(PC: Elliott Brockelbank)
Having charted at No.1 five times (going on six) on Hype Machine, Stephen Philibin a.k.a Steve James has become one of the fastest-rising stars of the electronic music community. If you google his name, you would probably also find out that the 17-year-old musician is being credited as one of the producers behind Justin Bieber‘s “Purpose”, which is the title track off the Biebs’ new album. That’s a HUGE accomplishment for any 17-year-old kids, let alone somebody like Steve who grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. Needless to say, we’re honored to be able to ask Steve a few questions that our readers are dying to know the answer to. Listen to his first original track “Renaissance” featuring Clairity below, and check out our exclusive interview after the jump.
TMN: Pleasure to have you here with us Steve.
Thanks for having me, I’m looking forward to this!
TMN: First of all, congrats on the release of your first original track “Renaissance”! Not many 17-year-olds can say they’ve accomplished half of what you’ve done. Can you tell us a little bit about your passion for making music and how it all started?
Thanks on Renaissance – I’m super excited about that track! As for how it all started, I’ve actually always wanted to be a musician. I grew up playing the piano since age 3 or 4, I always enjoyed doing things by ear rather than reading music, and was always a fan of synthetic sounds like what Owl City was making, or the Postal Service. When I was 12, my older brother gave me his old macbook for christmas which had a program called Djay on it which I used to start mixing tracks. As soon as I learned about producer/dj’s, I was sold. I started putting a lot more time into learning how to use ableton than learning how to mix. It was after seeing Avicii (my all time favorite producer/dj) live for the first time that I said to myself, “Alright, that’s how I wanna spend the rest of my life.” I guess that was like, 2012, so I had just turned 14 haha. I was lucky to catch onto that so early, but from there it was just evenings and weekends in ableton trying to make uplifting/positive music.
TMN: Having 5 No.1 tracks on the Hype Machine charts, are you surprised at all at how well your music is received?
I wouldn’t say I’m surprised – my team and I really pride ourselves on our relationships within the industry, specifically media outlets, and being interactive on social media. Growing up in a small town like Johnstown, we knew I wasn’t going to be playing out many shows, so making sure we reached as many people as possible on the internet was always top priority. That said, I’m really appreciative of how everyone has embraced my records over the last few years. I’ve been growing and learning a lot, but seeing my music get all this love has really continued to drive me. I’ve seen enough to know that there are people who want to hear what I’m doing, they enjoy the good vibes and uplifting spirit, and that just pushes me even more to keep grinding away and making all these ideas into songs and pushing them to as many corners of the world as we can.
TMN: Dance music is taking over the world as we speak. What we love about your music is the unique sound you bring to your tracks. Now there’s a lot of controversy around music that sounds too “commercial” or “EDM”, what’s your take on this trend? Who do you draw inspirations from as to refining your sound as a producer?
(PC: Elliott Brockelbank)
TMN: For the readers that don’t know, Steve James is credited as one of the producers behind Justin Bieber’s album title track “Purpose”, which features the Bieb’s heartfelt vocals and a beautiful piano chord progression. Can you tell us how the collaboration came about and more importantly, are you a Belieber yourself?
I basically came out here to Los Angeles over the summer to really get in the heart of the music industry. I was doing a lot of nights in the studio meeting new people and writing a lot of new kinds of music. I really wanted to explore and see what I was inspired by and could channel into my songs. And to ultimately learn the ropes of the industry. Some writers who were working on songs with Justin at the time heard some of my demos and wanted to get me involved. As for Justin, I love what he’s doing. This message and this journey he’s on is incredible and it’s really cool to see and be a part of. And on top of that, I think what he’s doing for music is pretty awesome. The way he’s incorporated dance music producers in this album is really creating a whole new genre of dance-pop.
TMN: Now let’s shift gears and talk about your live shows. You’ve supported The Chainsmokers at a few of their shows this past month, most notably at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. How does it feel like playing a hometown gig in front of your friends and family?
That was a ton of fun. Pittsburgh is actually about 90 minutes from my true hometown, but I was able to coordinate like 15 kids who I went to high school coming out along with my parents too. They saw me when I played with Alex and Drew last year, but this time I was coming home from LA for a night just for the show, so it was a very cool experience. I’m glad my friends could make it as well, because I know that kids from my school never get to see shows as cool as the Friendzone tour, which is dope, so I’m glad they got to be a part of the experience.
TMN: Performing live is a complete different aspect of sharing your music. Do you like DJing or producing better?
I definitely feel like a producer first. I really enjoy DJ’ing and I think it’s fun in the right setting, but I’m looking forward to doing a lot more live performances, like the incorporation of keys, drumpads and effects. The music I’m making definitely feels like it would be better experienced live since I play so many of the pianos and drums and other instruments right into the song. But I think there will be a place for DJ sets as well, absolutely.
TMN: With so many young aspiring producers who are trying to make it big, what advice would you give them?
TMN: We predict that Steve James will be a household name in 2016. What’s next for you? Are we going to expect a tour coming anytime soon?
Haha, I appreciate the confidence man. Well, my new single Renaissance featuring Clairity, who is absolutely amazing, is out now. I’m really proud of this track and I’m really enjoying the positive feedback that’s going on. I’m about to head home for the Holiday’s, but I’m going to continue working on a lot of new music. Like I said, I’m kind of a producer first, and I am really looking forward to putting together a few more singles and hopefully an EP in the first half of next year. I’m definitely looking forward to touring next year, but I also want to make sure that I go on the road with more than enough released (and unreleased) content to play live and experience with my fans. That is going to be a blast though, and I can’t wait to work on the soundtrack for those concerts over the coming weeks and months.
