useless. But there is nothing more wrong than that. You can work like a maniac towards a goal but if you are not able to analyse your results, your effort is pointless. Sit down, plan, put your plan into action, and work, but don’t forget to check your big plan and how it’s going. Life isn’t a straight line. Define what success means to you: only from there you’ll be able to escape what I call the comparison demon, and truly enjoy your wins.

3. No plan B: True, every career has its hardships, but where’s the good in focusing on all the things that could be wrong? you’ll be doing damage control once you’ll need to do so, not at the beginning. So, for now, don’t even think about it! Just don’t! ( A little dose of recklessness helps!)

Being a music artist is a career choice, not an easy one, but it’s possible.

Sometimes I think it’s not only a career but more of a lifestyle, as it requires so much of you that cannot be contained in a 9-5 working day. Not to discourage you, but you need to have your heart, mind and soul invested 100% into this decision because self doubt is always around the corner.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Being an independent music artist in 2023 means that you have to be a jack of all trades and I rather enjoy that my work allows me to focus on different tasks and projects. One day I may record a podcast, another day I do a songwriting collaboration, write a jingle for an advertisement, prepare a music lesson, record a song, edit a video… There’s no one day that looks like the other. I would like to collaborate with like-minded individuals passionated about storytelling, music, art and travel.
I am open to all sorts of collaboration and projects, from playing live music to content creation. I can be found on social media, but I prefer to be contacted via email with a work proposal: send me your ideas at [email protected]

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Ilaria Iannarilli

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