Tell us a few things about your new song ‘That Love’. What is the main idea behind it?
well most of my songs usually start with a beat that I produce. The idea comes from the vibe I was getting from working on it and tossing out some hooks and Melodie’s until I came upon the lyrics I wanted. The lyrics actually have nothing to do with current relations but are rather inspired from past flings and motives.
What is the main topic of your lyrics?
sex, sex and sex. (Insert blushing face)
Favourite rapper, lyricist and producer?
Kanye West, hands down. He’s my number one goat because he does all 3 so well.
Is Spotify the music industry’s new Gatekeepers?
No absolutely not, but I believe they do still play a part. I believe most labels are still gate keepers using direct connections with Spotify to push their artists songs.
In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
I have a little bit of everything on my artist portfolio so it can vary between emotions. But I understand the state of mind people can experience will vary within their lifetime so I try to make different songs for different occasions.
One last thing we should know about you?
I’m winging everything as I go Including this interview
Tell us a few things about your new work ‘Te Canto Colores’. What is the story behind it?
Each song has its own unique story but I wanted the album as a whole to be a self-composed, performed, produced, and engineered endeavor using local artists that I work with regularly. The title song, “Te Canto Colores” is written in a traditional Flamenco Alegria Letra form. The lyrics are about our daughter who was born extremely premature and the beauty of that struggle that I witnessed between mother and child. My wife used to sing “De Colores” (being of Mexican Heritage) to our daughter in the hospital and I played with the idea of how the act of singing to someone can bring color into their life, and how the spectrum of life’s experiences is sometimes better expressed through music. And each tune has a story. I wrote a song about a mountain in Granada, another about how flamenco gestures tell a story and take you to a dream world, another I wrote for my friend who is no longer with us. En fin, I just wanted it to be honest and soulful.
Do you like the idea of collaborating?
Just as long as the people I’m collaborating with are cool, I love collaborating-luckily flamenco is a highly collaborative art form. I’m always doing shows with singers and dancers and percussionists. Part of the reason why I like Flamenco is that, even though you collaborate with others, you are still given plenty of opportunity to express your own voice. You aren’t tied to doing a song the same way every time because it is highly improvisational.
Is songwriting a lonely process?
I’d say song writing is a “solitary” process, not necessarily a “lonely” one. When I compose my best songs I find that I am often alone in a new place, or in the forest and I have time to just be alone without the distractions of normal life. Not to say I’m never lonely. I am sometimes.
What do you enjoy most? Writing music or performing your music live?
That’s a hard question to answer. Writing/composing music is something I’m driven to do naturally . I’ve made up songs since I was a kid. I don’t find performing to be nearly as intuitive. I love the adrenaline of performing, but I have a certain amount of performance anxiety that can be limiting and annoying at times. The best solution for my performance anxiety, however, somewhat ironically, is to perform. So I do.
What would you change in the music industry?
Autotune— I hate it. It completely sucks the nuance out of the human voice and for some reason all kinds of artists use it. I don’t get it-maybe it’s the industry pressure to make everything sound polished and perfect. Music is an expression of the soul and whose soul amongst us is polished and perfect?
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Trust your inspiration. Always be a student. Don’t forget to take interest in other people’s artistic endeavors and to support other artists.
Who is your favorite guitarist?
I tend not to have favorites. But I love listening to Moraito Chico lately . He had such a natural, fun style and his rhythm was impeccably in-the-pocket and every time I saw him perform (when he was still alive) I could see how genuinely thrilled he was to be playing music.
Tell us a few things about your new work “F#”. What is the story behind it?
There is a whole fictional world behind Drunk Pedestrians with a back story for each member of the band. I work with writers and illustrators to build a whole universe where the music is one part of it. The record F# in general was written during a very dark period of my life so there are a lot of themes like regret and sadness. I wanted to display those sort of emotions in a real way without being overly dramatic. I would head over to https://www.drunkpedestrians.com/the-story-so-far and check it out!
Which song of the album reflects you the most?
I would say “Asleep in Dreams” or “Let it Die” are both very reflective of my life journey.
Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?
Oh so many, I made a list for the label, Galacticaz, and it was pages long. Obviously the Gorillaz were a huge influence as well as Goldfrapp. Pete Rock and Kanye are also huge inspirations to me, as is Rick Rubin but I also get inspired by nature and other art forms like literature and paintings.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced as an artist so far?
I think marketing honestly is the biggest struggle for most artists. Then just having good habits and putting in the work.
In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
I make records as a complete artistic statement so I would hope I could capture ones imagination enough to listen to the whole album, although I think that’s a tall order.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
I do work in technology as well as music and I love both quite.
How many beats do you listen to before you end up using one? Tell us a few things about your creative process.
I choose beats pretty quickly either I feel something right away or I do not. If I am looking for a specific feeling or sound I will listen to a lot of beats. Possibly hundreds but if I am just looking to write I will know right away and start writing. A few things about my process are I always try to make everything personal and real to me and I feel it comes out better that way. There are times I am not in the studio or music setting and I think of song concepts or ideas and freestyle on the spot and if I can write on scraps of paper or in my phone.
Which is your most personal and honest lyric?
On the Paraknowrmul album, My grandpa’s ghost song is my most deep and personal song about my first paranormal experience and some of my life story in it.
Favorite rapper, lyricist and producer?
Immortal Technique, Eminem and El-P.
What does hip hop symbolize in your opinion?
Hip-Hop symbolizes a way to be heard when in other ways you feel unheard in my opinion.
In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
I imagine people listening to my music in any state of mind but if I had to be specific I would say when you want to ask big questions and not sure how.
What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
In Jr. High School I knocked out a guy in a fight and got suspended for a week.
Tell us a few things about your new song “Your Energy”. What is the main idea behind it?
People often equate the word ‘energy’ to experiences they’ve had with building a solid connection with another person and the feelings that come when the energy between them is positive. That’s what I’ve tried to accomplish in my song “Your Energy” – a song that inspires us to create and manifest connections that bring a positive energy that is enriching to our lives, allows us to feel safe and be our true selves, and gives way to have moments of transparency and vulnerability.
How would you describe your musical progress over the years?
My progress has definitely grown over the last 7 years that I’ve been an artist. My sound has changed along the way from being more Jazz/Gospel based to now being a fusion artist that combines multiple genres together to create something new. I’ve also grown as a producer and took it more seriously over the last 3 years. Overall, I’m always in evolution mode: always evolving and growing as the years go by.
What first got you into music?
My parents were actually the ones who pushed me to do music because they recognized that I had a musical gift and they wanted to bring it out. I didn’t start to enjoy it until I got to high school and saw that it was something that I could be great at and pursue further.
What do you enjoy most? Writing music or performing your music live?
I really enjoy playing my music live and connecting with my audience in person. It has been one of the hardest things during this pandemic to not be able to perform live in front of crowds, but I’m glad that things are getting back to some sort of normal. I love the process of preparing for a live show and playing with my band.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced as an artist so far?
The biggest challenge I’ve faced was getting my music played on radio stations in Canada, as well as playing at certain events. Being a fusion artist, sometimes it’s hard to get performance opportunities because my music is not only instrumental, but it’s so unique, different and not the norm.
In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
I pour out all my emotions and I put a lot of passion into my music, so I want people to have an open mind to understand and to connect with the feelings and the message that my music portrays. I want people to be inspired to dig deep into themselves when they listen.
What would you say is your biggest vice?
My biggest vice would have to be my pickiness when it comes to my music. I’m very particular about what I want and if it’s not done in the way I need it to be, it bothers me.
Your music has an experimental tone. Should music as a form of art always challenge the listener?
Very interesting question! I believe yes! As a listener, i always search for music that surprises me, music that challenges me in any way and puts me in a position of artistic redefinition, aesthetic expansion, in contact with new ideas, thoughts, feelings. These are the interesting and magic elements that music as a form of art is giving to the listener. In my view, there is no point otherwise.
Do you like the idea of collaborating? Is songwriting a lonely process?
I like it a lot and fortunately i have collaborated with many wonderful musicians. Some of my previous cd releases were for trios, quartet etc and my 2020 album ‘Dual Nature’ was for duo with the German clarinetist Rebecca Trescher.
Although it’s entirely different to compose for a solo instrument or for an ensemble, the process is still the same in most cases. It’s a lonely and wonderful process of experimentation, testing, connecting even more with the instrument, while trying to transfer deeper Ideas into music. It is something very interesting, essential to my general balance and i enjoy it very much.
Do you have an artist that you would describe as a hidden gem that we should know about?
I don’t have any particular in mind right now but Greece is full with “hidden jem” artists.
What would you change in the music industry?
I m not the person who wishes things were different and tries to change them. I feel more like i m trying my best in the current circumstances and in the world as it is, including music business and industry. Of course i would prefer many things to be different but after all these years i don’t think about it so much.
In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
Many people have said to me that they are listening to hEre nOw theN cd, in their cars, in the office, while relaxing at night with a glass of wine etc. I m very happy to see that my music gives something to people in whatever state of mind they are and that they can listen to it as part of their daily life.
What is the most useless talent you have?
What an unexpected question! My wife says that my most useless talent is drawing sketches on the sand during our summer vacations.
Tell us a few things about your new work. What is the main idea behind it?
Is to make people aware there is strength, knowledge, health, wealth, happiness, and a true miracle when we create the necessary time to connect oneself, through our mind, body and soul. This deep connection allows us to see beyond our sights, to here even the smallest insect crawling on the ground and to feel every vibration around us.
Which song of the album reflects you the most?
Every single song in the album reflects me as they are all conceived by me, each track bears my legacy. However, “Life Nah Jeje” reflects actualized ME. it depicts my realization of life in a more holistic manner thanks to the healthy free time of reconnect with myself. Life is not about the quantity but the quality of what we understand and live of it, it is not about what we behold but the mystery it reserves. Understanding of some of these aspects allows us to craft our life bearing in mind the answer to everything is beyond human comprehension. We know of our born, but we do not know of dawn. It is the enigma that is LIFE!
What do you enjoy most? Writing music or performing your music live?
It is hard to say or choose. I enjoy doing both equally. The writing moment is what I call a haunted moment, it can invade me anytime, any day and any where. That moment is indescribable, it’s moment which there is you, the song and everything the song speaks about. I see, I live I feel every character and scenario that makes the song. That moment on is own is magical. That feeling of relief when I am done, like, I have just given voice to someone or people that has been speaking within me is a healing. Performance is holy or ritual moment where every character in my lyrics manifests in it entire form, is it that moment of between the physical and soulfulness or spiritual-ness or better still TRANCE mode for those who can understand what it is. A moment that once again I am not in control and that when I am done, I feel like a child who just came into the world. It is a very beautiful feeling no amount of money or compromise can take away from me. I feel this because I understand this is my purpose in life. I am a channel from which messages and healings, or soothing are convened to others. Therefore, writing and performance weigh equally for me.
Your music has lovely grooves. Tell us a song with a groove you wish you had composed yourself.
Thanks for that! It’s nice to hear my songs have lovely grooves. Every song has its soul, context, and purpose for me. I do not really plan to write for the sake of groove but from within my heart and leave the judgment to God who gave me the gift and the people to determine. Because every composer, creator has their unique stories, live experiences and context I cannot wish to have been in their position, I can only enjoy their grooves and appreciate God for their talents and efforts. I spend time to learn more about similar artists such as Fela Kuti, Victor Uwaifo, King Sunny Ade and others who inspires me. I have learned from them that not only it is good to create groove or lend voices to raise awareness but caring for those around us also matters a lot which is why I have an amazing musician from Nigeria I have maintained and invested in over the years, and we are one family. That beauty of togetherness I believe strongly contributes to make some beautiful grooves while juggle between physical and soul in my creation processes!
When not writing music, how do you spend your time?
I love to share some good time with family members and friends, I like to go for long walks in the nature or waterfront, I love to shop gift for close relatives and friends, and I love to cook my favorite specialties for people. I also just like to live by myself in silence sometimes.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
I would be a nurse or a social worker. Being able to help someone in need just makes me so happy, it is a healing for me. I still do it with my music based on testimonials I receive but yes, I would be either of the two above so happily.
Tell us a few things about your new song “Get Funky”. What is the main idea behind it?
I started writing this song in the very first covid lockdown period. It was a time of uncertainty and fear for everyone so I wanted to write something up Beat and happy for people to escape and enjoy and smile for a moment. I feel at that time any sort of pick me up was needed so a song like this should of hopefully lifted your spirits a little.
Do you like the idea of collaborating? Is songwriting a lonely process?
I would absolutely love to collaborate with more artists and producers. It’s always so good to connect with more artists and learn from them also. If anyone is reading this and would potentially like to work with me then hit me up 🤙🏻
I really enjoy songwriting and it naturally comes quite easy for me when I hear a beat I like. If I can hear a catchy chorus then the rest of the song just follows. Some songs take longer than others to write but generally it all comes really natural to me. I definitely say I take more time now when I am writing and go back and forth with the song to see if I can add more depth and Elevation to the composition.
Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?
My main influences definitely include Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Chris brown, Ne – yo, Mario etc. Naturally I have always been drawn towards the soft R&B side to music and feel that definitely fits my voice well. Singing along to MJ and the Jackson 5 when I was younger has definitely helped my voice and range growing up. MJ has been the most biggest and prominent influence in my career.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced as an artist so far?
The biggest challenge I have faced as an artist so far would be the fact that I am an independent artist. Being an independent artist can be difficult at times as your solely relying on yourself to promote and pay for your tracks and promotion etc. Money can be a issue sometimes as you always want the best product, but obviously that can sometimes come at a cost as I don’t mix and master my own song’s. But if I keep pushing and believing I am sure everything will fall into place and the right people will hear my music.
In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
I think I have a variation of music in my repertoire from R&B, Dance, Funk & Soul etc. So I think I can appeal to a wide range of audience to be honest. Generally though most of music is quite up beat and happy. Definitely party vibes.
When was the last time you danced?
Currently I am touring with a boyband show called “Boyz Beyond” so I am always dancing and singing every weekend when we gig around the UK.
Tell us a few things about your new work. What is the story behind it? Which track of the album represents you the most?
This Album is born because i believe introvert can make big things too, in a world dominated by images and icons, it feels like theres no place for those who just cant manage the spotlight, i believe that is not right. The album mixes a variety of genres, united by a common street taste. As a person i experiment different feelings and i don’t want to limit the album to a genre with would mainly reflect just part of those, a person is a complicated mix of feelings, and the balance of those feelings define the person, so should an album.
Do you like the idea of collaborating? Is songwriting a lonely process?
Songwriting is kinda lonely, but at the same time collaborative, lately, collaborations became a lot easier thanks to fast internet and strong social networks on the net, this is creating huge opportunities for artists to collaborate with anyone in the world, without gettin out of the studio. Finally, even small artists are able to link up and work on massive album projects, on a small budget. Watchout music superstars, we gonna kick your asses.
Do you have an artist that you would describe as a hidden gem that we should know about?
Uh yes, I have many of them, ADESSSO, Hollyspleef, Bluid, Ev. to name a few…
What would you change in the music industry?
Music industry is just like everything else in the world, those who are on top, are unable to take risks, and that somehow slows down culture, but hey, you can’t really stop underground culture from growing.
In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
This album is quite a large spectrum of moods, as I am experimenting mixed feeling the most of the time…So I would say, its a shapeshifting album depending on the mood you approach the album with, but no real correct or incorrect state of mind needed.
You’d give up making music for…
Have 10 kids, grow em like an herd of wolves, beach wolves, and skate with them.
Tell us a few things about your new work “Never Painted Black”. What is the main idea behind it?
Ultimately the song is about finding truth and beauty in accepting the simplicity of existence and rolling with the flow of things just like children do. It started as an improvised lullaby for my sleepless boy who struggled terribly into the night and yet joyfully relished every single moment of the day; all the little discoveries, every new feeling. Life being awe-inspiring just like that; no need for all the constructs that come later on when we harden. During those endless baby-walking nights, having no soothing aid to spare but my voice, I couldn’t use my hands to jot down lyrics so I would croon the melody over and over in the dark. Night after night, ideas came and went, and the song evolved spontaneously.
Which is your most personal and honest lyric?
I reckon all my lyrics are. I mainly write about existential themes filtered through my personal experience, feelings and political views. I always strive for authenticity. No gimmicks here.
Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?
I’d say all of them but definitely classics like David Crosby, Stephen Stills, The Band, Joe Strummer, R.L. Burnside, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles
What is the biggest challenge you have faced as an artist so far?
well, the struggle is real for a lot of us and there’s a lot of dirt in the world but somehow I always manage to turn it around in my head and have a laugh about it.
Which book should we read while listening to your music?
that’s a hard one… maybe “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera on weekends and “The Monkey Wrench Gang” by Edward Abbey on weekdays
HipHop Paranoia 