When Cait Farbanks is not busy utilizing her acting talents on a television set or on stage in a musical theater production, she is making music as Ginesse. Her lush indie pop tracks showcase her silky vocals and pensive lyrics, connecting with audiences in a way that is unique to the Ginesse persona. We were able to catch up with Ginesse ahead of the release of her new single, “Gatorade,” to talk about her experiences as an actress, her views on spirituality, and her debut EP.
Photo by Isabelle Lesh
Photo by Isabelle LeshMelodic Mag: How did this journey into music and acting begin for you? Did you always have a passion for both?
Ginesse: Yes, I’ve always had a passion for both. I first started singing along to my Walkman when I was just a small-wee babe. I think music has and will forever be my first love. My dad encouraged me to start musical theater because he used to do it too, and I ended up falling in love with singing on stage. Doing musical theater made me realize that I needed to become a better actor too, so I also started focusing on that. I love challenges, and both music and acting are big challenges. I just can’t see myself doing anything else with my life!
MM: I read that when you create music as Ginesse, you take on another persona, as you do with your acting roles. When you work on new music, are there times when you find yourself channeling parts of other characters you’ve played into Ginesse, or does Ginesse stand alone?
G: I think that anything you do in life is going to channel into the things you create so, if you’re a creative person — and I would say ninety-nine percent of the world has a predilection towards creativity — you’re going to channel parts of your life into the things you create. I think it’s hard to completely let go of the characters I have performed as, so I would say they definitely come into play in my music. I think the Ginesse project is a safe space for me to communicate with the world.
MM: Your new single, “Gatorade,” is set to be released June 4th! As it is a play on “Mercury in retrograde,” would you say that you are a spiritual kind of person who believes in astrology, psychics, mediums, etc?
G: I think there is space for everything that we believe in. I consider myself a spiritual person, but it’s more like I consider myself spiritually connected to other humans. I think we all exist on a plane where we can reach each other; it just takes communication and understanding. I’m a big believer in energy too.
MM: Possibly unrelated, do you have a favorite color/flavor of Gatorade?
G: I got sick a lot when I was growing up, so I definitely drank a lot of Gatorade. The light blue flavor is my favorite. On the other hand, I’ve had way too much of the fruit punch and orange Gatorade to ever get close to those flavors again.
Photo by Isabelle Lesh
Photo by Isabelle LeshMM: As you have incorporated your music on The Young and the Restless, could you see yourself mixing music and acting on a larger scale down the line, like writing musicals or scoring movies?
G: It’s always been a big dream of mine to make a musical movie with all the music I’ve made, so yeah, I’d absolutely love to do that!
MM: Your debut EP, Somewhere to Die, was released last year, and focuses on key moments you have experienced as a young adult. Was it tough to determine which moments you wanted to share on the EP, or did you know from the start what you wanted to focus on?
G: The EP took almost five years to make and release. So many things happened throughout those five years, and there were certain songs I’d made that continued to stick with me because they felt honest and relevant to what I was going through. I didn’t go into creating the EP knowing exactly what I wanted to focus on, but once we wrote songs that really captured how I was feeling, I always gravitated back to those tracks.
Photo by Isabelle Lesh
Photo by Isabelle LeshMM: Your songs are thematic in nature, bringing forth strong visuals that further represent what is going on with the lyrics. When you write, do you make it a point to get certain imagery across, or is this unintentional?
G: Personally, I’m a big imagery person. I think imagery can really take you back to the moment — certain colors, streets, things, etc. It’s supposed to make you feel something or make you see something; it’s supposed to take you there. It’s not necessarily an intentional choice to include vivid imagery in my lyrics, but it’s just the natural way that I’ve always written. I want people to feel as if they are part of the story, like they are submerged in it as well.
MM: What does the rest of 2021 look like for you?
G: I’m really just trying to make it out alive! I want to primarily focus on songwriting and acting. The last year, I did a lot of self-exploration and I think I’m going to be approaching everything from a different viewpoint moving forward, which is actually really exciting.
MM: Any final comments/shout-outs/words of wisdom?
G: I just want to shout-out the creative people that I’ve been working with. They’ve been along for the ride with me as much as I’ve been on the ride myself. They put so much of themselves into the things that I make and that we’ve made together. Ginesse really feels like a team effort. I think it’s really important to remember we really need each other, all of us do.
Thank you very much, Ginesse! We can definitely see an EGOT in your future.
You can listen to “Gatorade,” as well as Ginesse’s debut EP, Somewhere to Die, on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
