Enigmatic San Diego 23-year old artist cultgabe arrives with his outstanding, emotional debut EP nowherefast via Version III. The project is accompanied by an equally evocative video, directed by cultgabe himself, for new single “Broke” featured on the stellar body of work.
A visionary with all the makings of super-stardom, the LatinX artist whose music captures the spirit of Southern California surf and skate culture, melts alternative rock, hip-hop, and R&B influences into blissful soundscapes. An amalgam of genre and style are on display both sonically and visually in his world as depicted by recent singles “Heathrow” (Somebody Else) and the ethereal “40 Wishes.”
The new video for “Broke” showcases the multitudes of cultgabe as a videographer, director and high-level creative with the rare ability as a musician to bring his songs to life on screen. Watch as he searches for a thrill with an unexpected —but all too relatable— plot twist. It’s the same singular vision that cultgabe applies on the new EP nowhere fast musically as emotions run deep and descriptive lyrics evoke imaginary thought. The song “Wrong” takes conversational lyrics and moves through conflicting feelings in a relationship until settling on indifference. On the vulnerable “Stay” a break-up feels inevitable as he makes the case that it might be the wrong move for his romance to leave. It’s powerful songwriting with incredible potential and a view into the first phase of the cultgabe story.
Born from the shores of Imperial Beach, the southernmost beach-town in San Diego, California, nowherefast is a gorgeous product of youthful energy, a free-spirited lifestyle and proof that cultgabe is well on his way. To date, he has earned coverage from Billboard, Lyrical Lemonade, Sheesh Media, Ones To Watch and The San Diego Reader.
nowherefast Tracklist:
1. Heathrow (Somebody Else)
2. Broke
3. 40 Wishes
4. Stay
5. Wrong
6. Drunk Love
ABOUT CULTGABE:
cultgabe recorded his first verse when he was 8 years old through his cousin’s laptop. His family’s influence opened him up to the world of culture and music that surrounded him, helping to fuel his creativity through his formative years and beyond. Now at 22 years old, the half Mexican artist, singer and producer born and raised in a small beach town in San Diego, is making enamoring, spatial alt-rock and hip-hop music that sounds like it’s washing up from the same shores he grew up surfing. Paying homage to the American Horror Story series “Cult”, Gabe further intertwines his love for cinema with his passion for music down to the moniker. With inspiration coming from other musician/filmmakers such as Jack Johnson and Neon Indian as well as citing artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, and Sublime, Frank Ocean, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, early Eminem and more, the sum of these parts make up the diverse musical DNA of cultgabe. With his most recent music, thoughtful lyrics take shape as crisp vocals float over lush production. As a photographer and cinematographer by nature, Gabe constructs music as teleportational – whether it takes you to the edge of the place he’s describing for a lookout, or plants you in the center of an emotion. Visualization is paramount through his lens. Independent, DIY and very much on his way, cultgabe is out of this one, and in a world of his own.