Music Review and interview with J.J. Leone for ‘Collaborate’

A gorgeously mellow and classic sounding guitar riff plays this song to life. The tinny, almost old radio sounding effect adds a huge amount of atmosphere to the sound, and the vocal plays along with this ambiance superbly. This is, for the most part, an acoustic guitar song; you can hear it being played around the fire one evening, and yet as it builds – there is potential there for it to be some huge pop track for the summer. The guitar sounds great, skilfully played, yet minimal and mellow enough to really set a cool and calm vibe for the long nights ahead. The leading vocal is gentle, softly soulful, a lovely melody with some memorable rhymes and lines. The vocal performance isn’t over performing, which is noticeable these days, as many songs are a little over-sung it seems.

This whole performance, both guitar and vocal, and in fact the added beat and harmonies, the entire mix, fits so well with the overall vibe of the music and the concept behind the lyrics. The strength of the song quite simply lives in the writing and the performance, not in adding a whole bunch of sounds and effects, not in singing every possible note just to prove that you can. The track was written well, and then performed equally well, so on the whole it makes it’s point and sets it’s tone effectively. It has a fairly addictive nature to it in fact, you’re likely to press play once again when the whole thing comes to an end. That’s a great way to grow a loyal fan base. Let the music, or the art, do the talking – anything else is just filler.

The voices in this sound fantastic, the leading vocal is really warm and genuine sounding, so the lasting effect is that you’ll want to hear more from the artist. You’ll want a bigger collection or catalogue of this kind of sound.

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?

 J.J.: I was born in Leytonstone, East London but was bought up in Chingford on the North East side. My dad’s side of the family are showground people, and my mum’s side have roots in Piacenza, Italy. When I was 8 they moved me out of London and I grew up in the Norfolk countryside in the East of England. My brother played guitar all the time, and my godfather was a guitarist too. I suppose I’ve got my mum to thank – she always played Stevie Wonder around the house so I always had something musical around me as long as I can remember!

 Exposed Vocals: You play quite a few instruments don’t you? Did you learn by yourself?

 J.J.: I had like, one guitar lesson when I was in High School at age 13 or something. I was in there for about 30 minutes and when I came out I couldn’t play ‘Little Wing’ by Jimi Hendrix so I was kind of pissed about that! *laughs* I put the guitar down then and didn’t play for about 6 months to a year. Then I went to a few gigs and found a real love of the instrument again – I learnt from a book and by ear, just practiced for hours in my room. As I discovered more music, I heard guys like Fieldy from KoRn and Flea from RHCP and the way they played bass – I wanted to learn how to do that. Then I heard Phil Collins’ drums and John Otto from Limp Bizkit, and so I picked up some drumsticks! I play a little bit of keys, but not that good. The rest just followed!

Exposed Vocals: So talk to us about ‘Collaborate’. You seem to be getting a great reaction from that track!

J.J.: Yeah man, it’s been crazy! It just broke 56,000 views in a week on YouTube and has had airplay in the UK and the US. ‘Collaborate’ was just one of those songs that…flowed – the songwriting was finished in about 15 minutes. I actually recorded it in my bedroom – I purposefully didn’t want it to sound over-produced, I wanted to keep it honest, ‘cos I felt it was quite intimate as it was. Originally, I had the drums coming in on the first chorus, but it just didn’t feel right, so I switched it up and that’s the way it came out! A lot of people think that the octave harmony in the hook isn’t me – but it actually is! It’s years of impersonating Prince that has allowed me to do so!  *laughs*

Exposed Vocals: Did you envision it having that kind of reaction?

J.J.: Well I’d be lieing if I said I didn’t think the song itself was decent – I would never release anything that I’m not completely proud of or happy with. I was lucky to work with a really talented video producer and a dancer too who just gave the video something extra. I guess if you have those elements, you give yourself half a chance! But no, I certainly didn’t think it would attract that much attention so quickly.

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

 J.J.: Oh, it can come from absolutely anywhere! Whether it’s a phrase someone has said to me, a situation in my life or someone else’s, people watching, culture, love, hate, whatever! Most people pick their phone based on how flashy it is – I pick mine based on how many voice notes it can hold! *laughs* Whenever I get a bit of inspiration, I pull out my phone and sing/ hum/ talk into it! In terms of instrumentation though, it always starts with a guitar for me – cos that’s my main instrument and the melody is everything! I’m lucky in the sense that I can add different instruments myself and just see where it goes! I try not to fight anything too much. Trust me, I’ve written like 50 bad songs for every decent one!

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

J.J.: You know what? I’m really not a materialistic person so I wouldn’t do nothing like buy a car or a Rolex, I’d probably still just live within my means. I’d love to build a studio out in the woods or something though, just to get away from everything – I love those kinda settings… but I think I’ve watched too many horror films now to allow myself to do that! *laughs*

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

J.J.: I’m lucky in the sense that I’ve got great fans and friends who will share my stuff all over their social media if I ask them to. But at the end of the day, I think you can do all the digital promotion in the world… but until you actually get out on a stage in front of people and play them stuff that they can connect with, that’s the best kind of promotion for me.

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

J.J.: I’m actually pretty busy right now, I’m just finishing the follow up single after ‘Collaborate’…. I won’t reveal the title yet! But I’m gonna do another video for that, and a bunch of tracks are already lined up after that. At some point, I’ll release the album too, but that’s a little way off yet!

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

J.J.: I honestly couldn’t tell you why, but the first thing I ever wanted to be was a football commentator! Or soccer as you guys would call it! I don’t know, I guess it was just the thought of getting paid to watch football that appealed to me, but I soon realised my accent might stop me from being able to do that! *laughs*

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

J.J.: I try my best to prioritize and remember that we only got one shot at this thing. I think that life is pretty simple, but we as humans make it complicated. If you got something that you love doing, you should do it. I got a full time job too that I hold down, I haven’t been fed with a silver spoon. But if you get back from work and realise that you ain’t got enough time to do music…stop watching TV, for example. There is always a sacrifice that needs to be made.

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

J.J.: A lot of new music, a few new videos, a couple of collaborations! I’m also working with a great clothing line in the UK called ‘Hobo Jack’ which I’m major excited about. There will hopefully be both a UK tour and a European tour, but a lot of things have got to come together for the European thing. Who knows, maybe I’ll find myself in your beautiful city at some point! I’ve already got some exciting announcements lined up…but you’ll have to wait a little while for those!