Interview with singer and songwriter Cloudy Retro

Mansoor Syed, better known by his stage name, "Cloudy Retro", is a 19 year old singer/songwriter based in Athens, Georgia. Enamored by music since childhood, Retro grew up writing songs and poetry, keen to share his musical talent with the rest of the world. In July of 2018, Retro released his debut album, "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen" to the public, an album met with moderate praise. 

 Cloudy Retro is also a published poet and painter. He aims to spread his messages in abstract languages other than the five he already knows. When he's not dabbling in the arts, he likes to collect and play video games, study for school, or spend time with his family and his cat.

As a young singer/songwriter who has debuted your album, what do you think it takes to be a songwriter at this young age?

It doesn't take anything more than perseverance. Too many people quit when their projects or art start to become difficult. But I can assure you that that wouldn't be a problem for anyone who wants to achieve their goal badly enough.

Which is the first song you have ever written?

I've been writing songs since I was in elementary school, but the first song I ever completed was "Ten Years Speech", which is on "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen", incidentally. I wrote that song back in high school, long before I even had the idea to produce a song.

What is "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen" about?

I wrote "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen" during the hardest time of my life. My depression was at an all time high and my music was the only way to communicate some of the pains I felt without actually confessing them to anyone vocally. "Eleven Thirteen Sixteen" tells a metaphorical story in its skits which seeks to describe some pretty explicit and horrific incidents in the most gentle and implicit way, all the while trying to maintain the emotions felt throughout the production of the album.

What are your aims?

Ideally, I would like for people to know who I am. If enough people know who you are, then you have a small fan base, with which you can make money and donate heavily to charities, an activity I've always wanted to do. I want to set a great example for younger Muslim kids in the United States as a popular musician who stayed true to his faith, which is why I don't curse in any of my music. I think with popularity, people can accomplish anything. That's why I want to be popular -- so I can accomplish everything.

How did you get your stage name 'Cloudy Retro'? Why did you choose it?

"Cloudy Retro" was actually supposed to be the name of my retrogaming YouTube channel before I decided to invest my time in my music instead! The channel was humorous and light-hearted, but my music was darker and more true to my emotions, so I much preferred the latter.

Who/what inspires you?

A great number of artists inspire me, but if I were to list them, I'd eat up far too much of our time. Great lyrics and catchy music inspire me. Religion and God inspire me. Nature and sentiment inspire me. It's hard to single out any one source of inspiration because I have so many, which I'm sure is the case for most people.

More info:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CloudyRetroMusic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cloudyretro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cloudyretro
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/cloudyretro