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FREEDOM ft. the artist behind my theme song! - Cybèle
8 Plays7 months ago
Embrace the mess! Thank you @cybelefasquelle for shining your light! We dive into EP. 2 of my #MESSY season with the artist behind "What They Say." Cybèle Fasquelle is a Chinese-French American composer, producer, arranger, recording artist, and filmmaker (DAYUM!) she's a graduate of Harvard and current Masters Candidate at @Berklee College of Music
Keep up: Her Linktree: https://linktr.ee/cybeleofficial?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9bb9b9aa-6e27-41c8-af89-b5d7b7bf26f4 My stuff: @fyfzpod_ on IG @astoldbyvictoria
COMMUNITY VOICEZ JOTFORM: https://form.jotform.com/252015052149144?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaf-byEJuUosERKN0fnNKYIV4FZcUpH_rivNDKjsAUEkksn4d4D7TKG3fs0Kug_aem_Q0a_LsaLBuG1HKKGNvNBSQ
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast and Theme
00:00:06
Speaker
Hey there, I'm Victoria Maconjewola and you're listening to Feel Your Feelings, the podcast where high achievers get real about mental wellness. You feel me? Welcome to season one and honey, we're about to get messy.
00:00:28
Speaker
you don't already know who Ming-Anne Sybel Fasquel is, you need to know her. I did my British intro, like how she does in her videos. She is a French-American composer, producer, arranger, recording artist.
00:00:43
Speaker
If you haven't heard, she's the voice behind my theme song on this show called What They Say....start going your way. Don't be surprised when all the greatest blessings that you've prayed for, worked for, grinded for, cried over start coming true. Don't be- She's got it.
00:00:58
Speaker
right, Sibel, am so excited to have you on Feel Your Feelings. Thank you for being here today. How are you feeling right now in this moment?
Ming-Anne's Journey and Musical Inspiration
00:01:08
Speaker
I'm so excited to be here. I just love your warm, bright, receptive energy. So i I'm ready to but to do this.
00:01:16
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. What emotion best describes where you're at in your life right now? but emotion best you're at in your
00:01:29
Speaker
I would say
00:01:33
Speaker
freedom. I'm really, every day i write and i I create. I'm just trying to become more free and and liberated in myself. And I'm trying to undo all of the blocks that I've built over the years.
00:01:48
Speaker
And I really do hope in doing that, that I can bring some of that freedom to others when they listen to my art or watch my videos or whatever it may be. yeah that's a butte That's a beautiful word. This season is for me, messy.
00:02:04
Speaker
That's the theme, the core theme of this season. And it's really just trying to get... behind what pursuing excellence is really all about. And sometimes that process is messy and it's not as straightforward.
00:02:18
Speaker
And for people that are listening or have just stumbled upon this podcast, guys, this is the artist behind the theme song of my podcast called What They Say. That's the name of the track.
00:02:31
Speaker
And we're going to deep dive into the lyrics and your experience and your you know your process writing that song which I love and I'm obsessed with but before we get to that i want to get into some of the theme of the season and getting into your process as well so yeah let's let's do it so first of all let's let's start at music I'm a big music lover myself music really like influences my energy what song is at the top of your playlist right now
00:03:03
Speaker
Oh my god, I was just, I don't know that I would say I have like one place where I, like, maybe i would say like I could, sometimes I write in the kitchen late at night, very messy sometimes.
00:03:17
Speaker
And then sometimes I write in my car, on my walk, in the shower. And Yeah, I mean, like, I kind of scramble for whatever I have in the moment to capture the idea when it comes. And it's usually just voice memos.
00:03:33
Speaker
um And I have so many voice memos that when I press the record button, it takes like 10 seconds to start the recording. Literally.
00:03:46
Speaker
So right now. Yeah. Yeah, that's the answer your question. It's definitely... Messy. I got to clean up my files. So but yeah, for sure. My space, I've recorded my sister's room. So it's her background, her wall, or see her name is Chance. So but fun fact for people that are like visually watching the show.
00:04:05
Speaker
So yeah, I love the lighting right here. And i'm i'm I have a desk and
Impact of Zencastr on Victoria's Podcasting
00:04:10
Speaker
I try to keep this desk as clean as possible because I work best in like organized chaos.
00:04:16
Speaker
um But yeah, I think I'm trying to get better with being more organized because I'm Hi there, how are you feeling? It's me, Victoria, host of the podcast. And when I first started podcasting, I was super scared and nervous about the way I sounded, the way I looked, the way people would receive me.
00:04:33
Speaker
But using Zencaster has been a really helpful way for me to become more confident, and express myself as a creator. So with Zencastr you can record up to 4k quality in video regardless of your audio and wifi quality. You can save files in the cloud recording and you can adjust your audio and noise levels in the sound section. Go to Zencastr.com slash pricing and use my code VIKTORIA15 and you'll get 30% your first month of any Zencaster paid plan.
00:05:05
Speaker
I want you to have the same easy experiences that I do for my podcasting and content needs. It's time to share your story. You feel me?
00:05:18
Speaker
so I want to dive into what they say. so what was your thought process behind the song like while you were writing it? like What space were you in? Honestly, i was kind of like,
00:05:32
Speaker
fed up with myself and with everything. Really, I had really bad end of semester in the the summer I was writing it.
00:05:46
Speaker
And i kind of felt like I was tolerating things from people and relationships that I shouldn't be. And I feel like I was really not honoring myself by allowing those things to happen. And I was still being drawn in by people and things that were toxic and then people that didn't treat me well. And it was kind of, you know, ah moment for me when I sat down to write it in New York with my producer motif and
00:06:18
Speaker
Mary Brown, who's an incredible R&B, platinum songwriter. and And I kind of just was in a point where I was just fed up. You know, you get to a point sometimes in life where you're like, I've had enough with...
00:06:30
Speaker
tolerating the bare minimum. I've had enough crumbs. no Literally the first line was tired of being complacent. I didn't almost have it up to here with my patients.
00:06:41
Speaker
like period enough Like, I need to let, I need to really honor myself and I need to let go so tightly of, Oh, what, what if he says this or what if she does that? And it's just like, what do I think?
00:06:58
Speaker
You know, exactly. Yeah. My opinion matters more than these people who don't really honor me and don't really love me. Like, why am I giving them more headspace than they deserve?
00:07:10
Speaker
And so that's really the the space that I wrote what they say from. Absolutely. Yeah, i was I was thinking of, first of all, I listen to that song almost every day. i have it like on ah my YouTube.
00:07:25
Speaker
Affirmation. it's literally on my YouTube mix. And that's the perfect word. It's an affirmation. Like when you're singing it, I feel so like seen and heard, you know, like getting... get being tired of being complacent basically like so background again i did ah an open call for artists um because I felt like with this show I wanted to really pull out a different side of myself than before like my process was just like has to be certain way but I'm like this is more of like an open platform I want this to be a community and so your track really spoke to me because I just felt
00:08:00
Speaker
I felt your vulnerability and like your heart through that track and through that song. It's like, don't really care what people say, like focus on you, do you. Cause at the end of the day, nobody really, really, it's not that deep. It's not that deep. So don't really focus on what people say too, too much.
00:08:13
Speaker
oh So thank you for writing that song. Truly. I want to give you your flowers because if you hadn't, I wouldn't have found it.
Empowerment and Mental Health in Music
00:08:21
Speaker
And it wouldn't have been something that other people can, can relate to, which which brings me to My next question is you know, how does it feel knowing that your music, well, this song specifically is opening conversations about feelings and mental health.
00:08:41
Speaker
I mean, it's the best thing as an artist to know that something that you made out of a place of needing to feel liberated or needing to re relieve pain, that that it's doing that for other people too.
00:08:56
Speaker
And I think, you know, also coming from like a Chinese background, therapy and mental health and and just, you know, like racial minorities in America general. It's like, we're so worried about survival and we're so worried about like what we have to do to make it through to the end of each day or week. You know, we don't think, how am I feeling? Like not something that our parents' generation at all reinforced.
00:09:21
Speaker
Yeah. um and And I think it's like so important to address because what you don't let out and what you don't talk about, it just becomes suppressed in your body and it gets manifested in like uglier ways.
00:09:36
Speaker
You know, coming from the psych student side, i think it's absolutely true. So it it feels great to know that it's opening up doors for conversation um because it's it's the conversations, the difficult conversations that need to be had really with everyone and with ourselves.
00:09:52
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So one of the lines that it's coming back to me, cause I'm like starstruck that she's in front of me, but I'm like, I've been on that new wave doing it my own way. Like, I don't care what they say.
00:10:04
Speaker
Love that. And ahre if you're listening to this, I'm still working on which part that I really want to have be like the intro and But that part I really like the most because there's so many different gems in the song that I'm like, oh, which one should I pull from to make people be like, oh, I want to listen to this podcast. Like this is something that I want to dive into and like feel my feelings too.
00:10:26
Speaker
But that's that's my favorite part on a personal, on a selfish level. what would you What would you tell an artist who's in their own messy season right now?
00:10:37
Speaker
Embrace it. Just accept it. And I've been learning that every day when I try too hard to control things. I, you know, I just sit down for a moment and I just hear God's voice and God is like, you need to just let go and trust me and trust that.
00:10:57
Speaker
you know, like whatever you're feeling right now, all of the bad emotions, you're feeling them for a reason. They're coming up for a reason. And it's because something you need to address and all of the mess you're dealing with, it's, it's part of the journey.
00:11:10
Speaker
You know, I think a lot of times we want things to be like this. We want the past to be like that. No, it's like, it's like this. It's, constantly in way and I got it yeah yeah you know it's it's a wave and the life it's gonna sometimes the tide is gonna come in sometimes it's gonna go out and so we just have to ride that wave and embrace embrace your messiness A lot of times we just want to avoid the emotion, avoid the mess, avoid the the chaos that we feel. But you know what? If it's there, it's there for you to face.
00:11:49
Speaker
It's there for you to go through and and to understand and and just accept it. Because the more you try to resist it, the more you're going to feel that, you know, that inner conflict and you're going to not feel resolved. So just embrace it and accept it and trust that it's going to lead you to the best possible outcome for yourself.
00:12:09
Speaker
That's what I would say. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Like, how do you get to a place of vulnerability your music? I was talking about this yesterday.
00:12:21
Speaker
with two other podcasters about, you know, vulnerability, that's the name of the game, really, you know, as a podcaster reaching out to people, you're being vulnerable in that space of like, here's why I think, you know, my platform is a great place for you to be on and vice versa.
00:12:37
Speaker
So what what is your process like? I mean, number one, vulnerability, I think,
00:12:46
Speaker
A lot of times we're afraid to be vulnerable because we're too self-conscious. What are they going to think about me? Does this make me look bad?
00:12:57
Speaker
when When we shift and we orient the focus towards how can this help other people? How can my truth help other people? What can I do to make other people feel something? It becomes other conscious.
00:13:10
Speaker
We become conscious of the things around us and I think once you realize that you being vulnerable and you being truthful to yourself is the best way you can help others, I think that's also the first step.
00:13:24
Speaker
Because the vulnerability that we feel, it's not unique to us. You know, everybody feels vulnerable in a lot of ways. And I think that the more that you speak up on that vulnerability, the more you'll attract people who believe in you and your mission.
00:13:41
Speaker
Because consequently, believe believing in yourself makes other people believe in themselves too. I think that that's the way that I see it.
Connecting with High Achievers and Redefining Success
00:13:50
Speaker
Yeah. Real, real.
00:13:53
Speaker
And that's, that's the perfect example of why I wanted to, why I want to speak to specifically people. Artists, authors, and athletes. And when I say artists, I mean people who are musicians, singers, visual artists, actors even.
00:14:09
Speaker
um Actors. Authors.
00:14:15
Speaker
athletes and artists. Those are the three things that I wanted to be when I was in high school. And while I took a big step back from my show because I was in grad school at USC. um And know you went to Harvard, girl. Congratulations, class of 2025.
00:14:31
Speaker
But it made me realize that
00:14:35
Speaker
but it rate it made me realize it made me realize that those are the groups of people that I want to talk to because inherently we're all high achievers. We all like deep down, like have just excellence encoded in our DNA.
00:14:50
Speaker
And I know, but behind the scenes, things are messy. it's not as like great and easy as people think. And so, yeah, I needed to hear that from you specifically. Cause that's, these are the types of conversations that I want to have moving forward authentically with artists like yourself.
00:15:09
Speaker
So to my next question, how has your definition of success as an artist evolved?
00:15:18
Speaker
oh Girl, you're asking the right, the tough questions. How has my definition of success as an artist evolved? i you know, I think when I was younger and I think and when every artist is young, lot of times success is based on like accolades or awards or the approval of others.
00:15:42
Speaker
And you know what, to some extent, I'm not going to lie, like those things make you feel good. You know, it it feels good to be validated to feel like your work is resonating.
00:15:53
Speaker
But I would say that the shift has oriented for me in terms of what success looks like. I think it's
00:16:03
Speaker
success. I think is the
00:16:08
Speaker
progressive realization of a worthy ideal and the worthy ideal that I think I'm chasing every day and that I'm trying to live in is really to awaken myself constantly and other people to their own light, their own beauty and their own power and their own purpose.
00:16:33
Speaker
And however many people that may be with any given song, if I have been able to touch somebody through my music, I have succeeded.
00:16:43
Speaker
Because that is my job. It's to create and to awaken people to...
00:16:52
Speaker
the inner beauty that they possess. You know, but when Whitney Houston was like, I believe the children are future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess.
00:17:07
Speaker
And it really is. And I said when was young and I was like, this song is kind of cheesy, but it's so true. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. And I think, you know.
00:17:19
Speaker
My friend Hannah, who I love, who's an amazing singer and former director, writer, she posts all these quotes all the time on Instagram. And one of the quotes that she posted was, the purpose of um A lover is the same purpose as an artist.
00:17:39
Speaker
It's to hold up a mirror to the light that you have within. It's to magnify the light that you have. And I really, that quote really hits me because I think it's the purpose of my music. and And when I know I'm successful is when I can magnify, magnify the light within other people and make them realize that they have that light and that somehow they can use their own lights to keep on spreading.
00:18:04
Speaker
light around so ah that was a very long answer but ah no as as it should be as it should be well it's well thought out for sure and for me my my answer is kind of similar and but for my voice you know not being afraid to use it feeling empowered to use it which is something megan markle said Forgot the exact quote, but she's like, women need to feel empowered to use their voices. They have a voice, just have to feel empowered to use it.
00:18:36
Speaker
So even if I'm nervous, even if my voice is shaking, like I have it for a reason. And I was listening to one of your YouTube videos and it's ah it's the why I can't go back to Harvard video.
00:18:50
Speaker
It's a clickbait title for me. No, I was kind of confused. I was like, what you mean? Why you can't go back to Harvard? But you were saying something.
00:19:02
Speaker
You were saying something and something in that video to the effect of of messiness, but oh, faith about having faith and how that needs to be like. there has to be something being like your why, like, why are you doing something? And you mentioned faith in that and, and I'm still listening to it, but I thought that that's also something that I think is a foundation of what I do. Like when I got up today, I'm like, wait, why, why am I doing this? Why I have so much energy right now? Cause this This really isn't how I typically am. But when it comes to like, when I put my mind to something, like, I'm um and i'm moving forward. But I feel like my faith is the thing that's pushing me forward.
00:19:41
Speaker
Not just me. Because my own energy. Oh, yeah. ah the you I feel like as a creative, you've got got to trust in a higher source.
00:19:53
Speaker
huh I'm not... I'm not big enough to do it on my own. And I really feel like we are not just, and I think we, as humans forget, like we're not flesh and blood, you know, we are spiritual beings and we are vessels for creation.
00:20:11
Speaker
And there's an, there's a whole pool of energy and ideas that, that want to be channeled through us and we just have to be receptive towards it.
00:20:22
Speaker
And whatever mission that we're serving is a bigger mission than ourselves, you know? And that's part of the having faith thing. I think nobody who really truly walks in faith is, has an intention to do ill upon others or promote things that are bad for the world. And I think that's also why it's so important to have faith as a creative, because you have to understand that the energy that you're putting out into the world, it, it holds weight and it's going to come back to you.
00:20:52
Speaker
And it, I truly Yes, ma'am. I really do. Yes, ma'am. If you could go back and tell your younger creative self one thing, what would it be?
Advice for Artists and Future Aspirations
00:21:03
Speaker
This could be like the version of you that was like just getting into music creation. Absolutely.
00:21:12
Speaker
ah First thing I would say is, number one, I'm proud of you for studying great people. I think that's truly the foundation of all um great artistry is you have to study the grace.
00:21:26
Speaker
I don't, you know, you're never to like get up off your high horse. You know, you have a lot of learning to do. There's a lot of greatness that came before you.
00:21:38
Speaker
Keep studying it. here's some of Who are some of your influences? like Who are those greats for you? um so Growing up in China, ah mom, she would buy these DVDs from like these shady corner stores.
00:21:53
Speaker
Because we didn't really have like that much access to American entertainment back when I was living there. There's some channels that were allowed on on the waves. But... she would buy these like Michael Jackson DVDs and ah these Madonna DVDs.
00:22:09
Speaker
And some of them were Lady Gaga as well. and But primarily for me, it was Michael Jackson. And I just remember specifically watching like the Remember the Time music video And I was just, it was so cool because it was a movie and it was ancient Egypt. I was listening to Michael Jackson the other day.
00:22:27
Speaker
but no for my birthday, I just pulled up music on YouTube and we found ah the You Walk My World music video. My dad and i we were just listening to it. and i'm like, this is a production.
00:22:38
Speaker
It's a whole movie. It's a whole production. and I was like, that. That's what I want to do. Look at that. like in it had romance. And had comedy. And it had this whole storyline and this plot line. And it had the the colors and ever the cinematography. And I was like, wow.
00:22:57
Speaker
Wow. And it was just foundational for me. and And for me, that's kind of been... this this standard of excellence. and And you can tell from an artist like that, that he's not going to put out anything into the world that he doesn't believe in.
00:23:14
Speaker
And he's going to stand up for for what he truly feels and believes in his heart And he's, you know, and you could tell he the craft is there and he's put in the hours and, and it takes a lot of humility, even for, you know, and someone, the stature of Michael Jackson to really just show up in practice and be willing to be messy because there is no, you cannot be great if you're not willing to be messy. And and if you're not willing to be bad and to fail, like it's not, those are things that are,
00:23:45
Speaker
foundational for success, not the opposite of it. But going back to the original question, but what would I tell myself when I was younger is, you know, you know, create without the intention of getting anything.
00:24:03
Speaker
you know, regardless of whether people like your singing, regardless of whether people applaud you or whether you book that audition or whatever it may be, just sing because,
00:24:16
Speaker
you need to You need to express yourself. This is part of your soul. This is part of who you are. And sing to free yourself. And ah promise the singing is going to sound, you know, your performance of whatever you're doing is going to be better.
00:24:30
Speaker
And it's going to feel more real to people when you do it from that place rather than what do I need to do to impress you? What do I need to do to earn you? So, yeah, that's what I would say is just create from the for the sake of creating, not for anything else.
00:24:46
Speaker
Beautiful. Beautiful. There's definitely someone that can benefit from from what you just shared. So thank you for sharing that. um this is This has been a deep conversation already. like I really don't even want to want to wrap it up.
00:25:00
Speaker
I guess moving towards the song again and like what they say, i my hope for it is just that people that find this song and people that listen to this podcast will be able to
00:25:17
Speaker
take away something valuable and feel their feelings and that reaches the people that it needs to reach. So that is my hope for it. Thank you for creating this song. Thank you. And yeah.
00:25:28
Speaker
Thank you for using it as your theme song. I'm deeply honored. and think my light just went, I'm going to try. It's okay. Deeply honored. And thank you for having me on this podcast. And and thank you for letting me, you know, share my message and what you're doing is great. And I'm so proud of you. And ah the light went out again.
00:25:46
Speaker
But it it's okay. We bring the light, baby. We bring the light. Yeah. Thank you so much. For people that ah want to connect with you and your music and your journey, like how can they find you and where can they find you?
00:26:00
Speaker
Absolutely. So my name is C-Y-B-E-L-E underscore official underscore on Instagram. And then on Spotify, it's C-Y-B-E-L-E.
00:26:12
Speaker
And ah you'll find all my songs. I have a new song, In Another Life, coming out on August 18th. It's a ballad. It's for all the the lovers and the lover girls, lover boys, hopeless romantics out there. So you know what? Tap in.
00:26:28
Speaker
Tap in. Period. You're booked and busy. And also know you're you're getting, you're pursuing your master's degree, right? This fall at Berkeley. Berkeley NYC. Writing and production and musical theater.
00:26:42
Speaker
Writing musical, baby. Congratulations. Kill it. Kill it. Feel it. Thank you. know Proud of you. I'm proud of you, Miss Graduate.
00:26:54
Speaker
Okay. Period. Period. Period. For those that are listening right now, I have a community voices form that I would love for you to fill out on my Jot forum, and I'll link it somewhere in the description to open up this platform about your messy journey and pursuing in your pursuit of excellence. So let's have a conversation about it.
00:27:14
Speaker
Thank you, Sabelle, for joining me on Feel Your Feelings. Be sure to follow her, listen to her music, go to her shows, you guys.
00:27:24
Speaker
Period. Thank you for listening. and Thank you for being here.
00:27:34
Speaker
the video not recording it's so many things that have happened to me how about that that is just like yeah the whole episode did not record this person and it's like i only yeah today so i think that behind screen a lot people see it like oh man i can't believe that happened you know it's times making peace but they all need no garbage