JBACH – Taste

By starrymag | August 12, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) My sound is all about interesting melodies that keep your ears engaged. I feel like I have a pretty unique tone, especially considering how different it is from my speaking voice, so I try to choose melodies that really show it off and go places you wouldn’t expect. I also really go in with my producers on production to choose sounds that aren’t just snares and kicks and things you’d find in a regular drum kit, like my music has soda cans and zippers and lighters and any kind of cool new percussion that I can get my ears on.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Julia Michaels. Her music, tonality and styled have constantly caused me to challenge the way I wrote and the words I choose and the melodies I follow; I think she’s a genius, I really do. I always say that “Taste” is me living my Julia Michaels fantasy. She takes weird inflections and melodies and makes them so cool and I want to be her? Is that weird to say?

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Taste.” The song was written in the car with Snapchat?

 

A) [laughs] Yes! So, when I was on “The Voice” they make you buy this app on your phone that’s like fifteen dollars called The Amazing Slow Downer and it basically loops any memo you upload and changes speed without changing pitch and a bunch of other stuff. It’s really great actually, but it was FIFTEEN DOLLARS. So, I was determined to use it for the rest of my life because I have never and will never spend so much money on an app ever again. So, before leaving the house for a long drive I made a super bare voice memo where I play one note on the piano and click my tongue and uploaded it to ASD like I usually do. When I got in the car I ended up turning it on through my car speakers, but I couldn’t record the ideas on a voice memo because then the audio would stop so I LITERALLY had to go on Snapchat and record myself making up melodies while the loop for “Taste” played in the background.

 

I wasn’t even going to do anything with it because I was afraid the melodies were too out there. I was supposed to have a session one day with Mike Hart and another friend of ours named Myylo who ended up getting really sick and couldn’t make it. So, I hit up Mike and asked him if he still wanted to work on something because I had this idea. AND THUS “TASTE” WAS BORN.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) I think this song is just fun. A lot of times music and songwriting is a way to create a story or become a character for me and experience something through the eyes of someone else. Like the situation presented in “Taste” is one that’s fun and sexy and spontaneous and would personally give me crippling anxiety, but that’s why I had to be in character to write it. The idea behind the song is being in public, surrounded by friends, with someone you love. Or maybe not even love, someone you’re into and someone who’s into you. Although all you want to do is get away with them right then and there, you have to keep it together and act normal around the people you know, to the point where you want it so badly that you’re begging for just a taste.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) OMG the video is so fun. It’s a much more innocent take on the song and I got to buy (and eat) so many donuts during the making of this music video. It was amazing. The idea came about as mix of a few ideas that me, my friend iLana and the videographer Milli2nd had. Basically, there’s all these floating purple hands serving food and I keep trying to “taste” it but they won’t let me eat any of it until there’s nothing left but a donut at the end of the table. OMG IT LOOKS SO GOOD! YOU’RE GONNA LOVE IT.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics? 

 

A) The greatest thing about music is that there’s no right or wrong way to do it. I’ve tried so many different ways of writing and I’m constantly revising my process. Honestly, I normally start with just melodies and a simple loop and I just record myself singing in gibberish to add the words later. Lately, I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of amazing producers who build a track as the session goes on and form it around the ideas I’m singing, but I remember when I first came out to LA three years ago and had nothing but a piano and a bag of Pizza Rolls, much less a producer. I was just writing on the piano trying to figure everything out.

 

Q) The single was produced by Mike Hart, but how much of hand do you have in the production of your music? 

 

A) OMG! Mike is amazing and the song would not be anywhere near as cool without him. He is an incredible collaborator and is comfortable navigating my ideas and letting me be really involved in the whole process, even when I have like a stupid idea or want to lay down some dumb noises. He’s really open to my craziness and I appreciate him for that. But, honestly, he took very naturally to this song and is also really good at challenging my lyric/melody ideas, which I love. He also has platinum blonde hair which means I inherently trust him.

 

Q) What can fans expect from a live JBACH performance?

 

A) I actually just had my first show since opening for the Chainsmokers back in 2017 and IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE. We packed out the venue, the audience was amazing and I debuted the “Taste” music video and everyone went nuts. A JBACH show is fun, it’s funny and it’s a dope place for music makers and music lovers to meet up and hang out. I always describe my shows as like a standup/concert hybrid because I love making people laugh.

 

Q) Will there be a full EP or album coming in the near future?

 

A) At the moment, I’m more interested in consistently releasing singles and collaborating with other artists and producers on songs that we can share with the world. I can’t wait for the day when I can sit down and really think through an EP or an album, but right now I’m just so excited to be putting out music that when a song gets me excited, I just want to put it out and share with my listeners. I spent three years just holding onto songs in my Dropbox folder. Now’s the time for releasing. [smiles]

 

Q) We loved you on “The Voice.” What advice did your mentor Pharrell Williams offer that you took to heart?

 

A) So, after I was eliminated, you normally just say something nice to your coach and then walk off stage. Pharrell literally stopped me after I thanked him and just told me to keep going. He was telling me how impressed he was that I had improved in such a short amount of time and he knew that I would probably just go back to my old life and leave music behind unless he told me that he believed in me and wanted to keep going. So, I promised him that I would and that he and I would work together again someday and he told me looks forward to it.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) Omg Julia Michaels. Or Ariana Grande? Can I say both? Julia is my ultimate songwriting inspiration. She’s so cool and capable of turning such complicated feelings into such simple phrases and I want to be her. And Ariana is my obsession and I’m a low-key stan. I’m not even kidding. I have been an Arianator since WAY back when she had like 200k followers. So, like, fight me.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) My current thing is listening to the albums of super famous songwriters. It’s really interesting to see where they take their own projects and which sounds they’ve lent to the artists they write for. I think Benny Blanco is obviously amazing and, although he’s also an artist, I think Ed Sheeran will go down in history as the songwriting genius from our generation because regardless of who ends up cutting it every Ed Sheeran song is a smash. I also jam to the new Tayla Parx record because I’m super down to see Little Inez killing it in the pop world and coming out with her own music while also writing number ones for pop divas.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) I feel like social media is the easiest way for everyone to see that I’m a weirdo who doesn’t take himself too seriously and is just making music to have fun and connect with people. I respond to every DM and comment, like I’m in it for the people for sure. Music has always been about the people for me. It’s a common ground for everyone. You can relate to someone through music, you can make someone’s day by knowing a song that they love and didn’t expect you to know about. Music has always bridged gaps and so I use social media to get even closer to the people who opened themselves up to my music because that was my goal in the first place: connection.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) THANKS U GUYS! UR THE BOMB! EAT UR VEGETABLES! ILYSM FOR REAL!