Exposed Vocals Interviews British Capone

I grew up North London, UK. I played the piano, and growing up with
two older siblings I was exposed to a variety of music that other kids
my age did not get to hear. My sister is 11 years older than me and my
Brother is 9 years older than me. I remember my Sister giving me a
Cypress Hill – ‘Black Sunday’ album when I was 10yrs old. From that
moment I was hooked on HipHop, and as I entered my teens, rap became
an expressive release for me. My parents did the best they could to
provide for all of us. Mum has lived with Sarcoidosis for my entire
life and so she couldn’t really do much. Dad worked and still works
incredibly hard. A big inspiration, and example of how to deal with
adversity. I love them a lot and they have put up with more than a
lifetimes amount of shit from me!!! As I was left to my own devices
music/rap became my life. Spending a lot of my time out in parks or
street corners got me thinking about my future. After a few scrapes
with the Law I had to think and actually do something I liked, I had a
lot of anger in me, whether it was from growing up with Vitaligo, my
Mum’s illness or wishing that we were better off, im not sure. Either
way at 16 I enrolled myself on to a Music Production course with my
friend Dax. That was the sole move in my life that honestly saved me.
It was a long time before I realised that this was actually the point
in my life that would dictate the rest. It was the moment I became me!
As I got older and entered into adulthood I started producing more
types of music, Drum and Bass and Grime. These also gave me more
skills in the MC/Rap area, it also lead me to Raves and Concerts. Once
seeing the people I was listening to it was clear I had one agenda.
After falling in with the wrong people I had to leave London to get
away from it all. I was lucky enough to have had an unconditional
offer at Leeds College of Music in the north of England. Leeds is one
of the best places in the UK for underground Hip Hop. It was also the
best place in Europe for Jazz and Blues, the grandparents of my music.
The next 4 years of my life were the best to date. I had the most
amazing friends, who later became ‘Moulding The Breaks.’ I realised
that this was me and this was the culture I had to chosen to be a part
of and identify with. It is hard to identify yourself in this World,
if you can have some outlet to express yourself with, then you are
very lucky. I still know a lot of lost people, the environment you
grow up in can imprison you. I suppose part of me becoming an artist
was escapism. Block-out all the bad and create something beautiful.

My first name was Higher Elements https://soundcloud.com/higherelements
The name came to me when reading the dictionary description of an
element, ‘unbreakable by normal means’. I became Higher Elements,
greater than the sum of my parts and unbreakable in spirit! Fast
forward to last year and seeing how Music had changed in the UK due to
acts like Danny Seth, PiffGang and BBK making waves on both sides of
the Atlantic I had to rebrand and make some serious moves. My real
name is Laurence Gian Piero Capone, the only logical name for
attention on both sides of the ‘Pond’ was ‘British Capone’
https://soundcloud.com/britishcapone

Online music is amazing for people like myself who may have never had
a chance to reach a global audience otherwise. I gave away my last EP
for free on the Higher Elements Soundcloud. It was that music which
got me noticed last year by Tino Kamal,
https://soundcloud.com/tinokamal – This guy changed my life! I think
all artists need to do something for free. Not all the fans have money
and its a way for unknown poeple to reach the names or places that
they need to. It works both ways. Everyone likes the word ‘free’ and
if people like what you put out there then you get something back for
free – exposure. Obviously my music takes time and money is always an
issue. If you can have a balance then you’re lucky. The lack of funds
have made me make bad decisions, Tino Kamal actually said to me the
other day, ‘Money Will Make You Do That’. I will be releasing a free
project with a UK Grime artist, Mercutio,
https://soundcloud.com/stateurname very soon, he is very talented and
making some very good music. Both of us agreed to put it out for free
even though there may be some expense to making the final project.

For new artists who are emerging now, I think about how much access
they have that I didn’t 10 years ago. What I would say is make sure
that what you are releasing is the best it can be within your means.
Make sure your brand and product look good and of course make sure you
can back all of this live on stage! You should be uniform across all
of the social media platforms and interact with your fans. Reach out
to people and work with other artists, that is a huge factor, it helps
you to learn and share from people who will often have something to
teach you. Finally build relationships with other media outlets, send
music to bloggers and labels. And remember, you NEVER know who is
watching you!

Inspiration can come from anywhere. I will construct a song based on
mood or feeling, maybe an encounter with someone or watching a film,
but usually it will come down to a combination of things with a common
thread through them. I develop an image in my head of what the
finished song might sound like. Then maybe someone has come over to
jam and they hear the song and start singing or rapping, what happens
then is that they have heard the song and triggered something in them
which generally flips the image in my head and now I’m looking at the
music with new perspective.
Rap to me will always include, past mistakes or life lessons,
regardless of the concept of a song, I think we rappers always look
inside when writing and reflecting some memory or feeling we had to
deal with. Some lyrics for me are a good way to admit bad things or to
say sorry, it’s my scream! One of the best anger management methods
out there. Don’t keep it locked in, say it!

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

 

So far I don’t have a band website; I use soundcloud and more
recently, Youtube to showcase my work. I think the platform today is
pretty set, I feel you should have everything in order but not all
over the place. A band website will be the next step.

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

If I was given half a million dollars…wow…probably hook some of my
family up with a bit! My brother and sister live in Australia so that
would be a journey. I would be loading up the laptop and getting some
new equipment and start getting some serious work done. I aim for 2
major projects and put myself out there and ask some artists to
collaborate. Most of that money would go to funding those projects and
making it work. Some of that would go towards investing in a permanent
studio with a friend (https://thebadatom.bandcamp.com/) he makes very
different music but I love using his current studio, the vibe with all
the other bands is great. It’s one of the more ‘creative’ places I
spend my time, Rock Stars and Rap Stars sharing the same interests!

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

 

Find an artist you want, you should go direct. Have an idea of what
you want to do with them. If your music is good and your vision
interesting most people will come back to you. As for companies, I
approach them direct, again with an angle and a reason. You won’t
always get anywhere but as I said before you never know who is
watching, once you start this form of contact you will be remembered.
Keep a spreadsheet and keep in touch. Mention that you see what they
are doing and how your next project may be relevant. Always send
companies the music just before release in case they are interested in
using it before it goes live!

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

 

I have just made a couple tracks with Tino Kamal, currently finishing
a TrapGrime EP with Mercutio. Collaboration with ‘Trap King Clothing’ (http://trapkingclothing.com/).

landing before July. Also another clothing collaboration with myself and a female vocalist, more later!

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

f I wasn’t making music I wouldn’t like to think about that. I hope I
would be a Landscape Gardener, you wouldn’t expect that, however when
growing up the easiest way to make cash was in the trades. So that is
one I enjoy, outside, nature, left alone. I have worked in advertising
and other office based stuff and I was good at what I did, but office
work is not for me. Each to their own I suppose. Music makes me a
better person. I have done some stupid things in my life. If I didn’t
make music, then my outlook would not be very nice. Its something I
don’t like thinking about!

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

 

Honestly being an Artist is difficult but rewarding, the constant
drive to only do what you want is perplexing. I now look at life in a
logical and methodical way. I need to do X to do Y. This means that
you have to watch your finances and I still do pick up the work tools
if I have to. It would be nice for music to give me financial freedom,
even if it was enough to live on and not really worry about much then
I’d be happy. I don’t demand much from life. I would be so happy to do
my art every day. As long as the bills are paid and my quality of life
are decent, I’m happy. This world is hard so do what you love and find
a balance!

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

2016, You should look for a very new sound coming from the Trap Music
that I make. There should be some solid music coming out and a few
collaborations with clothing companies.I have a lot in the pipeline,
so keep watching!