Cailin Russo Likes a Challenge

office sat down with the multi-hyphenate creative below to discuss auras, music on the horizon, ugly fashion, and more.

Your jump into the industry as a model and now your artistry in music cemented your metamorphosis into a multidisciplinary creative. You come from a family of musicians — did they influence your evolution into that world at all?

It definitely influenced my path, but I also like to earn things the old-fashioned way and to work hard. My dad's in a pop-punk group and I love him and support him. We support each other a lot, but I really made a point to do this on my own. I don't like shortcuts and I don't like winning for no reason. I'm gonna earn it.

It's so much more fulfilling if you feel like you're achieving on your own terms.

Absolutely. Or else I feel like you win and then you're still not satisfied. I don't know, that might also be my Virgo rising. But I would consider myself multidisciplinary for sure, starting with modeling, and then obviously the Bieber videos put me on the map. I think as you get older, you start to find your own way. My Instagram started catching a lot more attention I think just because I wasn't paying attention to anybody else. I was just in my flow. As I've gotten older, I've developed a much more conscious way of how I want to be perceived and I feel like I've kind of lost that natural flow, but since I'm aware of it, I think I'm coming back to it. It just comes from being relaxed and being yourself, you know? 

Which can be really hard to do in an industry like this one. There are so many outside influences and other people's opinions that you have to learn to balance. What did you learn from being in the modeling space and starting off in such an audience-facing role that has helped you now with navigating being in the public eye?

I think early on, I was really unaffected. I was a really uninhibited girl. And that naivety translated a lot into authenticity; I didn't really have any issues with identity because it felt effortless. But then obviously, everything can get convoluted as you get older and you become more self-aware of other people and what you want. So you kind of build these constructs and different pathways of how you think you should create yourself and your identity when it's really not about that at all. It's about keeping that naivety and letting the path carve itself. And being in a good relationship with yourself enough to consistently present the best version of yourself.

I actually love the idea of naivety sometimes yielding the most authentic self — it's so true because you're not as jaded. You mentioned traction starting from the Bieber videos. You moved from that to now being this rockstar and it truly feels like you've done it all. Is there something that you haven't conquered yet that you really want to in your career?

Kayla, there's so much.

I can see that because of all of the things you do. I feel like you're ready to take on anything that comes your way.

It's cool. I wonder sometimes if it's a fault, but I'm really trying to just embrace everything that inspires me and get into it. I'm super attracted to art in all forms and I'm even starting to get into acting now. And then I have a bunch of goals with my music. I obviously haven't dropped my first album yet but I've been working on it tirelessly for the past year. I'm really ready to deliver it to the world. But again, I wanted it to come in a really flawless way that is authentic to me. I want to win a bunch of Grammys. I want to be in some really sick indie films and I want to be a spearhead of Web3 music as well.

On the note of your upcoming album, in the past year that you've been working on it, you've also released some singles. You released “Die Down” in October and you have an upcoming single, “Psycho Freak.” How would you classify your current musical era?

Oh my gosh, it's been an insane evolution. I'm just looking for special moments. I'm really into lo-fi. I'm in my tastemaker era right now, but when I was making the album I was definitely in my 'this is me laying down the law' era, because I felt very misunderstood at the time. So the sound of the album is very multi-dimensional and it's spacious and very sexy. But where I'm at right now is very tastemaker and niche and earthy.

This idea of standing your ground and asserting your own sound is kind of perfect, as you're blossoming from being part of a band, RUSSO, to now being a solo artist. What were some of the biggest changes in that shift to now putting out a project on your own?

Oh man, so much. I listened to a lot of my collaborators and friends. I was very unsatisfied with where I was and I didn't understand how to get out of it. And they told me, 'You have to start over.' I even thought about changing my name. Starting over was really hard to come to terms with. I did in some ways, and I also didn't. But I will say that I did rebrand all of my imagery. I made music that was uncomfortable for me to make.

Sometimes you have to put yourself in that space to make something that feels genuine to you. You have to be okay with stepping out of your comfort zone, as cliche as that sounds.

Absolutely. And when you make art like that, it has an impact on people too and it moves them, which is the most important aspect. I can make a beautiful song anytime. But is it going to change anything? Is it going to reform? I'm quite an intense person, so if I'm gonna make a beautiful song, it needs to be the most beautiful song. It needs to literally sweep you off your feet.

Is that a pressure that you feel sometimes? Or is it more so making sure that whatever you put out is representative of you?

I think one of the best pieces of advice that I've gotten was, if you like it, someone else is gonna like it. So if I'm with it and I think it's dope, I don't really take on the pressure of trying to satisfy other people.

We talked a little bit about this punk aspect that comes in a lot of your songs. A lot of your accompanying visuals are inspired by punk glam, badass feminine heroes, and video games. What pop culture references shaped your persona and continue to impact your music?

Gwen Stefani and Madonna both shaped me. I think Destiny's Child shaped my pop culture references as well. Step Up, Mortal Combat, Zelda. Those are definitely staples in my psyche.

You talked before about this past moment of dissatisfaction that you're finally shifting out of. When you wear so many hats, sometimes it becomes hard to not be boxed in by other people. I feel like it has to be difficult to take on so many things and to be able to have them all coexist at the same time, while still being able to preserve your own identity.

Everyone wears a thousand hats. Do you know what I mean? And it's extremely hard. You just have to look and see what is unsettling to you. My personal dissatisfaction was that I didn't like a lot of the tastemaking around me. It was like, 'How are you telling me that this song is bad when I think it's amazing?' I kept running into these clashes, but I was like, 'This is not me.'

But I'm sure that was very freeing and just a release. Taking ownership is a bold thing to do.

I also want to highlight the fact that it's so hard. So people that are undeniably themselves, I'm like, 'Wow, I love you.' You can tell when someone is radiating that and they just don't care. I love that. That's true swag. And then if they have sick style or make sick art alongside it, I'm like, 'Yeah, we should have a baby.'

I think that your energy is really infectious, so if you could read your own aura, what color would it be?

The first one that comes to mind is purple. Purple is probably the last color I'd choose for most things, but that's what I think it would be.

Your work has started to intersect with these other really interesting spaces. I think it's cool that you grew up really appreciating these video game references because now it seems like that is still woven into what you do. How do you hope that those relationships grow and what are other projects that you hope to take on in that world?

All of these things were so in sync. I think it all started with League of Legends and IMVU and those birthed my existence in the meta world. Cut to now and we're dropping music in Web3 and it's been extremely organic.

I feel like it only makes sense because those are also genuine interests of yours. Anything that feels effortless is just second nature for you. When it comes to fashion, what types of looks do you usually gravitate toward?

Well, I love ugly clothes. I always have. I think my undertone is always rock and roll. So that can be translated in so many ways, whether it's preppy, futuristic, or girly. I'm all of those things, and I think all of us are. Now I'm super focused on getting one piece and building up from there. My style has changed vigorously throughout the years but it just comes down to how comfortable you feel and how good you feel in your clothes. I've now transitioned into wearing mostly boys' clothes. I'm gonna rock it out with belts and baggy clothes because right now that makes me feel sexy.

Exactly. I think if you feel good, then you look good.

I'm also a challenger. I like to be challenged. If something is known to be an ugly piece then I want to wear it.

That's the most fun thing — challenging yourself, especially in fashion. You have plans to release your album, Influx, in March — can you give me three words to describe it, sonically or aesthetically?

Multi-dimensional and immersive. It's a sensory experience. It's also very pretty — there are a lot of feminine undertones.

What has been the most memorable part of the whole album-making process?

I think the most fun parts have been some of the sessions actually creating the songs. I had to get out of a deal and it was so much tedious work. But it was all fun. Creating "Psycho Freak" and "Boys Taste Like Drugs" were probably my favorite. My friend was having a party the night we made "Boys Taste Like Drugs" and people started coming to his house. We were playing it and, literally, the song conjured so much energy. Everybody started moshing in the room and throwing their bodies around. I was like, 'Whoa. This is the reaction to the song that we just made!' We also flew out to the Dominican Republic and orchestrated all of the album artwork and that experience alone was so unhinged and such a gift. That's what I live for.