Featured Photo Credit: Sean Johnson
ECHO is honored to premiere Caleb LaDuke’s brand new video for “Down in Oceans.”
After making a splash with his sophomore EP, ‘R,’ Caleb LaDuke has returned with a powerful visual for the lead single, “Down in Oceans.”
In the indie-pop track, LaDuke dives below the surface and exposes the unfiltered thoughts and raw emotions that come with heartbreak and healing.
The video begins with LaDuke lamenting, “I thought we’d be together again…” as he strums a guitar. The camera slowly zooms out revealing masked figures, a metaphor for all the things that keep him from moving on.
We chatted with Caleb about the inspiration behind the single, music video, and more.
What first got you interested in music?
My Dad owns a studio so, growing up, I was always sitting in sessions with him. I remember he played this song that had this beautiful guitar section and I couldn’t describe the feeling. All I knew was I wanted to do music from that very moment.
Who did you listen to growing up and do they have an influence on your sound today?
I honestly only listened to Christian music until I was 16. Then I found Usher and Neyo and completely fell in love with R&B. Chris Brown is who really got me into hip hop and dancing. All of these artists are still influential in my music now.
How does it feel to have released your new ‘R’ EP?
It was an extremely emotional process for me. I felt a lot of healing from releasing R and definitely stepped into myself as an artist. There was a great deal of depth that went into this project and I believe it brought a lot of maturity to my career.
What was the inspiration for your single “Down in Oceans”?
I wrote the hook at my desk during my 9-5. I had a lot of time there to think and I am an over thinker. My thoughts would come at me in waves and the only thing that seemed to subside them was God. As of late, my encounters with His presence are far and few between so I felt like I was always drowning in a sea of my emotions and thoughts. Down in Oceans is a conversation with God about how I feel tossed around by my inner self when He is not around.
What was the writing and production process like?
The writing process came in sections. I wrote the hook and recorded it as a voice memo. About a week later, I wrote the verses and then when Chris, my producer, and I went into a session and I wrote the bridge shortly after this. The production was really cool to experience. I recorded all the guitar parts on an acoustic and Chris was able to make them sound really different. Next came drums and bass. I felt like it needed to be pretty simple so it didn’t take long to finish!
Where did the concept for the video come from?
I had a vague idea of just some dancing and what I wanted the aesthetically but my friend and co-director, Tavior Mowry, really brought the vision. He told me that I needed to tell a story with how this song made me feel. He came up with the henchman in all black and we started brainstorming ideas from there until we came up with the present product. God really gave us the of vision for the video– such a blessing.
You’re very candid in your songwriting. Why is it important to you to be so open with your music?
My main concern is people. I care more about people resonating with my messages than anything else. If people find comfort in my songs then I’ve done what I set out to do. The only way for people to do that is for me to be real in my songs. Everyone has emotions and struggles but we like to put on a good front so people think we have it all together. I like to create a place where people can let down their walls and be human.
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to your music, what do you imagine it looking like?
I remember once I went to Costa Rica and sat on the beach right where the water met the sand. It was a bleak, rainy day, but those are my favorite. I would write things I struggled with or things that caused me pain in the sand. They would be there for a second and then the tide would come up and take them away. I would sit my fans one at a time and have them listen to my music while writing the things in the sand and seeing them be taken away. I would hope they would feel that pain taken away and find healing in that moment.
What can fans look forward to next?
In 2021 I’m dropping 30+ songs and have loads of content that I’m super excited to share it with everyone!
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
Life is still beautiful. We will encounter pain and hurt and discouragement. We must keep going for there is still beauty to be found as well as made in this life.