In this interview spotlight, I chat with James Bakian about his latest release (If I Ever See You Again), challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
My name is James Bakian, I’m 15 and I’m from London. I’m a singer/songwriter and producer and I love making music. My main styles are pop and R&B though I’ve also experimented with lofi and lofi-hiphop.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I started taking piano lessons when I was 7 but my interest in songwriting was sparked when I discovered Maroon 5 when I was about 10 and their music inspired me to try and write my own songs. Music is something that comes naturally to me so once I realised I could write songs, I never really stopped. Then when I came first in a school talent show aged 12, playing and singing one of my own songs, ahead of all the older kids, I was hooked!
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
When I write a song, sometimes I’ll get the lyrics first, sometimes a melody and sometimes I produce a beat on Logic Pro X and then the melody and lyrics come later. With this release I was experimenting with a jazz style beat and then sometime later I got the hook and its lyrics and then the rest of the song flowed from there.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Recording music has become so accessible to anyone with a laptop – you don’t need to go to a recording studio anymore – you can set up a recording space in your own home and there are so many companies that will distribute your music to online platforms like iTunes and Spotify which means that the industry is oversaturated. The advantage is you no longer need a record label to get your music out there. As it’s expensive to record in a recording studio, my parents encouraged me to try producing my own music and bought me Logic Pro X. So I discovered that music production is another aspect of music I enjoy – being involved in the entire song creation process from start to finish is very satisfying.
What was the last song you listened to?
Honesty by Pink Sweat$
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I listen to music on Spotify so it has to be MP3s
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Spotify as that’s the platform my family uses.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can find my music on all the digital platforms and I’m on social media. Here are my links:
Anything else before we sign off?
My latest song IF I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN can be streamed on:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1GlhbkfKR8hEhM5Wadwe0W?si=3kM9gioNRpeSEGRUWhgAGQ
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jamesbakian/if-i-ever-see-you-again
iTunes and Amazon: https://smarturl.it/IfIEverSeeYouAgain
YouTube: https://youtu.be/27o7O-r91VE
