Who are you listening to at the moment?
I like to believe that I draw most of my influence from Funk and Jazz music (from The Meters, James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, to Ella, Armstrong, Miles Davis etc.). However, at the moment, my musical bank has a constantly open account for any type of genre, as long as I can connect to it on any level. Anderson Paak has been playing in my headphones for the past two months and his music actually helps me with my fear of flights! Oddly enough, I often go back to my roots and listen to underground, contemporary Romanian artists (e.g. Subcarpați). NAO, Hiatus Kaiyote, D’angelo add to my newly addictive contemporary/Neo-Soul influence. I tend to be open to anything because it is all about music and soul. I must say however, that my guilty pleasure and an artist that I have a soft spot for is Jessie J. I connect with her music on a very emotional level and I would not have it any other way.
What do you love about London?
People praise London in so many different ways but I always thought that this city has a vibrantly profound emotion to it. After almost three years here, I realised that what I really love about London is that it truly is a musician’s oyster. The amount of opportunities I had, as well as the amount of people I met, have really had an impact on my life. London is very artistic in its essence and that’s what caught my attention. I am constantly seeking for art and music and London turned out to be one of the hidden treasures on the map of my journey.
Why Bass?
Even though I don’t have a musical background, I know somewhere deep down I was striving to be a musician. What appealed to me the most was the mystery behind the instrument that never got chosen at first sight. Bass guitar seemed to be the ‘wake up call’ that I needed; I soon found myself fascinated by the deep tones that this ‘mystery’ produced. Immediately sensing that connection, bass was the first instrument that I truly fell in love with. Before coming to BIMM, I’d only been playing for a year and a half, so I think bass guitar chose me – so I dived into the flux of low frequencies like a kid in the playground. Bass offers me something different and unique…every time I play, it makes me feel like I am on the highway to heaven.
