Chicago – British electro-R&B artist Vicktor Taiwò first caught the attention of music lovers with “Digital Kids.” Two years after the release of that sultry, soulful single, Vicktor Taiwò is finally unveiling his debut EP JUNO. The Nigerian born, London raised photographer turned singer has created a beautiful, heartfelt album, that has had critics comparing him to James Blake and Frank Ocean. Best New Bands talked with Taiwò about his EP, letting himself be vulnerable, and leaving behind photography for a career in music.
Before we start talking about your music, I want to talk about you. You used to be a photographer, but then you discovered music. How did that happen?
I transitioned from photography when I was about sixteen, seventeen. It was born from not feeling that I could have full freedom of expression. I felt I couldn’t fully express myself in that particular art form. Music was me searching for something that I felt I could expand into, express and talk about everything that I was and share that with people. Music felt like an art form that I could do that in.
I’m a photographer, so…
Oh, sweet!
I find it interesting that you fell into another medium. I also left photography behind for awhile, so I know that artistic eye never leaves you.
No, it doesn’t.
Does your photographic eye influence your music on any level?
It does influence my music. Music for me takes on a clear physical landscape, with very specific moods and settings. From when I arrived at the very first key line or have very first melodies or notes, in terms of production, I feel like it’s…ugh…I get an image of what it is supposed to look like. That then dictates the direction and the things that I make, in terms of music; it’s a difficult thing to explain, but music is a very visual thing for me.
I noticed you’ve been sitting on JUNO for awhile. Can you talk about the making of it?
I made it about two years ago. I made it when I made “Digital Kids.” I released that when I made it… I met Felix Joseph. We started working together. We had a similar understanding and worked well together. It came together pretty quickly. Most of the songs and lyrics, I already had. I write every day.
Two years is a long time!
It is a long time.
You must be really excited to finally get this out!
Excited is, I mean, excited yes. I don’t want to be presumptuous. I don’t know if excited is the word. Relieved maybe is more accurate. (laughs) I am really excited, but I’m more just happy to let this material go. It’s two years old. I’ve only been making music for three years, so all that stuff is me at my, uh…
Infancy?
Yeah. My infancy as how to be myself one hundred percent. All of these songs, they’re real to me, but in terms of where I want to go, where I want to be, I need to start doing that stuff now.
Let’s talk about that older, new stuff. “Digital Kids” has some pretty heavy lyrics. What inspired this social commentary?
That song is born from having the mindset that I do, which is to evaluate myself and the environment that I’m in. I’m sensitive to the way people react to each other, how people react to the climate that they’re in.
Let’s talk about “Feathers & Wax.” It’s obviously partially inspired by Greek mythology, but there’s clearly more to this. Tell us about this love story!
It’s a super long story. That song is really like four songs in one song. It depends on what part you want to talk about.
Well, what’s your favorite part of it?
My favorite part is the chorus. It was one of the few times, where I set it out. That song is exactly what I wanted it to be. Sometimes you make a song where it’s you just following it, whatever happens, happens. Whatever comes out, comes out. If you like it, you like it. If you don’t, you don’t. But I was like I am going to write this exact song. It’s going to be about an exact thing. I’m going to work it out. I did that… So I was really proud of just being able to do that.
You recently shared “Fade” on your facebook and said, “Giving space to and for your inside your present is vital.” Will you elaborate more on that?
Essentially, I was never going to put that song out. I was never going to put that song out because I don’t feel like it’s going to represent a large majority of what I want to do in the future. It’s a song that I made that I accidentally let people hear. (laughs) I like it, the song, but it’s not who I am, who I’m going to be in the future, but I realized that if I’m going to say I’m this honest person, if I’m going to say I feel what is true for me and express forms of who I am, then I’m going to have to be vulnerable, too. This is what I made. It doesn’t matter if I don’t make anything like that again. I shouldn’t hold that back. I should be able to share it and explain it to people. This is who I am now, but that was who I am. This is part of my story.
You’ve been compared to James Blake and Frank Ocean, but your music reminds me of Alex Clare, Erik Hassle, and especially 90s trip hop, like Massive Attack. What artists were you listening to while making this album?
I was listening Ed Sheeran’s first album, which I f**king love! I think that first album is genius. I love that first album.
Vicktor Taiwò will also be touring this Fall with Ibeyi. Follow him on twitter and facebook for future announcements.
Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
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