Jake Bianco just released a short but sweet EP dubbed With Love, and it's an addictive indie-pop, R&B cross over fueled with acoustic guitars and digital beats along with Bianco's vocal character shining throughout the entire 3 track record.
Songs are brutally honest and unfiltered making it clear this artist is using his personal experiences to create. This is a big part of what makes these songs so alluring.
Hip-hop, acoustic pop, and so much more bring this EP tons of life vibrancy.
Bianco knows how to paint a picture with great detail and color using his words and even melodies.
There is plenty to get hooked on with each track and the record knows no bounds when it comes to combining music genres and styles, instruments and attitudes.
With such an impressive and in depth EP, we wanted to have a talk with Jake to find out where it all comes from. Here's what happened.
RAG: Okay let's start with the With Love, EP. This record is 3 tracks and they are all a bit different from each other but all sick to a pop format. I love the variety we get within just 3 songs! Where did this record come from?
Jake: With Love was written shortly after a breakup and was kinda a translation of my
experiences, and I tried to capture the emotions that someone would go through after a
relationship ends. The three songs almost work as different stages following a breakup.
With the song Golden, I took a more personal approach within the lyrics and highlighted
the little things such as knowing that they are still wearing your clothes and how
everyone has a reason as to why they are afraid to commit to a relationship. Things that
are still tender to someone who had just gotten dumped. I view the song Tokyo as the
“forget you” phase following a breakup. There is no better feeling than finally getting
over your ex and I wanted to capture that with this song. The idea of moving across the
world and coming back stronger than before is almost the perfect revenge on the person
who hurt you. Like finally getting control back over your life and feeling that you can do
anything and you don’t need anyone to help you. I definitely took the more pop approach
with this one and looked to the likes of Post Malone for inspiration. It's the type of song
to play in the morning to motivate you to be a better you than the day before. The final
song Pitter Patter is more of a reflection on the breakup from the other person’s shoes.
Almost looking back and forgetting about your hurt for a minute and paying attention to
how they dealt with the situation. This song also gives an insight to the future relationship
after everything that happened. I never really wanna be limited with the music I create so
I wanted to try out a couple of different genres to relay my messages.
RAG: I'd really like to know what bands or artists really influenced you as an artist?
Jake: Growing up I found myself listening to literally EVERY genre of music. I can recall
being in 5th grade listening to artists ranging from Eminem all the way to heavy metal
bands like Distrubed and Slipknot. Since this time I have always been open minded with
my music taste and my emotions normally dictate the genre I chose. As far as writing
music, I really look at the structure of how The Lumineers write their songs. How every
track is placed according to how they want to tell a story. Artists like Dominic Fike, Jack
Johnson, Cage the Elephant, Radiohead, Taylor Swift, Vance Joy, Post Malone, Khalid,
and so many more help me create my own music. I try to take a piece or idea from the
music I love to tell my own story with a shared theme.
RAG: How did this all start for you?
Jake: This all started about two years ago. I had gone through a breakup (what's new) and my mom told me I could either sit around and cry about it or make the most of the situation
and occupy my time by doing something productive. I got inspired to play my guitar that
had been untouched for months after watching the movie A Star is Born. I felt drawn
towards Bradley Cooper’s rockstar persona and wanted to be like him. That's when I
wiped the dust off the six string and hopped on Youtube to learn. I remember my fingers
hurting so bad and how difficult the chords were to play but I stuck with it for a while
and ended up learning a few of my favorite songs. I started to write my own music and
began to post it on my Instagram account. After a while, I was contacted by my current
producer Dom who liked my work and wanted to record with actual equipment instead of
an Iphone. Within months after meeting with him we created our first EP, The Stockton
Tapes in September and put out With Love in October. Two years ago I had a vision of
becoming a rockstar and day by day it is slowly coming to fruition and I am beyond
grateful for the opportunities that have presented themselves.
RAG: Have you performed live? Will you be playing gigs when the time comes?
Jake: I was scheduled to play my first gig earlier in December but due to the circumstances
surrounding the pandemic it was postponed until January/February. Aside from playing
the guitar around my friends, I have not performed live just yet but am very excited to
jump into that chapter within the next few months.
RAG: What's next for you as an artist?
Jake: I am fortunate enough to have surrounded myself with a great group of friends who
inspire me to keep creating. A few of my friends are involved in
photography/videography themselves so I am looking to incorporate their ideas into my
music as well. (The cover art for With Love was actually painted by one of my good
friends!) Aside from live performances, I am looking to create more promos, music
videos, and other visuals with the help of my friends in the near future to help me get my
music to more eyes and ears.
RAG: What does someone like you do when you're NOT working on music?
Jake: When I am not working on music I spend a lot of time reading and researching how the
mind works. I am a firm believer that you can achieve whatever it is you desire if you set
your mind to it. I am a very positive/motivational person who really enjoys watching
videos about Tony Robbins and hearing other celebrities/athletes speak and learning
about their success stories. I use this as motivation for myself and really love talking to
people about creating a positive mindset and pursuing their dreams. I would love to one
day use my own story as an example of how anything, even becoming a rockstar, is
possible once you set your mind to it.
RAG: What sort of non-musical things inspire you to write?
Jake: I draw a lot of inspiration from films as well as real life circumstances. I work to make
my lyrics as relatable as possible by providing themes surrounding cinema or any other
day to day emotions that I experience. What inspires me the most to write is just being
open minded in life. I like learning about different perspectives and the emotions that we
as humans feel.
RAG: How do you record your stuff? Is it a home set up?
Jake: I record my music with my producer in his home set up. Normally the recording process
begins with me sending him a voice memo of a new song idea and then us meeting up to
record in person.
RAG: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans out there?
Jake: My message to the fans is that you will never get joy in life from comparison, only from
advancement. If you love something, do it. If you have a passion and a strong internal
dialect NOTHING external will defeat you. Stay true to yourself and work to be better
than you were the day before regardless of what others say, think, or do.
With Love,
Jake Bianco