High school singer-songwriter works on original album

Published October 2, 2034

BY DANIELA FOLEY

Adam Angel, a 16-year-old singer-songwriter and CHS junior based in Carmel Valley, is currently working on his first indie pop album, “6:58,” after releasing two singles this past year: “Decades” and “Anymore.”

“I’ve been singing and been in love with music all my life, but I really started making songs and producing songs when I was around 10, and from there, it just took off into what I am today,” says Angel.

As Angel has been writing songs for the past six years, he has been able to learn that creating songs can happen in a variety of ways. For his upcoming album, Angel expects to include 12 original songs, which he describes as contrasting and lyrically complex, which are all written and composed by himself.

His first released song, “Decades,” was written when Angel was only 11, after he wrote it as a friend’s birthday gift, describing the time they had spent together. Two years later, Angel was approached by singer-songwriter Cindy Alexander, a native to Big Sur, who served as a mentor helping him go through the process of refining his lyrics and recording it.

Adam Angel, a junior at Carmel High School, is currently working on releasing his first album. (courtesy of ADAM ANGEL)

“This was my first introduction into real complex songwriting. Before, I had some elements of melodic songwriting, but with her help I was able to elevate my skills,” explains the CHS junior. “The process for writing my songs is actually very different for each individual song… It could be a melody or idea that pops into my head, like a verse.”

Along with releasing his self-written music, Angel is also working with members of the CHS Film Club in order to create videos to express his art in more mediums than one. As Angel is already an active member of the Film Club, being able to incorporate his many interests into one creative project is something he looks forward to. For his music videos, Angel is concentrating on cultivating the development of a single character, which represents him through different phases of life. Specifically, Adam refers to moments or emotions that have had a large impact on his life.

“There were many songs of mine that were reflective of my mental state and were very deep and meaningful to me that reflected where I was in that point in my life,” explains the artist.

In order to gain more experience as a performer, Angel performs at paid gigs at restaurants, private parties and events along the Monterey coast. Along with singing, Angel also plays piano both in his recorded songs and during live performances, where he can be heard singing both original songs and covers, often requested by the crowd.

As he continues working on his album, his two released singles can be found on Spotify under Adam Angel.