Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: Firstly, I have to say it’s a huge honour to do this interview with you because I’m a true fan of your music blog. So if I had to describe myself then I would say I’m an adult contemporary music artist who is based in the South of England however I will admit that I’m a music lover of all sorts of music genres. During my youth there was different genres of music in my household however most of it was various areas of pop music like Ace of Base, Tina Turner, Simply Red, Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, Hanson although I must confess for me Michael Jackson was my childhood music icon. So, all these music artists have moulded me into why I wanted to make music today.
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 “James Millier”?
A: I do have plans in the horizon to restart an Instagram live music chat show where viewers can discover new music artists and other music professionals plus you may be able to hear acoustic versions of the music artists songs. I also have ambitions to release songs with other music artists. One of my future songs that definitely will be happening is going to be a collaboration with a fantastic US music artist called D.K Lyons. To anyone about to discover “James Millier” music I would say at the core it’s basically adult contemporary music however the songs will either have a sense of truth or a way to escape from reality. I’m not afraid to go out of the box and be a bit daring with my music as well especially the music I will be aiming to release around Autumn 2024 which is very similar to my personality as I have somehow managed to do daring stuff like doing a 160ft bungee jump for a charity from a crane with the only thing I could see was pavement down below!
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: Damn that is a very hard question because I can think of quite a few inspiring artists right now, but my answer is based on a music artist who I had the honour to help me co-write 2 of my songs with which are called “What If This Heart Is Empty” and an upcoming single that will be out soon called “I Won’t Let Go”. This inspiring music artist is called “The Satellite Station” and the reason why I find him inspiring because every single time he seen the lyrics and the story concept from me he managed to bring out another layer to the song that I believe without him would have been dormant.
If I am going to be straight up with you then for some reason, I feel inspiration can be found all around me like in a coffee shop where suddenly even a few lyrics lines can pop into my head or a song story concept can happen then I start writing this idea for the song in my lyric book which I always carry around with me. Afterwards my imagination starts running wild on what this song could be about however I must confess most of my songs been inspired about a connection or situation that happened in my life and all honesty they bring a sense of therapy because I’m letting go of something overpowering in my mind.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Life Raft.”?
A: I’m aware this could sound corny to some people however this song is a personal dedication to my mum. The lyrics tell the story of me expressing my immense gratitude for her support throughout my life and I’m saying back to her whenever she feels weak, no matter what happens I will always be there for her, like a life raft if her boat begins to flood.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Another hard question however I am going to go for a word that can mean many meanings and that is stirring.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Life Raft”?
A: The toughest part of recording “Life Raft” which I probably shouldn’t confess to however I feel I should be honest and please excuse the pun, but the recording of the vocals wasn’t plain sailing because I wasn’t quite satisfied with my vocals from the first recording session. So, I did a second recording session for my vocals because I was striving to the highest potential with my vocals which I didn’t feel that happened in the first vocal session.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: I would say my music is an expression of letting out my own feelings and I try to evoke to the listeners of my music there is no shame to express yourself whether that is to do with your emotions or saying this is the type of person who I am right now.
Personally I definitely want to forever keep growing as a music artist, hope I can make a difference to all the people lives who is supporting me as a music artist and forget about fame and fortune because for me I would be happy having a comfortable life carrying on with what I love by releasing music and finish with a legacy of music that I hope generations to come can enjoy.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: I’m hope you don’t mind but there are two dream music artists that I must mention. One dead and one alive. First is the legend that was Tina Turner because there is a song that is not as recognised as much from all her other songs however, I seriously think doing a duet on her song “When the Heartache is Over” and converting it into a country version would sound awesome. The other music artist who is a producer as well who would be a dream come true to collaborate with even if he is producing my music in the studio was a music artist who represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017 called JOWST. I can’t help but admire the quality of music he releases, the skill behind the production of his music along with how he has his own individual sound and I do have plans to go in this type of genre of music in the future. One thing I do know is he one of my followers on Instagram. So maybe he will think about doing a collaboration with me at some point in the future.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: First thing I would say when entering the music industry is there is nothing wrong being an independent music artist because being part of a record company or management company could mean you might end up working hard however you might not see much reward from it. Be careful of people trying to get fees from you to increase your social media pages or get you on playlists which could harm you as a music artist. I would also say try to understand who your core music audience is and keep listening to them on what they expect from you. Personally, I think it’s fine if you want to evolve with your music however most importantly for me is listen what my fans who go out their way to support me would want.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Don’t worry if you don’t have as much talent as the other kids because if you don’t have as much talent then all you have to do is put the extra hard work in and show your passion because you be surprised how far you will go.
