Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I’m a tennis-loving, dog-loving, lasagne-loving full time musician from Bicester, Oxfordshire. I teach guitar/drums during the week and then play gigs at weekend. But how it started out… car journeys busting out Avril Lavigne and Busted full blast, 2003, annoying the hell out of my mum’s poor, yet tolerant ear drums. But my main childhood influence was Green Day and I picked up the guitar in 2006 after a weekend away at my cousin’s, who was constantly playing Green Day songs and that’s what made me take my first guitar lesson.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Jamie Felton”?
A: I hope you like 10 minute rap songs with no chorus lol. Haha no seriously, I hope that anyone that might stumble upon my Spotify enjoys a variety of genres as that’s what I love to write: pop, rock, country, latino, funk, comedy, rap and flamenco guitar. I share my music on all major streaming platforms and promote my gigs and extra content on my website (www.jamiefeltonmusic.co.uk), Facebook page, Instagram and Tiktok accounts.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: As much as I might sound like a horny menopausal woman, probably Michael Bublé. I saw him live in May and I was massively inspired by how he talks to the audience, it’s so effortless, like he’s chatting in your living room, so I’ve tried to incorporate that more relaxed and friendly vibe to my own gigs since then. Inspiration for the creative process comes from my strong desire to find a chord progression that nobody’s ever made before – that’s the fun (yet probably hardest) part.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “This Isn’t Your Average Song”?
A: TIYAS is about a moody and depressed character struggling through the difficulties of the music industry. Every single writer, performer and ‘tryer’ of music will be able to relate to this monologue of honesty, rejection and self-deprecation, representing the daily grind required to sound the tiniest of drops in the musical pond that is the entertainment business. It’s a brutal assessment of how modern society has brainwashed the art form, or at least that’s what the persona portrays until the……. dramatic twist at the end (whoa!).
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Variety.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “This Isn’t Your Average Song”?
A: Oh yes! Because of the loose timing of the vocal, I didn’t record to a metronome, and so a lot of the stops in the song just stop when the vocal stops, so not necessarily with any sense of good timing. Similarly, I’ve never rapped before so putting the lyrics into proper bars I found to be a challenge, which is sort of why there are some bars counted in 10s or 11s, rather than 4s.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: As well as the variety of genres, the lyrical concepts are just as diverse as well I believe. So there’s no consistent theme or message throughout the songs, but I like it that way. I’ve written about Brexit, live music, unemployment, lockdown and Guildfordian marriage rejections (fictional I promise!). My intention as an artist is to just continue making this type of music: I have a classical orchestral piece in the pipeline, as well as an indie song about climate change. The goal of course is to get it into as many ears as possible, but as TIYAS explains, it’s not easy, but ya just gotta keep trying!
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: Jacob Collier. Literally the Mozart of his generation, but better. He plays every instrument under the sun and to an exceptional level. His tuning when singing is impeccably accurate – he’s never sharp or flat because of his faultless perfect pitch. So it would be truly incredible to write with him and see what magic flows from his brain when creating.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Find a unique selling point and own it. But a USP even more ‘out the box’ than how that term used to be thought about. A USP in music used to be having a quirky voice, wearing stand out clothing or writing songs about a certain topic consistently (ie. body image or mental health), but now there’s got to be something else. I don’t know what. I try to do it with the variety in my songs, both lyrically and genre-wise; I mention it in the TIYAS: ‘Music, other than acting, is the hardest industry/ To be the best and stand out with a clear USP/ For me, I try to do this by keeping my writing versatile/ That’s why every song is a different style’.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Get your hair cut NOW, not when you’re 18.
