In this conversation, Monticolombi discusses the inspiration behind his recent single Pavement featuring Caswell and how lockdown has affected his writing process and prompted a change in the way we view creative industries.
Hi Monticolombi, tell us a bit about yourself!
My name Jamie (Monticolombi). I'm based out of Suffolk in a small town near Ipswich. 'Monticolombi' comes from my Italian heritage. My grandparents’ last name is Monticolombi, so it just made so much sense to use this as my musical persona as they are such a huge inspiration to me.
What made you decide to pursue a career in the music industry?
I knew that music was my calling when at around 13 years old, my dad took me to the 02 arena to see De La Soul & Gorillaz play live. I was just so blown away by the performances. I knew that making music was what I wanted to do for my career and the rest of my life.
If you could sum up your music in three words, what would they be?
Positive, Bouncy, Joyous.
Do you have any musicians who you consider having inspired your sound?
One of my biggest inspirations is Outkast, specifically, Andre 3000. The first album I ever bought was Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which I truly believe is what has helped craft my musical journey and tailored the modern artists that inspired me such as Mac Miller, Kojaque & Anderson Paak. All of these artists have very unusual flows and not typically sounding hip-hop beats, but still have that old skool hip-hop energy which I absolutely love.
Tell us about the meaning behind your recent single Pavement ,what inspired you to write the song?
Pavement is all about finding positivity in a negative. The tune was written and recorded during lockdown as a song to just make people smile. The whole concept behind the track is that no matter what is going on in the outside world you can always find a bit of happiness in heading back to your own little sanctuary. It was actually a fairly simple process to record this track as Caswell (the featuring artist) and I were living together throughout lockdown, so we were able to write and record the track at home and work with the producer Steven Bamidele remotely without having to go to the studio. It's not the normal way that I write or record a track, but it was a very interesting process and wasn't as complicated as I expected.
Has lockdown affected your creative process? If so, how?
Lockdown has changed my creative process as its meant that I have a lot more time by myself to write and let my thoughts run wild. Normally you're so busy working, writing, and recording that you can spread yourself pretty thin, but having these months just in my space means I could really explore different versions of my creativity and take time to create a beautiful product even outside of music. It really makes me want to be able to earn a living through music as I just think if all I had to focus on was making tunes I would smash out so many bangers.
What would you like to see change in the current music industry?
I'd like to see more respect for the music industry and all creative industries. The UK music industry brought in £5.2 billion to the economy in 2018, so when you hear about all the venues and clubs having to shut down as they did not receive proper financial support through these crazy times as it’s "not a proper profession" is unreal. It's time for people to realise that just because you're not in the Top 40 doesn't mean you can't be a working, successful musician.
"The whole concept behind the track is that no matter what is going on in the outside world you can always find a bit of happiness in heading back to your own little sanctuary."
What advice would you give to someone who may want to start a career in the music industry?
If I had to give any advice to musicians starting out, I'd say, firstly, just create whatever makes you happy. The chances are it'll be better than you think and understand that you made it for a reason, don't make it to please someone else. Also, something I really wish someone had told me when I started in music was to look into all the other things you have to be able to do other than making music, so look into how to manage yourself, how to distribute your music, PRS and so much more. The earlier that you start looking into these things, the better it will be for you later on down the line.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The best advice I was ever given was from my grandad Carlo Monticolombi, and he said: "Jamie if you really want to do something, make sure you do it."
Check out Monticolombi's recent single Pavement (feat Caswell) in the link down below!
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