Sounds Like Jamie is a rapper and producer from Bromley, south-east London. He combines a love of alternative rock, nerdcore, old school, and underground hip-hop to make music that is fun, insightful, thought provoking and sometimes a little bit edgy. "Coming to You from the Man-Cave" is a fairly niche experience, but it is a fun, positive, and inspirational album. There are moments of thought and insight, encouragement, silliness, and a slightly wacky look at normal day-to-day life. There are also some incredible beats forming the skeleton of the album.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello Sounds Like Jamie. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
I love music, it has been a solid part of my life since I was a teen and I have built up an incredible library of Rock, Hip-Hop and Electronic music over the last 20 years. I have spent a lot of my time as a fan learning what sounds good and what makes a good song, but I also know what I like and what I want to hear more of. While having a good ear for music, I also aim to just do what I want to do and make albums full of songs I will always be proud of and can enjoy.
Who inspired you to make music?
My biggest inspiration has come from Linkin Park, Beastie Boys, People Under the Stairs, Mega Ran and MC Lars. All five of those artists have combined DIY aesthetics with a passion for the sounds and styles they have grown up listening to, while still pushing the boundaries of their respective genre or sub-genre. They all also put as much emphasis into the live performance as well as the studio recordings.
Your latest release is 'Coming to You from the Man-Cave'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
Before I started working on the album, I had my garage converted into an office/recording studio and it provided me with a space to let loose with my creativity without disturbing my wife or the neighbours. My previous releases have their upbeat tracks but with this one I really wanted to create something fun and inspiring and being able to put it together in the garage (a.k.a the man-cave) gave me that extra boost. Nothing unusual happened but I managed to complete the recording and mixing in time for the birth of my son.
Can you shortly describe each of the tracks that are on the album?
The Saga Continues works as an introduction to the album and where I'm at as an artist. It has a boombap beat with a grungy guitar riff over the top of it.
RapRockRave carries on the theme of figuring out my lyrical content while merging my three main genres of rock, rap and electronic music to make a hard hitting beat and show off the instrumental theme for the album.
Cheat day is all about taking it easy and has more of a modern Hip-Hop beat while I use video game cheat references as a metaphor for having a day off.
Old School Gamer uses retro video game sounds to lay the backdrop for my story of how gaming helped shape me.
Remember To save has a similar approach to cheat day but with the theme of positivity and perseverance.
The Man-Cave is a short poem describing the location where I created the album over a chilled electronic beat.
It's Our Time combines a Daft-Punk-esque instrumental with lyrics focusing on the inner struggle of an artist and keeping up the momentum and creativity.
This is Me is a grungy rap rock track continuing the themes of the album over a sludgy bass riff.
Productivity is a fun and fast track driven by a rock guitar sample and all about staying productive.
Looking for a Light is all about finding that inner strength and the thing that keeps you motivated over a fast drum n bass instrumental.
Survival closes the album with a relaxed boom bap instrumental and explains how I try to survive what the world throws at me by creating music and trying to be a good person too.
"Doing my best to give my all with the songs that I write, but I won't disturb my neighbours when it's really late at night."
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest musical trends?
I follow music pages on social media and make the most of my spotify subscription by looking at new releases and recommended artists. I also create playlists for inspiration too.
What makes you different from others?
While most artists (especially in rap) focus on being cool, trendy and tough, I am fully aware that I am not any of those things and combine that with my insightful look at the world around me, whilst trying to inspire and entertain with my songs.
What’s an average day like for you?
Working my day job, spending time with my family and trying to find some time to get some music or art done in between.
Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans.
I mostly use instagram to connect with fans and reply to comments on my posts. @sounds_like_jamie
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Never give up on making music, send it out, network and spend time honing your skills. It's also good to have some money set aside for recording and promo stuff.
What are your plans for the future?
I would love to play some gigs and do some support slots. I also have some new ideas I will be working on soon!