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A month ago, we got addicted to this slow-burner track called 'Flamethrower', a single released by an indie English singer who goes by the name James Robb. Naturally, we got a chance to interview him about his life in the UK, music creation, as well as the all-important question: Is he a cat or a dog person?
THE RECORD BLOG: Before we dive in, can you tell our devoted readers about yourself?
JAMES ROBB: I’m just a young guy from the UK. I live in a small town called Hitchin, which is located just outside London. It's a very musical and creative place. I’ve been doing gigs and writing music for the past few years since I left school.
TRB: How would you explain about your music?
JR: My music is about whatever’s playing on mind in the moment of writing. I guess that makes it an amalgamation of different points and experiences in my life so far. Stuffs I hope other people can relate to as well.
TRB: We've heard 'Flamethrower' and went nuts for it. It's
JR: Thank you! Well, I heard the backing track and absolutely loved Kuizz’s production. I wrote the song in about half an hour so it’s all a bit of a blur to be honest but the melody and words just flowed. It felt like a song I need in order to get out of myself for a while. Kuizz’s production allowed me to do just that.
TRB: Talking about Kuizz. We did some digging and found out he's a producer from our country, Malaysia. That's actually a pretty cool info. What is it like to work with him?
JR: Kuizz is a good friend of mine. I’ve known him since I was about 16 through Facebook and earlier on, MySpace. We’ve been meaning to work together for a while but obviously distance and time zones have made it difficult. But yea, we have an appreciation for similar kinds of music, so it’s only logical that we should work together on songs of our own.
TRB: It's already May. Aside from making music, what's in your planner for the rest of 2016?
JR: An EP! As well as lots more writing, gigs, and sharing of 'Flamethrower'. I'm performing out in Ibiza next month so I’m looking forward to throwing a couple of the new songs in my set there.
TRB: What should we expect from your upcoming EP? Will it be an R&B-influenced record?
JR: I’m hoping the EP will feel like a natural progression from 'Flamethrower', so yea, lots of soulful and R&B influences but at the same time relevant to my current modern audience. At least that's the aim!
TRB: What about a full debut album?
JR: An album is a way off at the moment, I’ve still got a lot of building blocks to put in place. I see every single and EP as a step closer to that goal though. If and when I release an album I’m not going to take the task lightly. It’ll be a big deal for me.
TRB: Anyone you'd like to work with?
JR: My dream team would be Mark Ronson, John Mayer, Bruno Mars, Bernhoft, Justin Nozuka, Lianne La Havas, Tori Kelly, Musiq Souchild. I could go on for days but I’ll leave it there…
TRB: We're throwing you a random question from our reader in Malaysia: Are you a cat or a dog person? And why?
JR: I used to think I was a dog person but I’ve met some awesome cats lately which has thrown all my pre-conceptions about them out the window. So for now I’m sitting on the fence… Like a cat!