As an aspiring musician myself, I find myself
admiring artists who are willing and brave enough to share their work with the
world from the comfort of their own room, unaware that a couple hundred or
thousand people will love what they hear.
Thanks to the power of YouTube, there is a plethora of fresh musicians gaining success through the interwebs and that is absolutely grand.
Thanks to the power of YouTube, there is a plethora of fresh musicians gaining success through the interwebs and that is absolutely grand.
I had a chat with one of these artists,
19-year-old Melbournian Brant Paul, who is well on his way to being a treasured
addition to the Indie/Alternative music lover's favorite "Chill Out"
playlist.
You hail from Langwarrin, a suburb of Melbourne. Melbourne's a city that
prides itself as one of the live music capitals of the world. I can only
imagine how many incredible musicians and bands have graced your town! Growing
up, did you find that this music scene had an influence on how great of a role
music played in your life?
Of course. It’s surprising how many artists I
listen to are from Melbourne. When The Temper Trap toured with Coldplay a
couple of years back it really hit me because all I could think about was,
“These guys started where I am right now”. It’s a reassuring feeling.
When did you realize that making music was something you could see yourself
doing forever?
My story is one of those Bieber-like stories,
funnily enough. I’ve been playing instruments since I was seven. It keeps you
motivated when your family is heavily into beautiful music too. I grew up
surrounded by Norah Jones, The Eagles, Elvis, Eva Cassidy and ALL the greats.
What encouraged you to begin making YouTube videos? For me, posting covers
only started once I fell in love with other singer/songwriters doing the same.
It was means of gaining confidence as well as exposure. Do you feel it's the
same case for you?
It’s interesting because I never actually find
myself watching other people’s cover videos on YouTube. After I realized how
big the platform was, and how much opportunity there is with it I just though
I’d jump on the bandwagon. When I do covers, I make sure I don’t listen to the
song more than a couple of times. I do this only because I want to be familiar
with they way that they articulate the lyrics. I don’t want to be familiar with
the music side of things at all because I want to ensure that the cover is done
entirely in my own way, so I can express to the most of my ability.
I think one of the most special aspects of you as an artist are your
vocals! You know when a song pops on and you can immediately say, "Oh,
this is *insert artist name here*!"? You have that! Paired with your
instrumental skills, you're a perfect singer/songwriter package. Is this the
direction you see yourself headed in or somewhere entirely different?
That… That right there… is the BEST
compliment. Thank you, honestly! That’s definitely the direction I see myself
heading. At the moment, the idea of a band bewilders me because I will never
understand how to round up a group of people who want to make the EXACT same
sound as me.
Now, you cover a variety of genres so I have to ask, who are your biggest
musical inspirations?
My biggest musical inspirations would be
Coldplay, Justin Vernon, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Big Scary, #1 Dads, Foals…
THERE ARE TOO MANY!
Everyone has a favorite band to see live because they simply put on an amazing
show. Is there anyone you've seen in concert whose performance really resonated
with you?
The most amazing gig I’ve seen live was Vance
Joy. I was lucky enough to be graced with his music when he supported The Paper
Kites a while ago. It was even better because it was before his hit ‘Riptide’
had made it worldwide so he came on stage and a lot of the people didn’t know
who this guy was, and then it was just so magical. He is brilliant.
Have you done any performances around Melbourne and what's that experience
been like?
I have. I LOVE gigging, the only problem with
me is that I have really bad stage fright. It stopped me gigging for a while
because I just wanted to focus on getting more confident with going up on
stage. It’s a bit better now and I’m sure I’ll be gigging very soon.
Can we expect any original music from you soon? I'd totally be down to buy
an EP, self-released or through a label!
I’m INCESSANTLY working on my own songs. I’ve
been recording an EP for about a month now, except as the weeks go on I come up
with new things and easily neglect what I was originally working on, so that’s
my biggest problem. I easily get sick of my own work. All I do know is that I’m
not going to force it out, and it will come when it needs to. I’m happy with that.
Alright, last one, fun one. Give us a five-song playlist of your go-to tunes
at the moment.
Woah… Okay.
Return To x #1 Dads
Higher x Asgeir
Still x Bombay
Bicycle Club
July x Youth Lagoon
Spanish Sahara x
Foals
Listen to Brant's latest cover:
Find Brant here:
Interview by: Ana Luz Jayme
Written by: Ana Luz Jayme