Regarding the song selection process for his fifth studio album, Long Way From Home, he said, “Oddly enough, without sounding crazy, a lot of these songs came to me in dreams. I would wake up and they were mostly there. Sometimes in fragments, sometimes more complete, sometimes music, sometimes lyrics, sometimes both. So, in a weird way the songs selected me.”
He listed “Story For Another Day” as his favorite track from his new CD. “It was one of those songs that surprised me as writer, and took on its own unique shape from a production standpoint. Blending elements of jazz with elements of hip hop and funk, with a lyric that has this kind of ‘rough nostalgia’ to it. To me, it is also a father-son song. The verses coming from the father, and the choruses from the son,” he explained.
Cincotti will be touring around the world, this year and next year, and he will be working on two theater projects in New York. “After three years in the studio making this record, it will be great to be back out on the road again, so people can definitely check my website for all official dates,” he said.
For aspiring musicians, his advice is as follows: “Only do this if you need to do it, like breathing or drinking water. Music is a tough business, with extreme highs and lows, and your craft (whatever that may be for you) needs to be the thing that drives you and fulfills you and leads you forward.”
Cincotti talks about the digital transformation of the music industry
On the impact of technology in his music career, Cincotti said, “Well, technology has allowed me to build a recording studio in a house on the Jersey Shore and make a full length record in a room where my uncle used to sit in a chair all day. So that’s pretty cool, but it also has it’s downsides. That’s for another interview. The positives, however, are incredibly liberating, and my current album would not exist without the freedoms that have come with our ever-improving technologies. Even five years ago, I couldn’t have made the record I just did, the way I just did, and it has forever changed the way I think about writing and recording. So I’m excited about where it can go, and where it will take me creatively.”
Technology has allowed Cincotti to make this new album, among other technological privileges that came along with it. “I use my phone and laptop mainly, for emails and the general stuff, but I’ve also enjoy creating a lot of the artwork for my album, single covers, tour posters, live clips from the road, and so on. Again, it’s so freeing to have the technological access now that allow you to make all elements of your project artistically and creatively streamlined, from the same brain,” he elaborated.
When asked about his dream collaboration choices, he responded, “I like collaborations that take you to new places. Before making this album, I loved collaborating with David Guetta in France, and that experience actually planted some of the seeds for this album. So I’m interested in working with more EDM guys, finding cool ways to bring the piano into the landscape of modern music, and also hip hop. I’m a big fan of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, and there are also younger guys too like Wiz Khalifa, that to me have these ‘openings’ in a lot of their tracks that are just begging for piano parts! So there are definitely uncharted musical waters left to sail out there and let’s just say I am on the boat.”
For more information on singer-songwriter Peter Cincotti, check out his official website.
