EMJAAY talks about his craft, sense of style and more
EMJAAY talks about his craft, sense of style and more
How did you come by your stage name?
My initials are M.J – and originally my name was just “MJ”. But the similarities towards Michael Jackson were a bit too much so I decided to make my name into a full word that would still be pronounced the same hence “coming to be my artist name.
When did you discover your love for your craft and what made you realize you wanted to pursue a career in it?
I discovered music early on as my father and his side of the family used to run a local band that was quite popular around town. I started with guitar at 8-9 years old and continued down the guitar path with a lot of metal and rock influences by the likes of the “Architects” and “Breaking Benjamin”. It wasn’t until mid 2019 that I toned down the guitar play and got fascinated with music production and engineering.
I realized my love for music production and singing early on in my career, I loved the feeling it gave me making music and I used it as a way to express my emotions. What really sparked the fire was seeing the reception to my music and people sending me amazing messages about how they can relate with my lyrics.
To what or whom do you accredit your sense of style?
I’d say there are two sides of music that I owe inspiration to. Early on with metal and rock music is one key influence I believe helped me develop my style, as the way they portray emotion seemed so impactful.
My main inspiration nowadays would be the likes of other underground artists such as convolk and sewerperson. Those guys work damn hard and produce some super unique but impactful stuff. Convolk especially as early on he also took inspiration from metal/rock styles.
I strive to be on a quality level that those guys work on and would love to collab with them if I ever got the chance in the future.
On your current project, how did you come up with the concept?
My latest project is called “Time Bomb”, and the whole concept of this EP was based around the first single that was released as part of it. The song was about the struggles I had as a person, and how I wanted to push through them. Specifically, the song gives the perspectives of both being stuck at a point of not knowing what to do with life and mentioning that “this is the start” of a new chapter in my life. This is when I began to take music seriously as a 2nd job.
The rest of the project envelops these feelings, kind of like a story of all the struggles I had up to the point of “time bomb”, and starting a new chapter in life.
What are some of your greatest challenges, and what is your greatest attribute when it comes to your work ethic?
My greatest challenge in music is myself, a lot of the time I’ll find myself spending weeks making a song just to hate the finished product. The greatest challenge for me is taking a step back from my overly critical self and realizing not everything has to be perfect.
My greatest attribute in music is the passion that drives it, I’m always trying to better myself and reflect that in my music, I’ll spend hours trying new styles or vocal techniques and won’t stop making a song until I believe it is polished enough to release. I’ll never half-ass a song just to get it out there.
Are you the best at what you do in your opinion?
No way am I the best, I’ve been doing this for little over a year and a half now, and have so much more time to grow. There are so many great artists out there that It’s really hard to pinpoint who is the “best” at anything, everyone is great in their own rights 🙂
What are your plans for the near future?
My plans for the next year are to focus a ton of higher quality, unique, and professionally mixed songs. I also plan on getting a social media presence so I can connect with my fans better, as I love all of the chats I have with them.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank, any shout outs?
I’d like to shout out my mother, for putting up with all of the horrible singing attempts early on in my music career and my father for being so enthusiastic about my music and always keeping an ear out for more of it. Apart from that I really appreciate my flatmate as he has supported me along this musical journey and genuinely cares about what I do.
How can fans find you?
You guys can find me on most social media and music platforms, specifically my Instagram @emjaays and my Soundcloud “emjaay”.
What suggestions do you have for other artist like yourself?
My only suggestion is just to keep working hard, I didn’t really believe in all dreams coming true – but after working so hard on music I feel like it is now a possibility. Always strive for better, the harder you work the closer you can get to your goals in life. Make friends along the way, enjoy life.
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