Emerging from the cultural kaleidoscope of Los Angeles, Henry J is the latest in a series of groundbreaking producers and songwriters, capable of blurring the borders between genres and exploring unknown territories.
For him, this exploration takes the shape of ‘Kàrmàn’, a ferocious, pensive and mesmerizing track standing at the crossroad of hyper-pop and soft rock. Surprisingly, Henry J’s controlled vocals deliver a rather pop melody, highly relatable for the listener.
It is this contrast between pop lyrical matter and a complex instrumental that greatly characterises the LA resident’s artistry. However, it is always important to remember his desire to communicate; his art is in the function of its message.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with Henry J to find out more about the project and his future goals… Interview below!
Hey Henry, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
My name is Henry J, and just trying to be the pop rock sensation of LA.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; What first drew you to making music?
I’ve been making music since I was a kid, my ears are still messed up from my dad playing AC/DC full blast on the way to baseball practice. Music was huge for me since I was young and I started playing guitar when I was 9. I never really made music too seriously until college, when I started really grinding on guitar and writing more songs. Then, I moved to Italy to teach English and in my apartment in Mantua I taught myself how to produce music, incorporating more pop influences (drums/synths) into the mostly rock n roll background. I was planning on staying in Italy, until the Pandemic sent me home. I decided then that I’m gonna live out my dream and moved to LA to make music. I’ve been grinding it out here for a few years and I’m just excited to have more and more people listen to my music.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
Without a doubt, I’d love to do a song with Gorillaz. Damon Albarn is an absolute genius and probably had the biggest influence on my music out of anyone. The Now Now, Humanz, Demon Days, Plastic Beach? All 10’s in my eyes. Even his days back in blur are so creative and exciting before he kind of released all inhibitions and made Gorillaz. I’d kill to make a track with him and I know it would be an absolute heater. Other than that, even though rock n roll will always be #1 in my heart, I dream about making a song for like a pop star. Marina, Kim Petras, Rina Sawayama, Caroline Polachek, and a bunch of others I can’t remember right now. I love that “girl” pop I guess you could say and I love to see women killing it in the industry and to work with one of them would be a dream.
You recently released an edgy, quirky gem, ‘Kármán’. How did you approach its production? Did you already have an idea of how you wanted it to sound?
My old project was rough around the edges, I didn’t have a good mic, I didn’t really know how to polish off mixes, and I was good at songwriting but beyond that, I needed some work. I also didn’t have a real direction until later in the project. Now that I had a vision I wanted to start off strong but stick to my roots. Karman is actually a re-write of the first song I released way back when called “IDEK” (the old project was called Tumbleweed Jones if you want to listen). I wanted to show who I am now compared to who I was. I more or less abandoned the guitar as the central part of the song and show off my production skills, my creativity, and my ability to do a hundred little intricate things to create a perfect finished product. Listening to them side-by-side really motivates me to keep creating and getting better.
Do you feel more confident writing music alone, or within a team?
Im mostly used to work alone but I also love playing with people. I’ve produced for some friends and right now I’m playing guitar in a band with my friend (we’re called The Junes). I’m really trying to meet new musicians and work with more people too so I can just keep growing and getting better.
‘Kármán’ reflects on the fears that bring us down. Have you personally experienced this sort of challenging sensation?
Yeah, it’s about my fears of moving to LA and trying to make it. I had a ton of anxiety about sharing my art when I was growing up which is why I’m starting kinda late, and I’m still nervous about trying to break into the industry and if my dreams are ridiculous and just a result of a few too many bipolar manic episodes, but I decided a while ago that I’d rather do this and fail then hit 30 and not have tried. Writing about my anxieties always helps and to put it out there as this awesome song.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
Good lord, trying to get people to listen to your music in LA is hard as hell. I learned quickly that overnight success isn’t an overnight success, it’s the result of years of work (that I’m putting in). Learning how to market music also kind of sucked but now I’m getting used to it and kind of like it. Seeing the result of work on the music end and the marketing end is getting really fulfilling. Other than that it’s been hard cuz I compare myself to others a lot, who are often a lot more successful than me but I’ve cut down on that a lot which is really helping let me go forward.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
The horizon looks bright to me. I’m gonna keep making good shit and more and more people are gonna listen and love it and I think I’m gonna reach the heights I was always scared of shooting for. Can’t wait for that collab with Gorillaz too.
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