Q: Where did the name come from?
A: So I re-branded as an artist called DeSo about a year ago, and that was just a play on my name, Daniel Selak. Selly is derived from my last name S-e-l-l-y. And Cisco actually came from my cat, who unfortunately passed away and the cat, everything about him was just very loving and he was just…. You could just feel the constant energy from him and he always radiated so much kindness and love. He always made me feel better so yeah. It had an offspring, so I decided to keep it and so I named it Cisco, as it means to me at least, loving and caring and kind. Being Selly is being loving and being kind.
Q: Who is Selly Cisco?
A: Well I was born in the middle of a genocide in Yugoslavia. So, I wanted to move here. I was raised through poverty and I went through a lot of hardship as a kid and that’s what I try to translate in my music. I want to be able to help people who have also been through similar situations, so everything that I write about is about my real life and all about the experiences that ivehad. A lot of my music is more down played, and I guess it’s sad. At least sadder than the norm. It’s all about the problems going on then. It’s all about how I am feeling at the time, but yeah, a lot of my music is focused on catering to other people and hopefully they can relate to the music do that they can get an understanding from it and feel something then that’s all I can really ask for.
I just want for them to feel something when they hear my music, not just bars on a beat.
Q: What do you have going on for projects right now?
Yeah so Buzz Lightyear was released a couple days ago on the first, then I had Can’t Talk released on December 2nd. Those two I had been working on for a while, playing around with auto-tune and stuff like that, so those singles were more so just to get them out there and to test the waters, see how people react to them. See the way that they liked them and see what I can do to sculpt it into what it can be and integrate it into my own personal style. A lot of it was experimentation as well you know. Before this it was a lot of bars over old school beats, and just rapping and learning how to do double time flows and getting punchlines in and stuff like that. Like I said earlier, I am trying to get people to feel something and really get the music instead of just hearing bars on beats, and that’s what I am really trying to look for right now.
Now I don’t want to go too into it, but I am in the process of working on a collaboration project. I can’t tell you who with, but I can tell you it will be out within the next couple months here.
Q: What is it like working with Zach Taylor ?
A: Well Zach is very focused on details, so if there is something that is not 110%, then its not gonna get dropped. He would rather push a release date than release something that he isn’t proud of. He doesn’t cut corners and he doesn’t leave until its perfect. He’s very rambunctious and very out there which is a blessing because so am I. Zach and I get along super well, and I mean not to mention he is my best friend. It’s not just a business connection, him and I genuinely have a great time and enjoy each other’s company, but we are both doing what we love so it doesn’t feel like we are working at all and stressing ourselves. At the end of the day, this is what we want to do, so having somebody that is like Zach compared to anybody else, in the city, is just a huge blessing.
Q: Save my soul is such an interestingly crafted song, what’s the story behind it?
A: Yeah so when it comes to Save My Soul, I actually wrote that song two days prior to dropping it. Same thing with Switch Up. So I dropped a surprise EP on my birthday called Popped Balloonsand I was going through a pretty bad depressive episode at the time and it was my birthday when I was dropping so I thought “Well the balloons popped!” I felt like I really needed to get those words out, especially after rebranding the Selly Cisco name and only having four songs out. A lot of my sanity comes from being able to drop music as I please, so when I was feeling this way, for the past couple days leading up to my birthday I felt like this was going to be the only way for me to lift that burden off of my chest. When it came to save my soul, I was trying to articulate my feelings properly.
Q: Favourite new album
A: My favourite album as of right now is Belly, I think Belly is one of the most slept on artists in the game purely for the bats and beat selection, cause so many songs just bang and have so much seriousness to them that people just don’t hear. I think he gets a rep that he doesn’t deserve and honestly, I would put him in my top 3. I also listen to a lot of Eden, who makes kindaunderground soul music, as well as Blackbear, I actually really like Blackbears singing voice. He knows how to articulate himself in the music properly and he doesn’t hold back.
Q:Last words? Anything you wanna say to your fans?
A: If I have to say anything, first and foremost, it is thank you. There is nothing that I could be able to do without you guys supporting me and listening to my music and telling me to keep striving towards the betterment of myself. Letting me know what I can work on. It doesn’t matter to me if its 10 people or 100 people, as long as I can help somebody with their everyday struggles through my music