Salvatore Manalo is a Portland based soul artist and guitarist whose self-titled five song EP "Salvatore Manalo" will be released on January 12th. We connected with Salvatore for exclusive interview to discuss the EP, his experience as a military brat and student at the Berklee College of Music, his successful Kickstarter and much more.

Enjoy our Q&A with Salvatore and be sure to stream/download his EP this Friday, January 12th. In the meantime, follow him on his social media streams and check out his website below.

As a former military brat, how did your travels around the world impact you as a songwriter?

Traveling allowed me to meet some pretty incredible people and musicians. It also taught me how to adapt in a short period of time so inspiration was always a matter of just searching for it as opposed to waiting for it to come around. Having to leave friends behind every couple of years also gave me a lot of free time to write and reflect too.

Believe it or not, we've had at least five other artists who have attended the Berklee College of Music appear on our website. Though you left after several semesters, what was your experience like there?

Berklee was definitely an insane experience. Every corner you turned there was a prodigy level musician. To be honest, I appreciated the community of musicians there more than I did the curriculum in a way. Everybody was just really motivating to be around and the instructors were next level chill. 

Congratulations on the release of your self titled EP "Salvatore Manolo". Tell us about how the project came about and how important the Kickstarter campaign was to its completion.

Thank you so much! For "Salvatore," the Kickstarter campaign was vital to its completion. I was originally going to go the DIY route but after seeing the amazing support come through, I wanted to deliver on something that I could really be proud of. From the musicians to the mastering process, no corners were cut.

When someone listens to your EP for the first time, what do you want them to take away from the experience?

More than anything, I just want people to be able to relate and be moved.

We really enjoy your single "Rain". Why did you select it to lead off the promotion of the EP and can we expect a visual for it soon?

Thanks! "Rain" is probably my favorite off of the EP and I've played it live so much this past year that it's pretty much second nature by now. I guess I just wanted to showcase all sides of the EP. "This Feeling" is the only song I wrote during the recording process so I feel that it represents the direction I want to go moving forward. Definitely! I've been in talks with some talented people to hopefully put out a video in the next couple of months. I did do a live session at the studio I recorded at in the meantime though.

Connect with Salvatore Manalo: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook