It’s not unusual for the average student at the College to encounter a new clip of Logan Spaleta ’28 promoting his music as they scroll through their Instagram feed. For aspiring musician Spaleta, music is a medium to capture and amplify feelings of both the artist and listeners.
Throughout Spaleta’s music career, he has written over 100 songs, several of which have been released on Spotify and Apple Music. “Music is something that unites people, something that makes people feel things,” he said in an interview with the Record.
Spaleta’s relationship with music started early. Growing up, he was exposed to songs from the ’80s by his parents, who encouraged him to learn the piano starting at age six. By the time he was nine, he played and performed songs he heard at home, including music by Billy Joel and John Nilsen.
As Spaleta grew older, he started exploring different types of music, becoming obsessed with Five Seconds of Summer during his self-proclaimed “boy band phase.” Then, he moved on to Matchbox Twenty, and has most recently become a fan of Damiano David, the frontman of the Italian band Måneskin. “A lot of modern pop songs capture a sort of energy that you want to groove or dance to a little bit,” Spaleta said. “And I think those songs are really special to me.”
Spaleta’s songwriting process largely relies on spontaneity. When he writes, he allows his current mood to shape the direction of the song. Spaleta tends to start his process by writing lyrics, then building instrumentation around them. “A lot of times it’s the lyrics that come first, and I’ll take that to a piano, or if I don’t have a piano, I’ll just start singing stuff in my head a little bit, and match the vibe of what the lyrics give,” he said.
Spaleta also uses other artists as an inspiration for his own creative process. “Anytime I’ve been really hooked on a song, I was like, ‘What do I like about these songs?’” he said. “How can I take that and apply it to a song that I write?”
Once he’s written a song, Spaleta moves into production, using Logic Pro software on his computer. He plays the song over and over, layering drums, guitar, and bass. When he finishes his songs, he wishes “to tell a story, but also to elucidate feelings,” he said.
Songwriting is also a way for Spaleta to understand his own emotions. “Honestly, when I write songs, I feel more connected with myself,” Spaleta said.
For Spaleta, balancing his personal life as a student and his creative aspiration can sometimes be challenging. He juggles student theatre with Cap & Bells, the Spring Streeters a cappella group, the Purple Valley Play Festival, and his job at Spring Street Market, all while producing his music in the recording rooms of Sawyer.
Spaleta also posts frequently on social media to promote his music, which has drawn attention from other students. For example, the College-specific Instagram meme account williams_cattle_royale published a post with the text “Count your days Logan” on March 12. While the account later implied that the post was aimed at a different Logan, Spaleta took advantage of the publicity to advertise his music. “I’m not expecting this work to be received as if it is the next great thing right now,” Spaleta said. “I’m just continuing to build who I am.”
Throughout his musical journey, Spaleta has found it rewarding to be able to connect with more people because of his music. “People that I knew and people that I didn’t know were coming up to me and being like, ‘Hey, I really liked your song,’” he said. “It was a really magical feeling.”
He’s currently working on a new album called forever and tonight, slated for release on May 15. The album tells a story of romance and its barriers, inspired by his partner who is currently abroad. He also plans to host an album release concert at Goodrich Hall on May 17.
Spaleta’s zeal for music shows no signs of slowing: He hopes to have released three albums by graduation. “The goal is to somehow be able to continue doing music once school is over,” Spaleta said. “It’s really something that I believe in, and I think it’s something that I can get to by the end of college. As long as I keep pushing as hard as I am right now, the road will hopefully lead to music-related things.”
