James Vickery – A Change In Direction?
So after a long start to the year we finally got the chance to sit down and grab some time with one of our favourite voices so far in 2017, James Vickery. You may have heard his voice recently on the BBC Introducing South Live Sessions with Adam Dowling, if not have a listen to a snippet here
And for the rest…. have a listen below and you’ll fall in love with James music as much as we did..
So have a read and let us know what you think @Busk_music
Can you tell us and the readers a little more about yourself?
Hi! My name is James Vickery, and I’m a Singer/Songwriter from South London.
What was it like to have such a big reaction from your release “Epiphany” last year?
It was amazing, it surpassed any expectations I had of the track. I always loved the track and the vibe but considering it was my first release, I had no idea how it would go down and how people would react to it.
You recently featured on SRNO’s track “All Night”, how did that come about and what did you enjoy most about the collaboration process?
It was quite a random one, I was blown away by his track ‘Stay Sane’ which I discovered on Majestic Casual and was looking to work with as many producers as possible at the time. I enquired to a scout I know at Virgin about working together and to my luck he had flown over from Amsterdam for a couple weeks for some writing, we wrote the track together in a studio in Letchworth Garden City over 2 days and the rest was history!
We love the chilled out and soulful vibe to your latest release “Lately”, what was the motivation or story behind the track?
Lately was one of the first songs I wrote when I made the transition over to ‘Electronic’ music. I used to make mellow Acoustic vibes but it wasn’t quite working out. January 2016 I had a change of heart and decided to throw myself into a world of music I knew nothing about. Most people think it’s a love song, but it’s actually about struggling to adapt to the new genre- hence the chorus ‘Lately I’ve been wondering on my own, but slowly I can try to make some sense of it all’.
Who are your favourite Artists in the industry at the moment?
Where do I start! I’m absolutely obsessed with anything that Tom Misch touches. I’m also listening to a lot of NAO (Check our post on NAO from back in 2016 here), Loyle Carner and Anderson Paak, but I’m also really into the older soul stuff as well, such as D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Stevie Wonder.
What can we expect from your new EP which is on the way? Can we expect any collaborations?
I can’t say too much just yet, but there will definitely be a collaboration in there, I’ve developed a close relationship with producer Maths Time Joy (who produced Lately) – he’s producing the first track off the EP. I can however say that there will be 4 songs and each one of them is going out as a single.
How important do you think the use of social media and online music platforms such as Twitter, SoundCloud, Spotify, Instagram, are in the current market in getting noticed?
Social media is such a key factor in this day and age. I haven’t had too much experience of it yet but from what I gather, having a good online campaign is sometimes as important as the song itself. Spotify gets a lot of stick in the media, but people need to realise that Artists don’t sell records anymore, money is mainly made from Merchandise and Touring, plus a lot of people don’t know that Artists get paid for Spotify streams. I’m gutted about the potential shutting down of Soundcloud, it feels like the end of an era- I’ve seen the move to Spotify happening for a while now. I feel extremely sorry for the people who have built their following from Soundcloud are so dependent on its’ activity.
What did you think of Eurovision this year when you lost your Eurovision virginity? Who was your favourite County?
Haha I knew I shouldn’t have tweeted that! People were shocked when I said I haven’t watched it before! I’ll be honest I didn’t get through all of it, I had no idea there were so many countries were involved… It had everything though, I can’t remember which country was performing but I remember seeing someone run onstage and moon the camera dressed in an Australian flag- jokes.
Masterchef or the Great British Bake Off?
Loads of people would disagree, but Masterchef is the ****. I religiously watched the latest series and it was just everything. (CLAIM TO FAME) I got tweeted by one of the finalists and I was buzzing for like a week afterwards.
In a few words what advice would you give to someone trying to get into the industry in 2017?
Remain humble. No matter how big you are, always perfect your craft. The music industry can be cruel but if you don’t believe in yourself, then no one else will.
James will be releasing his debut EP via Lemon Records very soon, his first track from the EP “Alone” (Produced with Maths Time Joy) will be out summer 2017; not long to wait!
Interview by Andrew Bottomley
BUSK MUSIC 