Congratulations on your latest single “Vocoder”, how do you feel about the newfound success and what was the motivation?
Thank you! I hadn’t made music in a while because my laptop had broken, so when I got my desktop recently, I just wanted to make the wackiest and most experimental thing that I’ve ever done. It was fun, and very freeing to be able to just create without worrying about all the ‘guidelines’ of a genre for once, and just having fun.
Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?
Avicii and Virtual Riot are my biggest influences. I love the way that Avicii’s music makes you feel, a blend of emotions and sensations, and so I try to communicate emotions and meaning through my music as well. And Virtual Riot is the king of dubstep, and he’s a really cool person too. He’s funny and creative and I just love his melodic yet aggressive style of dubstep and riddim. He really inspires me to try new things, play around with the sound design, and keep moving forward with my music.
What goals have you accomplished? What goals are you still working towards?
Starting out, getting on Spotify and streaming platforms was my biggest goal, and it’s really amazing to see my music being played and added to playlists all over them now. Getting my ‘This is BlackJacketBoys’ playlist from Spotify was a special moment, and Deadly Laser hitting over 2,800 streams is really just amazing! For goals yet completed, I would really like to play some live shows, collaborate with some bigger named artists, and have a song of mine featured on Dubstep Gutter. But even if that never happens, I’ll still make music, and I hope that in some way I’m inspiring others to do the same.
How do you recharge your creative batteries?
Good question! Burnout is easy to obtain, and if you don’t handle it right it can keep you out of the studio for days at a time. How I usually overcome this is by getting my mind off of music by playing or designing video games, watching tv, hanging out with friends, etc. This helps me take a mental break from music so that when I come back I can work with full strength. It’s going to be different for everyone, but that’s what I do and would recommend trying.
Can you see your finished product before you start? Can you talk me through some of the essentials that keep you locked in during a studio session?
If I can’t see how the song is going to go in my head, I usually scrap it. I always like to have some vague idea to run with, even if it is very loose like Vocoder, and that’s how I structure my tracks.
Some of the essentials for me are a good chair, a good set of headphones, food, and a clear mind. You’re going to be sitting mostly during this process, and if sitting is uncomfortable then making music will be too. Good headphones are a must so that you can hear what your track actually sounds like for mastering and review, using bad headphones can distort audio and make you change up your track in ways you wouldn’t if you could hear it clearly. Food is just there to keep energy levels going, just grab your favorite snack and keep it beside you while you’re making music! Lastly, a clear mind. I can never make good music when there’s something really pressing on my mind, or something I’m worried about, etc. It’s distracting, and most likely I should be dealing with that instead of making music haha. I’ve made music while sad or mad or happy before, and that’s fine, but I’d really recommend having nothing that’s really on your mind, other than your track, in the studio.
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
That I am a Christian and that I love God. I don’t talk about it much or include it in my music often, but I’m open about it, and I have no problem at all with people knowing. It’s just a little hard to make a religious EDM song, haha, and even if I could, I don’t want to limit BJB to being a Christian EDM artist, but rather be an EDM artist who is also Christian. But who knows, Biblical Dubstep might be my next great invention.
If you had one message to give your fans, what would it be?
Whatever your dream or ambitions are, pursue them with all you’ve got! And find yourself a good support team to back you up if you’re feeling down or discouraged. However, at the same time, do not let your dreams consume you and take you away from other responsibilities. I’m giving music my all, but I’m also giving school and joining the military my all, it’s a balance that is hard to find, but once you find it you’ll get really good at managing it.
For our final question, is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you for interviewing me, and thank you to whoever is reading this. I hope this inspires you in some way!
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