Exclusive Music Review and Interview with JayBump “Love Be Real” (Feat. Louis Maestro)

From a technical perspective, this track fuses a collection of synths, beats, and reverbs that give it a very classic dance sort of sound. On the front of it though, there’s a huge R&B vibe that is overwhelmingly positive and emotional. Positive in terms of the message being put forward, but clearly based upon a certain sort of sadness, missing someone, longing for someone’s touch. The track feels very honest and loving, despite it’s heavily electronic backdrop. The vocal effects take slightly from that emotion, but not as much as might be expected – there is still a huge amount of honesty and vulnerability that comes through with both vocal sections. It changes the way you feel, so it’s music being effective, doing what it should – for those reasons it’s a great song. Any art portraying an image of love and care is something to pay attention to.

The beat and the musical backdrop is very simple sounding, there’s not a huge amount going on, but that’s a big part of what makes you pay so much attention to the lyrics, the vocal tone, the feeling behind all of it. It works well, it seems to have been inspired by a fairly vast collection of music from the past, therefore building it’s own structure and running with that in a very creative and fearless way. In terms of song writing, it does what it intended to do, it portrays effectively the mood implied by the subject matter, in both the musical expression and the vocal performance, and these things in turn pass those feelings on to the audience. You feel what the artist felt as you listen, as much as is possible at least. There’s hopefully a lot more to look forward to from this artist, there seems to be a warm heart behind the music and that’s always something that presents itself with great appeal.

By Rebecca Cullen

Exclusive Interview:

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

JayBump:

I was born in Muncie, Indiana, which is less than an hour from Indianapolis. Reflecting on my life in Ohio, my childhood memories are filled with computers, microphones, keyboards, cameras, and gadgets. My father is a musician and a technology enthusiast, so he had lots of equipment in the house, in the garage, and some at the church where he served as the minister of music. In addition, my mother once took a management information systems course in college and I remember reading her textbook about binary numbers and computer languages. I too am a musician who plays the keyboards, and it was during my childhood years that I developed my passion in life—working with art through digital media. Creating art through various media led me to take on creative projects and to produce various types of videos for clients. In this interview, my initial, current, and future efforts to broadcast my work to the world are discussed.

My ability to comprehend technical instruction manuals gave me the knowledge to control and manipulate analog and digital signals with the end result being a piece of music. In my early teenage years, I began working with hardware and software that aided me in music and video production. With experience playing the piano and drums, I used the available technology to create instrumentals with digital and analog sounds.

While creating my own music, I also studied other mainstream artists and producers as well as their methods of production. While reading magazines and internet articles, I discovered that the producers of the music were making up to $65,000 per instrumental. As a kid I used to wonder what a music producer actually does.

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

JayBump:

My peers gave me the nickname JayBump. It resembles my first and last names, Jordan Bumpus. I was a three-sport athlete in High School and my teammates would refer to me as Bumpus and at times they would shorten it to just, Bump. Most of my close friends call me Bump. Some became creative and called me JayBump. The name JayBump suits me well because I love music that bumps and I love to create music that makes people move in various ways.

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

JayBump:  The advances in technology have made it much easier for musicians to share their music. I have been creating music for more than 15 years but I am extremely critical of my sound and want the best professional quality. So since the age of 18 I have been seeking out professional sound engineers and studios to help capture and present my sound to the world. Currently I am streaming my first single, Love Be Real, for free on SoundCloud!

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?

JayBump:  My advice is to never give up! Always welcome constructive and deconstructive criticisms. The knowledge within opinions will help you progress and develop you into a better artist. But, you must be able to find the positives within the messages and not focus on the negatives.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

JayBump:  My rare live performances lacked the proper energy and did not represent the song that was being performed. My performance was on the drums accompanying another artist and we had not played together enough to be in front of a crowd. Looking back, it was a bad performance but I was able to learn from this instead of labeling this memory as negative. I strive to be optimistic and learn from my mistakes.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?  

JayBump:  My public catalogue is growing and I plan to tour in the future. I have been on tour with other artists and the show happens on and off the stage!

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

JayBump:

I am more of an instrumentalist than a songwriting but when I do write, it comes from real-life experiences. My process is to create the music and let it tell me what types of emotions need to go into the song. From there I think of my audience and write accordingly. I prefer to use minimal profanity in my writing and show the world the other words in my vocabulary. Also, this makes it easy to play on the radio without distracting from the rhythm, flow, and vibe of the final product.

Since then I have met several individuals who enjoy writing lyrics as much as I enjoy producing music. Pairing the two is no simple task, as the music and lyrics must complement one another. In order to compete with the mainstream artists, one must have talent but also acquire adequate tools to create quality soundtracks and instrumentals and striking lyrics that allow for listeners to connect to a song and to want to hear it over and over again. This circumstance is known as the hook, and the symbiotic relationship of music and lyrics support the development of a song’s hook.

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

JayBump:

I do have a band website that is currently under development. I use most social media platforms to share my music: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DJayBump/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/djaybump/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/djaybump).

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

JayBump:

I wouldn’t call it embarrassing, but some of my favorite songs to listen to outside of my key genre, RnB & Hip-Hop, would be “Lisztomania” by Phoenix and “That’s The Way” by KC & The Sunshine Band.

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

JayBump:

Half a million and one year off would allow me to create quality music. Throughout middle school, high school, and college I have been told I have a good sound. What I lack most is quality and time. Investments would grant me enough time and access to resource so that I can create a mainstream sound. I am close but I am not where I know I can be.

Further, the process of merging music and words calls for expensive hardware equipment and software packages that can amount to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the major studios in the world are worth millions of dollars based on the high quality sound systems, high quality microphones, computers, and digital editing software that producers, sound engineers, and artists use to make music.

Technological innovations have given the common person prosumer tools that are less expensive for those who cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars for a state-of-the-art studio. Home-based studios vary in quality and are increasing in popularity as people are learning to master available technology and produce their own videos and music. In the beginning of my production days, I used prosumer tools and had a great deal of success with them, and received much praise for the professionalism of my work. Because of my passion for what I do, I became a huge constructive critic when it came to my own work. I always knew that it could sound better. So even today, I continue to do research on audio engineering.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?  

JayBump:

Currently I work out of Studio Blue in Kentucky. I am extremely privileged to work out of this studio and the value is in the six-figure range. The quality of my finished projects is nothing short of amazing compared to the home studios that I have worked out of in the past. Microphones, preamps, synthesizers, and a few software upgrades are always in the works. Later in my career I plan to build a studio much closer to a place that I call home.

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

JayBump:

I travel up and down the East Coast of the USA sharing my music with as many people as I can. Throughout my travels, I have made connections and developed relationships with individuals from all over the world. Aside from music marketing and promotion, they help me share my music to new people everyday.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?  

JayBump:

I would love to perform with Michael Jackson in London! I have never traveled to England but my English friends continuously tell me that I need to hurry up and come over! Their appreciation for the arts compels me to visit.

My influences are Timbaland, Pharrell, & Kanye West. You can hear different elements of their styles within my music. I would love to perform in New York City with the three of these icons collectively or individually. I grew up listening to their music and it continues to inspire me to create and never give up.

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

JayBump:

On June 17, 2016 I release my first single “Love Be Real” which is featuring a Louisville artist by the name of Louis Maestro. This song has an old school RnB feel with a modern twist. I have produced and engineered several other songs by artists in the Midwest area. When Summer 2016 comes to a close, I plan to continue working on some unfinished material that I know you all will love. Some projects are solo and some are collaborations.

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

JayBump:

I am also a producer of video and a photographer. People that know of me recognize my visual talents more so than my musical talents. This is because I am just now beginning to get the word out that I actually make quality music. I will always work with both audio and visual media as they go hand-in-hand.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?  

JayBump: Jay-Z’s Black Album & Kanye’s College Dropout were a proud purchases of mine back in the early 2000’s. I loved Jay-Z’s music I really enjoyed Kanye’s productions as well. Though he wasn’t in the public eye as much as Jay-Z, his lyrics and Kanye’s music on various Jay-Z albums inspired me to pursue this career.

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

JayBump: Juggle is a unique word for this question. No, I am not a clown but focusing on music and trying to stay ahead of the game can cause one to “drop the ball” in other areas in life. This deters many musicians each year back to the “9-5” but I just pick up the ball and keep juggling. One day I am going to quit this circus act and focus on music full time. I have a message I want to share with the world.

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

JayBump:  Toward the end of this year I will officially begin working on a full-length album with visuals. I have a private catalogue that contains hundreds of instrumentals (all of which are original works). I am going to group similar sounds and add meaningful words. I plan to release this album in 2017.