Pipobeats – Songland

By starrymag | May 25, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) The crazy thing about my sound is that it varies every single song because it’s different every time. Real emotions put behind the music. There is no certain genre.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) My parents are my biggest musical influences. The truth is that without them I would not be where I am right now and love music as much as I do.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Sway.”

 

A) The song began with the manipulation of a guitar sample I found around 2017. When I get ready to write music my songwriting process is always the same. I start with the beat, I then hit record on my voice memos and sing or rap whatever comes to mind first. From there I’ll write the lyrics and record the track from home. But not all songs I work on make it past the voice memo stage. I didn’t completely finish “Sway” until 2019 after a trip to Florida. I realized that I wanted this song to sound like something you would hear in a club in Miami and that gave me the extra inspiration to rework and finish the track.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that Luis Fonsi connected to?

 

A) Luis Fonsi connected with the hook, the part of the song that goes “Sway, sway, sway,” and it’s generally what caught most people who heard the song before that. That was the main thing and secondary it was the pre-chorus melody.

 

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

 

A) I start with making a beat and then after I have something I’m happy with I hit record on my voice memos with the beat on loop and I just sing whatever comes to mind first until I find something I like. From there I will write the lyrics and record the track. I have set up a recording booth in my closet at home and that’s where I record all of my music. Anyway, after I finalize the lyrics, the melody and the beat. I send off the track to be mixed and mastered. When I get the song back, I listen to it in different places like my kitchen, in my car or at the gym to see if I like how it sounds in all of those places. If I don’t, then I spend more time editing it until I do.

 

Q) What advice did the mentors offer that you took to heart?

 

A) They gave me so much advice that it’s hard to pick something specific, but the main thing that inspired me about the mentors from “Songland”was that all of these people are hustlers. They wouldn’t be here without a strong work ethic and that’s what has gotten them so far in their careers.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I handle all of my own production!

 

Q) Now that you’ve been on “Songland” how has your process changed and adapted for songwriting?

 

A) Nothing has changed. What I’ve been doing up to this point has worked, so I will keep going forward with that. Of course, there are always areas where there is more that I can learn and improve, but my actual songwriting process hasn’t changed.

 

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

 

A) I would love to collaborate with Luis Fonsi again, but also Daddy Yankee, J. Balvin, Becky G, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Pharrell Williams and John Mayer. The list goes on!

 

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

 

A) Right now, I’m listening to ACDC, Led Zeppelin and Mötley Crüe. There is something about rock music that really kickstarts my heart!

 

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

 

A) I have such extreme gratitude to have this form of communication with my fans. I think about how back in the day how there wasn’t this kind of medium to directly speak to your fans and it just makes me even more grateful that I’m able to talk to them daily. I mean, if you have people who care about you and your music, why wouldn’t you want to connect with them?

 

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

 

A) I don’t you think you understand how much I love you, and you’re the reason why I do this. Thank you so, so much.