Hello
Readers, for this week’s interview we have dance-music artist BP Major here to
share with us his music and fascinating career story. On a personal
note, I’m thrilled to have our first electronic artist on this blog!
MW: You experienced
a lot of success very early on in your life, how old were you at the time of
your first “big break?” What was it?
BP: I
started working on Australian TV at the age of 9. My family was not in the
business at all and had no idea what to do with me or how entertainment
worked at all. I found myself an agent, then I booked 2
national commercials after my first ever audition. Things have
changed a lot in our business since then, but honestly I feel like I'm still
waiting for that big break.
MW: We’ve all heard
that sometimes it’s a difficult transition for young stars to assume their
adult identities, was that the case for you?
BP: I
have always understood the importance of evolution as an artist so
growing up for me is an ongoing process. The hardest transition for me has been
moving from country to country. As you really do have to start at the bottom
and do all that hard work all over again. There's many times I can't believe
I'm doing the same thing I had to do in my teens just to get someone to 'like'
me. But that's the nature of the business and I have some incredible role
models to keep me on track.
MW: I now need to
switch to a few obligatory questions regarding technical stuff, do you mind?
BP:
Go for it.
MW: Great, let’s
start with the instrumental tracks… Can you describe your creative process?
BP:
Yes, I usually start each track with a short story. I'm very visual
and descriptive in my approach. I then work out a basic tempo, melody and
feeling. At that point I usually sit down with a producer to help fine tune my
idea.
MW: It seems like
there is some very heavy emphasis on 303 sounds in your songs, such as “Calling
All Recruits” – do you care to speak to that at all?
BP:
I love to use sounds, beats & instruments that not only fit with the particular song I’m
working on but also love electronic music that can be mashed together and
morphed to create something hybrid, or futuristic. It's pretty awesome to alter
something organic to create a new sound.
MW: Do you have any
favorite pieces of equipment?
BP:
I know it's a little old school but my favorite piece of equipment is a pen and
paper. I love to write.
MW: I noticed you
lived in Sweden for some time… As a musician there did you feel obligated to
use Reason software?
BP:
I loved living in Sweden, but being an Aussie I never feel obligated to do
anything - except say please and thank you.
MW: Ha, that's awesome - you know I just had to ask because I'm a huge Reason fan - I have to say
that in listening to your songs, especially “Indigo,” you obviously have
stellar control over your upper register – has it always been that way or did
you receive any training?
BP:
Thank you. You know is funny, I've never really though of myself as a
'trained' singer or even a very strong singer compared to the big belters out
there, I just sing where it feels right for me and in my upper register I tend
to be able to belt with ease. It's cool cause it's effective and super easy for
me.
MW: Let’s
get back to “Calling All Recruits,” how did that song come about?
BP:
Calling All Recruits is a song that I wanted to keep very simple and direct, because
sometimes all we wanna do is go out and have a dance. Calling All Recruits is
the song that gives me that reason and that permission to let loose on the
dance floor without a care. I love it as it's an invitation to be yourself and
bust out.
MW: It’s a great
track and very easy to see why it’s been so successful in the club-circuit.
BP:
Thanks, yeah it's one of those songs that you can't help but bust out too. Even
my nieces and nephews blast it and burn up the living room floor. So if they
like it, I know it's good.
MW:
I’d like to ask you about comparisons. I think it’s easy for people
to liken you to David Bowie, he was a very theatrical performer in the sense
that he adopted specific stage personas, this seems to be a part of your
performing identity – does this comparison ever bother you or do you embrace
it?
BP:
I think it's an incredible honor to be compared to Bowie. Though he is a legend
and I'm still finding my way. But yes I see the theatrical comparison and I
think it's awesome. I love to perform, I love the theatrics of live
performance. I also think it's so cool to be able to use something so modern as
EDM and work it with some old school theatrics. It's like living a dream for
me.
MW: Are there any
current artists you’ve been enjoying?
BP:
I have to say there's more artists more famous than myself bringing out the
theatrics these days and It's so cool to see. It's like we were all trapped for
a while since the glam rock era sort of faded away. I think Gaga had a lot to
do with bringing
back the glam to music and I'm grateful to her for that. It makes the rest of
us look less crazy now. As far as enjoying artists, I love a lot of very
different artists for very different reasons. If I'm in a singing mood I'll
have the rat pack on, or if I wanna jam at home it'll be disco, If I have
to do the vacuuming it's the Pussy Cat Dolls lol - true Hollywood Story!
MW: So, What’s next for
BP Major – is there anything we should be looking out for?
BP:
The launch of my new video for Calling All Recruits is very exciting and nerve
racking. So fingers crossed it's my 'Big Break' - again. I really hope it put's
me on the map on a strong international level. I love the video, it's been a
real process from conception to completion but after seeing the final copy
(last night) for the first time, I am super excited and hopeful.
MW: Sounds awesome.
Thanks so much for giving us your time today!
Find more
about BP Major at:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/bp-major
