In this conversation, I had the pleasure of interviewing Las Vegas-based dance electro-pop artist, Harrison Barnes. Since debuting with his EP 'If I'm Honest', Barnes has continued to cement his image as a bold artist who incorporates his love for music with his professional background in dance. Blending crisp pop production with colourful visuals, Harrison Barnes' upcoming EP 'Paradise' showcases strong dance influences with honest lyricism that marks a new chapter for the Las-Vegas singer-songwriter. In this interview, Harrison Barnes explains the meaning and inspiration behind his upcoming EP and how dance has shaped and is an important component in his music.
Hi Harrison, thank you for taking the time to do this interview! How are you?
Thank you so much for having me! I am great. It’s a busy time and a lot is happening at once but it’s all exciting stuff. I love being busy especially when it comes to new music coming out, since I’ve been working on it for a while now.
For those who may not know you and your music, could you briefly introduce yourself?
I am Harrison Barnes and I am from a small town in South Carolina. I’ve been working as a professional dancer and travelling all over since I was seventeen. I am a huge fan of pop music and began releasing my own music in 2020. As a dancer, I love making music that will make you feel good and want to dance, but as a songwriter, I love writing songs that pull at your emotions. So you get a bit of it all with me! In the past two years since I began this journey, I have been working insanely hard. I have released an EP (with my new one only a couple weeks away), 15 songs, 8 music videos and began performing live and I have no plans to slow down now!
As an artist, who do you consider to be your musical influences?
The artist that really changed my life as a dancer, performer and artist is Britney Spears. As a child, I would lock myself in my bedroom and learn the choreography to her music videos and I would put on concerts in my room; just dreaming of being able to do that. It really inspired me to dream bigger than my life in South Carolina and really impacted me as an artist. If you watch my videos or see me perform, you’ll see her influence on me. Plus I throw in a lot of homages to her when I can!
You are about to release your upcoming sophomore EP ‘Paradise’ which features several catchy dance pop anthems, could you tell us a bit about the meaning and inspiration behind the EP?
There is so much negative stuff going on in the world these days that I wanted to create an album you could play and escape for a little bit…hence the title ‘Paradise.’ With this project, I wanted to create a fun record that you could dance to no matter what you’re going through. If you’re feeling in love or sexy or heartbroken, there is a song you can groove to! I love every song on this EP and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
I love how ‘Paradise’ compliments your previous releases but has a heavier focus on crisp pop production, how would you say ‘Paradise’ compares to your previous EP ‘If I’m Honest’?
When I made my first EP ‘If I’m Honest’ I literally had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how to properly mix the track or add vocal layers or anything. It was my first time in a studio ever! Now two years later, I am way more experienced. You can hear the difference for sure. To me, ‘Paradise’ is way more mature, more confident and more polished. I’ve grown so much in the past couple of years as a person and a songwriter. When my first song came out in 2020, no one had ever heard me sing before and now I’m way more confident in my voice. ‘If I’m Honest’ was about me being brave enough to do this and everything since has just been growing in quality. ‘Paradise’ is my new peak.
I would love to one day rerecord ‘If I’m Honest’ because the songs are great! I just want to give them a little more love so they can get to their maximum potential. But I am insanely proud of that project.
Your music incorporates strong dance influences and as a professional dancer do you think it has an influence on the way you write melodies and perform?
This is a great question and 100% it influences everything I do. I am a visual artist. I am always thinking of the artwork that will go along with a song, what the music video will be or how it can be performed live. I am thinking of all this as I am writing. When I have these visual ideas that when I feel like I’m on to something great because it’s bigger than just the song. At this point, all of my music, lyrically, is 100% written by me and all of the videos I have done are my concepts. For me, the songwriting and presentation of everything is all tied together and it is an asset that I think makes me stand out from other artists.
"There is so much negative stuff going on in the world these days that I wanted to create an album you could play and escape for a little bit…hence the title ‘Paradise.’" Harrison Barnes
Could you tell us a bit about the recording process and what it was like writing this EP during lockdown and collaborating with Las Vegas producer, Mikey Dropz?
Mikey Dropz is a professional dancer as well as a talented artist and producer. (Mikey released an EP earlier this year entitled ‘E.M.A.’ and it’s incredible. Go check it out!) This was our first time working together which can always be a little nerve wracking. Songwriting is a personal, vulnerable situation to be in, but Mikey made me incredibly comfortable. He would take my ideas and we’d bounce off each other until we created fire. ‘TLC’ was the first song we did together and afterward I trusted him completely. The fact that he is a dancer helped because he understands putting in accents and moments that will compliment choreography for a video or a performance. I can promise you we will be working together again very soon.
Did you face any challenges in terms of writing this EP during lockdown?
Since my first song came out at the beginning of the pandemic, I have released 15 songs. That’s quite a bit in a short period of time. I would say the hardest part about writing during lockdown was finding inspiration. It was difficult to write fun, sexy dance music when you’re sitting on your couch all day doing nothing and not feeling that fun or sexy. But when an idea hits me, I basically hit the ground running full speed. I’m recording the song and planning the video and trying to get it out as quickly as possible!
What advice would you give to artists who may still be struggling to find inspiration during these unprecedented times?
Kind of going off what I was saying in the last question, finding inspiration can be really hard. So my advice would be don’t stress it or force it. I have tried to sit and make myself write a song but they’re never natural. They feel forced. Then I feel discouraged and pressured to come up with something and none of these things are helpful to the creative process. Sometimes you have to step back and wait for the idea to strike. It will come and when it does it will just flow and it will be worth the wait.
What are your plans for the rest of 2022? Will you release music videos for some of the tracks featured on ‘Paradise’?
The rest of this year is going to be busy! I am still a professional dancer on the Las Vegas Strip, so I will be starting my show in the beginning of May. Besides that my focus is my music. Music videos, new songs, and more live performances! I can’t wait to perform this new music for everyone to hear! Currently there are videos out for the songs ‘TLC’ and ‘Fashion!’ I have concepts for all of them so we’ll see what else we can get out this summer! Plus I am always writing and working on what’s next. Like I said earlier, I have no plans to slow down now!
As a musician and performer, what is the best advice you have received?
It’s so cliche but it’s to just be yourself. So many people see what is the popular trend and try to do that, but that already exists. Do what you do and find what makes you special and stick to that. There is not a you out there right now and that is what people will want.
And finally, do you have a message for your fans?
Honestly to anyone that has ever listened to a song of mine or watched a music video or come to a show, I can not say thank you enough. I put out my first project for myself…to mark it off my bucket list and to make myself proud. I thought my friends and family would listen, but that would be it. The fact that we are now speaking about my second EP and that so many people have listened to my words is so mind blowing to me. This is already more than I could have ever imagined and if nothing more comes, then I am still the happiest person. So thank you for giving me your time.
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview!
Thank YOU for having me! It truly means the world to me that you’d give me your platform to share my music! I hope you all will check out my new EP ‘Paradise’ out May 13th! Then DM me on Instagram and tell me what you like! I’d love to chat with you all! Thank you again!
Check out Harrison Barnes' music in the links above and listen now on my Spotify Featured Artists Playlist (link in bio)
'Paradise' is out 13th May 2022!
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