Exposed Vocals interviews Dutch music producer Rick James

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

Rick James: So my name is Rick de Boer. I am a 16 year old Dutch music producer who focusses mostly on the house/EDM/electro styles of music. Since when I was young I have always loved music. Especially the types of music DJs usually make and until recently I have decide to try and produce music myself. And since I just finished my first track and I’m eager to see how the people will pick up on it. Another big reason for me was that I like making people happy. And when I saw that interview with Martin Garrix where he said that his main reason for producing music is to make people happy it really inspired me to also try and do that.

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

Rick James: Well, I actually didn’t come up with the name myself. Instead, someone else did. Someone used to name me that as a nickname (still don’t know why) and it kind off grew to such an extent to even become my second name. And I thought it was pretty catchy so I just went with it.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

Rick James: In my opinion, music should be free for everyone to listen to, but to a certain extent. Because when you produce music for a living, you obviously have to ask money for your productions. I myself will be posting my music for free on Soundcloud so everyone is able to listen to it. I do this because for me, producing music is just a hobby and I think that’s the way it should be for now. Because at the moment there are more important things in my life as school for example.

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?

Rick James: I am actually a starter myself so I don’t think I can answer this, sadly.

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

Rick James: I usually listen to tracks from famous DJs like Martin Garrix or Avicii and let myself be inspired by them and by that time I will have thought of my own melody for example.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Rick James: At the moment I only use Soundcloud. But that could change.

 

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Rick James: I would invest it in my hobby (producing music), because that’s simply what I love doing and there isn’t really anything to spend it on because I’m just 16.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Rick James: At the moment I use Soundcloud groups and twitter for promoting my music. But I haven’t put that much time into it, yet.

 

 

 

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Rick James: Right now I am busy with making my very own track (my first track is kind of a remix) and I look forward to showing it to the public once it’s done.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Rick James: I would probably be studying a lot, because I want to have a decent degree at the end of the day. I would also like to work on my body because I like working out.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Rick James: I try to keep music production on the back burner for now, because I still have to finish my exams and stuff. But when I have the time, I will always jump back to producing music and that’s how it should be in my opinion.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Rick James: Fans should be looking forward to upcoming releases which should be out pretty soon.