Interview with R&B artist Justus Clarke
TheWolvesDen: Having spent a lot of time with your project[Living It], I can say that you seem to be bringing influences not from the soul era, but the 90's R&B era. How accurate is this description? What sound were you trying to capture?
TheWolvesDen: Having spent a lot of time with your project[Living It], I can say that you seem to be bringing influences not from the soul era, but the 90's R&B era. How accurate is this description? What sound were you trying to capture?
Justus Clarke: Very accurate, 90's R&B era is probably one of my favorite R&B periods. I was trying to capture this sound, a little of the 80's (Prince, Janet Jackson) and with the 90's (Teddy Riley, Mary J. Blige, e.t.c). Everything you hear on the album is everything that I was growing up with from the time i was born to the time i was around 13-15 years old.
TWD:This project clearly focus' on relationships, is this all inspired by the same girl? Is there a connection between this project on how you specifically view love?
JC: [laughs] Alright, not even going to lie, half the record is about one girl (LovelyLady, Livin' It, Runnin', some of BitterSweet & Brandywine). Few people know who she actually is, but I doubt she's even heard the record yet. Other songs were just what I thought of "love", telling stories and what not.
TWD:What was your intended goal with this project?
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| Livin It which was released March this year |
JC:The album was really supposed to be released when I was around 13, but my voice was changing and I was sitting on loads of material, so I just waited, kept writing and then recorded when I was 14 and 15. Me being ambitious, I was just trying to prove wrong anybody who said that my music wouldn't catch on and gain a fanbase.
TWD:On this project on songs like Running there is a clear alteration on your voice. It's almost as if you wanted to present yourself as a one man band. Where it feels like we have different lead singers depending on the song. Was that the idea?
JC:Runnin' was supposed to be in another key. The background vocals were actually supposed to be pitched/altered, but i when I pitched up the music, it sounded better than the other pitch, so I kept it.
TWD:What was your favorite thing about this project? What do you wish you could have changed on it?
JC: Completing the mixing was probably my favorite. Actually siting there and listening to 2-3 years of work was "Bittersweet". Only thing I would've changed about it was the synth volume on Beat You To It [laughs], other than that, nothing.
TWD:It is unusual to see a full fledged singer and self producer. What are the challenges in balancing those two perspectives on a song? Where maybe your production is more interesting than your lyrics or vice versa?
JC:Wow, never thought about it like that before [laughs], I've been doing this for 10 years now (singing, producing, writing). It was never really an issue as long as it was something that I wanted to sing on. Lyrically, I either let the production tell me what's going on, or I'll just write whatever I'm feeling. At the end of the day, I have to like everything about it, so I guess that's the balance.
TWD:As a one man band, how do you go about producing?
JC:I always have music in my head, so I will just record what's in my head. Garage Band is the only program I use for now, I might switch up programs, but I don't really see the need to right now.
TWD:If you had a 30 second pitch for your album? What would you say?
JC:I would probably tell them, "If you're looking for some fresh R&B nostalgia, there's no reason Livin It shouldn't appeal to you."
Download Here : Livin It
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Shout outs: Justus Clarke
Peace, Love, Unity, God Bless and Keep Safe
This dude is hard, But he should change his name to J to the Ustice
ReplyDeleteLol. Very interesting. I will let him know you said that.
ReplyDelete