Today we’d like to introduce you to Aldith Cleary.
Aldith, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a singer, songwriter, and audio engineer based out of Atlanta, Georgia. I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina to 2 parents in the army. I’ve been singing since age 3 (first performance at my grandparent’s church in Georgetown, Delaware, “Amazing Grace”). I began writing poetry and songs at age 8, but it wasn’t until 7th grade that I started making my talent known to friends and family. I started out recording with the built-in microphone on my laptop and sold 2-15 track albums to friends and teachers!
From then on, I’d done talent shows and performed for school sports events singing the National Anthem. I even got to perform for my high school graduation for the class of 2012 from Richmond Hill High School (I sang “Believe” by Fantasia).
I’ve always loved singing, but I’ll say that I took it seriously when I decided to go to college at the Art Institute of Atlanta for Audio Production. (I actually attended with Dara Carter, another featured artist with your company.) Growing up, I think I made my parents think I wanted to be a lawyer because of my obsession with the movie Legally Blonde haha. So, it may have come as a surprise when I told them I wanted to pursue music as a career. One of my parents is Jamaican, and with immigrant parents from any country, the arts is not considered a real job haha! There was a bit of a battle over what I should do in college, but eventually, they were convinced that music would be a respectable degree to pursue. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Audio Production in 2016. During that time and through the present, I’ve interned and worked at a few studios around Atlanta as an audio engineer. I’ve been able to work with a few big names like Ear Drummers, Ma$e, Columbus Short, J. Holiday, etc. My vocals are sprinkled throughout some of these artists’ songs! =)
The cool thing about being an engineer is having the knowledge to record myself when inspiration strikes. I’ve been fortunate enough to be employed by studios that allow me to work on my own goals, providing it doesn’t get in the way of a quality experience for the clients who walk through the doors.
I’m currently promoting a song I’m featured on called “No Love” with Big Hookz. I’m also working on original material for myself as well as still engineering, writing, and vocally producing for other upcoming artists. The main studio I work out of is Rich Productions in Marietta, so, if you’re interested, come book a session or a lesson with me!
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a singer, songwriter, and audio engineer. When anyone asks what I do, I always say it in that order. It’s one thing to sing. It’s another thing to sing AND write. It’s an even bigger thing to sing, AND write, AND be an audio engineer – and a female engineer at that! I also, play piano (mostly by ear), dance, and vocal coach and produce for other artists.
I sing mostly R&B, though sometimes I dabble in what I call “ratchet” music haha! I get inspiration from my own experiences and the experiences of my friends or anything that speaks to me from social media. When I was younger, I would imagine instrumentals in my head and would create entire albums out of pure imagination in how I would want my instrumental to go. As I got older, my parents invested in a piano for me. Suddenly, I was able to create my own beats and get out all the ideas I had. In college, I got access to a recording studio as well as friend who could produce with and for me, and the evolution of how I create my music has gone from all in my head to being able to immediately get my ideas out into audible presentation.
I’ll search through a library of beats trying to find something that fits my mood at that point in time. I’ll even go to YouTube if I don’t have anything that immediately speaks to me. Once I find a beat that matches my emotion, I throw the beat into Pro Tools and get into the booth to record a reference track of gibberish. I don’t have the words, but I know how I want my words to be said and how I want them to flow within the beat. Usually inklings of how I’m feeling come through in the gibberish, and I usually build my song around that idea. I may take time to reflect to really understand how I’m feeling in the moment and think about how I want to say what I’m feeling and thinking. The rest is fitting my thoughts into this melody I’ve created and working it until I get something I like.
Growing up, I was very shy and had a hard time openly expressing my feelings to people. I don’t know why, but I was an extremely sensitive kid. Very quiet. Very much to myself. It was as if I was afraid to speak. Poetry became one of the ways I could get out the things I was feeling. Then, I discovered I could sing, and suddenly a new way to express myself came about. I’d see the influence people like Aaliyah, Beyonce, and Alicia Keys had and think how amazing it is that myself and millions of other people can connect because of music.
We all go through so many different struggles, and we’re all secretly fighting battles. With my music, I hope to connect people by talking about things we all experience in some capacity. I wanna make it okay for us to be open and share our feelings. There are so many songs out that don’t promote love, don’t promote community, and don’t promote healthy relationships. I wanna help let people know we don’t have to struggle alone because we need each other. I’m no better than you and you no better than I because we’re both going through it. We need each other. Life sucks bad enough sometimes haha!
With my artwork, I strive to be as real as possible and as raw as possible, especially if my mental state needs it. Music is a therapy for me as it must be for so many others.
How do you think about success, as an artist, and what quality do you feel is most helpful?
As an artist, I define success as consistently feeling happy and pleased with what I’ve done for the day. I used to stress a lot about what I’m doing and not doing compared to other people who are on a similar path as me, but that was robbing me of my joy (and my sleep. I can’t get with #TeamNoSleep. We need sleep to be normally functioning people haha!). To be able to not compare myself and my movements to the movements of other people has truly been the most amazing feeling. There’s so much freedom in not worrying where everyone else is. I can focus on my goals and my stride, free of the pressure of “keeping up.” Some people make running in place look really good. I’m okay where I am!
A key characteristic to maintaining success as an artist is to be able to see the positive in everything. Artists have to deal with a lot professionally, and I’ll say most of us are struggling personally (that’s why the art is so good). We can go through so much yet still create something that most others can relate to. That in itself is a positive feat!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @LEXCATL.
I would love if you’d check out my website at www.lexcatl.com. From there, you can subscribe to my newsletter. Follow me on all available platforms. Engage with me on posts and discussions so I can get a better understanding of who you are.
You can find my music on my website. My music is also available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, SoundCloud, etc. Simply search “LexC.” Some searches for “Lexc” or “Lex C” may also work (there’s been a bit of a struggle to get my name written correctly haha).
Contact Info:
- Address: 2470 Windy Hill Rd SE Suite 428
Marietta, GA 30067 - Website: www.lexcatl.com
- Email: info@lexcatl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexcatl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexcatl
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexcatl
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/lexcatl
Image Credit:
Cam Clay, Stanley Dunson Jr., Kevin French, and Azariah Oldacre
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
