John-Robert
John-Robert is a quintessential singer/songwriter for the new age of popular music. The artist began making original songs at the age of fifteen and has worked to perfect his craft ever since. His tracks are simply one of our favorites; but we’re not alone, though. With over 300k monthly Spotify listeners and millions of streams worldwide, the Warner Music artist has taken the industry by storm. Songs like 2019’s “Adeline” and his most recent, “Heathy Baby Boy,” showcase a special talent. A unique voice paired with quality songwriting can never go wrong, and John-Robert is proof of this. Over his short tenure in the music industry, the artist has already received kind remarks from names like Camila Cabello. Whether you need a cool down out after a long day at work or just want to vibe out at the beach, his music is the remedy. We recently spoke to the up and coming artist about his recent acclaim, small-town upbringing, and more!
How did you get started making music?
I started producing my own tunes at fifteen when I bought a laptop and downloaded GarageBand, upgrading to Logic a year later. I adored discovering my own taste with the expansive sound selections that come with DAWs and was hell bent on building out the tunes I had in my head. But before then my father played Queen and Chicago on long car rides and I was so moved that I wanted to emulate them.
Has your small-town upbringing influenced your music style at all?
I was mainly, like many young people now, a product of the internet. So I would watch early Ed Sheeran and Twenty one pilots live performances. With that said, I worked on a show called the Shenandoah Jamboree, and so I was highly into the storytelling and strong concepts that came with early country, folk and Appalachian music.
What is the biggest difference between living in Virginia and Los Angeles?
It's a small town vs big city. Biggest differences being the southern hospitality brought about by a decrease in population size, the quiet beauty of the easily accessible Virginia woodlands, and the changing of seasons that notifies you that time is progressing and that you are ever evolving.
Walk us through your typical songwriting process. How has the pandemic affected this process?
The pandemic hasn’t affected my songwriting process a whole lot. I spent a good majority of my life alone in front of a screen/with an instrument. And there's no typical way to get inspired. It can be from a chord progression, sample, or a melody you woke up singing. It’s hard explaining the creative process when even creatives don’t entirely know how it works. A copout answer I know, but the truth nonetheless.
You’ve received critical acclaim from names like Camila Cabello. Has such feedback affected your outlook on music? If yes, how so
Frankly, it’s cool as all hell, but it doesn’t affect my outlook on music whatsoever. My thoughts on making music is that you should make the music that is most fulfilling to you, and as long as you honor your truth, taste, and judgement, you’ll be making something that’s most fulfilling to you and others.
Let's talk about the new song. What inspired "Healthy Baby Boy"?
I had moved away from home to pursue a music career in LA. With that brought me some initial depression, and isolation. I ended up becoming self reflective about my past and future, and laid out in a stream of consciousness style everything that was on my mind. That tune was a personal milestone as to how I approach writing and deviating song structures.
What was it like to team up with Alessia Cara and Ricky Reed on “Fav Boy”?
I’m no stranger to working with the incomparable Ricky Reed. Honestly, we all pitched ideas from our differing spaces, and Ricky sewed it together. Ricky sent me a box link full of instrumentals from Knobs, I wrote a tune over one, Ricky worked on it on his live stream with the musical talents of Zach Secoff, and next thing I knew he wanted to release it with Alessia Cara featuring. A completely unexpected and surreal experience inspired by Covid, and Ricky’s initiative to create a sense of community on his collaborative/creative livestream (Nice Live).
Your music is “dedicated to the company that makes Swedish Fish”. What is your next favorite type of candy?
Swedish Fish. I’m on a seemingly never ending journey to catch the attention of big red. But I’m working on it song by song.
If you could have one superpower, which would it be and why?
Teleportation. I could tour, work with my Richmond homies in Virginia, have a VIP pass to the world, and could not spend so much time in an uber.
How has the pandemic affected your ability to make music?
It hasn’t really. Collaborative projects now become more difficult, but most tunes you hear from me were written and produced by myself until I hand them over to Ricky Reed and Nate Mercereau.
Walk us through your typical songwriting process.
I wake up with a song in my head, or stumble upon a sample, or chord progression I like, and I get to creating. Typically I have a basic instrumental foundation, mumble a top line, refine it the toppling melody, build out the instrumental, then write words that fit into the topline.
What’s next for John-Robert?
I’m finishing up the first disk to a two disk project. Create tunes with my belatedly talented friends in Richmond while visiting family for the holidays and working out music visuals around everything I make.
