Everything
ICON: Talk to me about the first time you realised you could make music and that you were good at it?
Col3trane: “I was making music in my bedroom for a while and I didn’t really know how to do it at first. I think for a lot of people, you know how you want it to sound. That’s a big thing for me, sonics. I knew how I wanted it to sound and how I wanted my voice to sound and how I wanted the music to sound but I had no idea how to do it so I had to learn how to do that.
I started to make music with other people and learning from them rather than learning by myself in my bedroom. My brother’s friend was making music for AJ Tracey before it blew up crazy for him and I went to his crib and he had more of a set up and much more of an understanding of how to make things sound. I was going there every day after school and we were making songs and he was making me way sound way more how I wanted to sound then I could. I think then I realised, ‘These are turning into songs’. And then I just kept doing it.”
You’ve been dubbed as the next Frank Ocean. What does this claim mean to you?
C: “I get that quite a lot but it used – I don’t mean it in an arrogant way – but people do say that quite a lot and it used to be piss me off just because I thought people weren’t really listening to what I was doing… But then I realised even I do the same thing. If I find a new artist and I don’t quite understand, to feel comfortable with something they compare it to something else. And to be compared to someone that great is really dope.”
What kind of sacrifices have you had to make to get to this point?
C: “I don’t think I have as many friendships as I probably would. I don’t know, I don’t really think about that. I wouldn’t change anything.”
How has your music evolved since your first release in 2017?
C: “I was 18 when I first put out music and as much as those songs, and they still do mean so much to me, I have gotten older and seen more shit and experienced more shit and matured in a way. And I feel that’s reflected in my music. The way that I make music is much more focussed now than it has been previously. Just. The way that I write and my relationship with music is much more focussed.”
What inspired this new single?
C: “When I went on tour in November around Europe I was doing shows and I really, really wanted to sing. Not to sing. But to really sing, sing. The bits in the set that were exciting and I looked forward to every night were the bits that I really get to sing. That made me write some songs that I can take on tour and sing.”
What did you learn from performing with Dua Lipa in those early days?
C: “So much. It’s a crazy thing to be able to do. I did a 200-capacity tour and then a month later did a 15,000-capacity arena tour. I couldn’t explain everything I learned on this phone call because you’d be here for a really long time but the main thing was that she works so hard. She works harder than everyone around her. That drives her team and make everyone really focussed. So working harder than everyone around you, regardless of how great the people around you are is a very key thing that I love about Dua.”
Did you find it difficult to adjust to this growing fame?
C: “I wouldn’t say it’s difficult, it’s really exciting. To be able to go to the next places and play bigger shows and have people know the words, and then they get a little bigger and more people know the words and more people are singing the song, that is really, honestly a dream come true.
“I don’t really see it, that’s not a daunting thing for me.”
What is your favourite thing about coming to Australia?
C: “Two things. One, people here are just mad nice, that’s my impression, everyone is just super cool which is great. Two, breakfast, because I don’t normally eat breakfast but the breakfast here is mad.”
I saw you gave Kobe Bryant a shout out after his tragic passing on social media. What was about Kobe that really spoke to you, that really inspired you?
C: “For me and for a lot of people he embodied the sentiment that if you work hard and if you focus and dedicate your time and effort to something, and you practice, and you practice, and you practice, that you will succeed. He was the total embodiment of hard work and dedication and he was so great at what he did. And he was so great at being a dad…. He is just an inspiring guy and he instilled a whole generation with this work ethic and he inspired everyone to work a little bit harder…”
Col3trane’s newest single ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ is out now. For more, visit here.
