Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: We are from the city of wolverhampton which is situated in the midlands in England. I ( bendesounds ) started mine becaues of becoolman, i was going to try managing and funding him as an artist because he is very talented ( which got him started ) but he said he would not do it without me being an artist too! Becoolman has always been in music from the grime evolution/explosion in grime. He has been a grime mc/ artist from 15.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: we are self taught. We have our prouducer Mitch Crane who is very talented. I ( bendesounds ) did go to university for a year doing music production and theory which was eye opening.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘Becoolman and bendesounds’?
A: Bendesounds: i dont really know i listened to all genres as a child. My dad always played reggae and my mom would listen to anything with a vibe. Anyone from george micheal to micheal jackson to queen etc
Becoolman: nelly ,mary j blige, missy elliot.
The name bendesounds ( ben guthrie ) came from the name of a previous group i was in with a guy called dean. My name is ben and his ex at the time came up with the name by combining ben and dean to become bendesounds. When that was over i took the name as my dj name as everyone called me it anyway.
Becoolman ( stirling williams ) just needed a name which was family friendly and represented me cool
We are in a group and called bornbroke but its easier to find us in search engines with our names.
Q: You have just released your new EP, ‘Live life better’. Is there a story behind it?
A: yes the main reason is to showcase the style of music we make and shows a bit about who we are and where we want to be.
Q: What is the message of your music?
A: the main message from our music is life struggles and success but done with a vibe. Because music we belive should at least make you bop your head.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: What should resonate with the listeners is the simple clear undersandable lyrics which are realistic to many people. And the vibe within the music alkows you to really enjoy it.
We would descibe our sound as smooth with elements of hiphop, rnb, dancehall, all bringing its own vibe
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: yes because when we have preformed on stage the reaction from the audience when we finished is electric!
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: we work really fast it goes from chilling listening to beats we get an idea for a chorus, go studio to Mitch Crane record the chorus or whatever we have. We strip the beat and build one around us and our voices and write the rest while thats being done.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: Bendesounds: for me it was having a mental health breakdown at 23
Becoolman: seeing friend murded in front of me at 12
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: for us it was the live life better song being played on bbcintroducing as it showed us we had good enough music as many more songs followed after that.