Singer, songwriter, and producer Justo Ontario encountered his passion for music at church and home since his parents were both music lovers. His modern soul and R&B were born in Jesus’ house before being progressively molded throughout an adolescence rich in music! With only two tracks, “Dancin'” and “Fever”, the artist proves that he is able to reach everyone from the “anti-mainstream music coffee-shop hipsters” to the “radio programmed music-heads”. We interviewed the rising artist and guess what? More music is coming soon!
For Justo Ontario, music is a family affair! Indeed, his mother was the first singer he was ever introduced to! Leading all the songs for the church’s choir, she seems to have inculcated in her family with her passion for music. Justo Ontario‘s older brother is a drummer and his dad is a 70s music lover. That is probably why this path was so obvious for the precocious artist from Virginia.
As he explained us, he started to record himself rapping when he was little and had been singing since the age of 7. Nevertheless, as he was scared and shy, no one knew he could sing until he was in college! It’s Kelis‘ “Caught Out There” that motivated him to start production. He was only 11! Then, he started to make beats, to sing in a gospel choir and in a jazz band. He recorded music throughout college with some friends before finally majoring in music.
Singer, songwriter, producer, beatmaker… Rising act Justo Ontario is a talented and versatile artist you have to keep an eye on!
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Two years ago, he dropped “Fever” on Soundcloud. But it is with the recent “Dancin'” that we discovered him. The track is a modern and soulful track where the artist showcases his solid vocal skills. The production, that he made in collaboration with Darian ‘Noo$e’, is directly inspired by his music tastes: jazz, soul and R&B. It features a sample of the classical Catalyst composition “A Tear And A Smile.” It starts as a classic soul track, headed by an interesting guitar instrumentation, until a middle break which opens the door to some modern, catchy, and twisted sounds. The artist is particularly involved in the creative process of all of his tracks and (co-)produced all of them!
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/245013495″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]His versatility is quite impressive and when we ask him to talk about his favorite album of the moment, his choice surprises us again:
What’s coming next for this rising talent? He will play in a free show on August 16th at Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 1) in New York City at 6:00PM. Justo Ontario should release a new single this month and a video for “Dancin'”. An EP is also on the way and is due for this fall.
Connect with Justo Ontario on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, Instagram, and YouTube.
Post Author
darlene crocker
August 9, 2016 at 5:23 pm
So hip! Yesssss! Every good and perfect gift comes from God! Im Justo Ontario number 1 Fan! His singing 🎤reminds me of past 70s. Nothing compares to the music in that era. Song “Dancing” makes you groove. Im blessed to be His Mom😄