Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Mister Motif: I found you when I was looking for new followers for my twitter profile. I read your twitter description, and I thought “Well, that looks interesting!”
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Mister Motif: I was born in a small town in Italy, about thirty-three years ago, and I still live in the same place…..I decided to become an artist when a friend of my parents’ gave a keyboard to my sister as a present. I enjoyed playing it and I still do today.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Mister Motif: “Motif” is the name of the very first synth that I bought, Yamaha Motif 8 cit. I liked the sound of it so I just needed to find something that sounded well with Motif and I tried with different words, in the end I found Mister. “Mister Motif“, cool, sounds good!! Then I decided to search on Google and surprise surprise, there was nobody else with that name. Agreed!!
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Mister Motif: Yes, I do give my music away for free. Why not? I think that the whole music world is changing. Nowadays with the internet, Youtube, Spotify… it’s full of places where you can find music (both legally and illegally, but that’s another story). I think that today’s music can be given away for free because producing a song is actually cheaper than it was in the past. On the other hand, there should be many other places such as clubs or opportunities for artists to be able to play their own music. There, they should be paid. Stop playing for free!!
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Mister Motif: Music, no matter what the genre is, represents energy, passion but also sacrifice. Don’t believe in what you see on tv or read on the internet. If you love music there is no simple road to become successful. Take me for example, I spent half of my life studying music, I mean not a few days but years!! I remember when I was young and my mother used to tell me off because I wanted to stay in my room studying my piano lesson instead of going out on a sunny day. But today when I do gigs I think “I’m so glad I had the chance to study music for all those years!!”
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Mister Motif: It happens. I’m not a machine!! Obviously once you’ve spent a lot of time studying every single detail, you’re less likely to make mistakes. The point is not to avoid mistakes, but to make sure that, if you happen to make one, people do not notice it. Don’t interrupt the show to say “Sorry, I made a mistake”, just carry on with the show! The important thing is that people feel the energy, the vibes.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Mister Motif: Of course. I remember a couple of years ago, when I was playing as a keyboard player in a rock band and we had a gig in a small town. When we arrived, there was nobody and the weather was terrible, rainy and foggy. We didn’t play but we spent all the time with those guys in the local pub, chatting. You know what, that evening was fantastic, having fun with people you had never seen before, feeling part of a big family!!
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Mister Motif: It often occurs in my studio. I sit down in front of my piano, start playing until I find a good tune, then I repeat it a lot of times. After that, I record it and start adjusting it. Then I let a few days pass before going back to the song. If I feel inspired I continue with it, if not I just archive it.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Mister Motif: No, I haven’t, but I think that a very good Facebook page is even better. To share my podcast I use iTunes, Podomatic, Hearthis and Mixcloud, whereas for my songs I use Hearthis, Soundcloud, Reverbnation and Bandcamp.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Mister Motif: I’d rather not tell you the titles! Anyway, I think it’s important to listen to as much music as possible. Sometimes though I think “What’s this rubbish?? Why on earth did I put this song in my mp3player?!”
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Mister Motif: Good question!! I think I could spend that money on a studio, somewhere hot and sunny, in front of the sea… Playing piano and making your own music in front of the sea must be amazing!!
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Mister Motif: Actually I don’t plan updates for my studio. At the moment, I’m working on my monthly podcast, where you can find one of my songs. I’m going to produce music and I hope to be able to do a great tour in summer.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Mister Motif: It’s not easy to promote your own music, because people seem to be paying less attention, they seem to have lost their curiosity!! I personally use different ways to promote my music, for example I share my new songs on Soundcloud or I create a promoting campaign on Facebook or make a video for You Tube. I think the problem is not to promote your music, but to find places that give you the opportunity to play your music so that people get to know you.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Mister Motif: Bon jovi, because they are my favourite band ever. Nobody else!!
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Mister Motif: I’m working on a remix of famous pop songs. But I don’t want to tell you the name yet…. I would like to do it in tropical house key.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Mister Motif: Maybe considering that I’m a very precise person, I could be doing a technical profession.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Mister Motif: Ohh yeah!! The first album I bought was a remastered version of “Slippery when wet” of Bon jovi. I was so excited, I spent a lot of time reading the book inside the CD to understand who the musicians were, or where the songs had been recorded. And I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to this album, I often used to listen to one of the songs and after that I tried to play it on my piano.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Mister Motif: It’s very, very hard. Especially at the beginning, when people expect you to do everything by yourself.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Mister Motif: For my music to become their life soundtrack. Also, a lot of gigs with passion, energy and good vibes!!
