Can you share the inspiration behind “Shipwrecked,” and the creative process involved in bringing it to life?
I wanted to write a song about the worst time of my life with battling my mental health, and also incorporate a partner who is also struggling, but in their own way. I wanted calm and chaos, though what seems calm isn’t if you listen to the lyrics. I wanted to make the chaos more epic, which is done by a shift to minor and an increase in the music that builds up the tension and expectation of where the hell and what is going on. Just like mental illness can be. Then the heaviness of the music is to show how we can come through it while others can remain.
Your debut album will drop soon. Is there one track on the album that means more to you than the others? If so, why?
There are a few. Nightmare’s Pt. 1 tells more of the story of living with mental health, especially that of OCD. And it’s special because I think people who also suffer from this illness will relate to it, which in turn may help, and in whatever way possible. I had no clue for years what OCD even was; I thought I was the only person in the world with it, feeling isolated and alone. So I hope those who need it hear it because there’s power in numbers.
Then there’s also a song about my son, Roman, written for his first birthday. A song that I wrote pretty quickly, compared to my other songs. It’s so emotionally charged, especially towards the end, where the song’s meaning is revealed.
How did you get started in music? What’s the back story there?
I’ll keep this short; it all started in a friend’s house, where he just started playing himself. Then, with his guitar lying around, he showed me how to play “Smoke on the Water”, just on the one string, and I was hooked from then on, very soon after taking lessons in rock and classical guitar. This is when I was 14, but music hit me much earlier, around 8, 9. Having two other brothers who introduced me to bands like Oasis, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, all the usual. Then getting into bands and people myself like Linkin Park, Evanescence, Eminem, etc.
Do you use any special recording techniques in the studio?
Very cool question! I bought a Neumann U87, which nearly broke my bank, but was so worth it. I recorded all vocal and acoustic guitars through it, but had two condensers on the guitar for the songs ‘Seasons’ and ‘Musica’, to catch the guitar’s percussion. One close around the 12ft and the other just catching a bit of the guitar and the room, but had it further enough away to not create any phasing issues. All electric and bass tones were used with the Neural DSP plugin, which is just insane btw.
I was complimented on them by the Abbey Road engineer, too! Tones here were created to be two different tones at different times in different songs, hitting different EQ peaks to get a bigger sound. Just a compressor on the vocal chain in. And some clever production tricks here and there. And apart from that, I think it’s pretty standard recording-wise, as I’ll be here for ages talking production, I think.
Oh! And on “Shipwrecked”, I asked my ‘boys’, 4 of my close mates, to shout “ooff” and play eggs and tambourine for added percussion and movement in the ‘epic bit’. It was hard work, though, trying to get them not to laugh, amateurs, haha! Also in this section, I doubled my voice and put it an octave lower to give it some bass to really help make the words stand out.
Who are your biggest influences?
I try not to have influences but be inspired by all the music that I like. Which is everything, really, including all styles and world music. I say this not to sound pretentious, as I am really trying all tricks, with blending different genres, etc. Obviously, you will hear certain people, as we’re all a product of our environment, and I do have my all-time favorite singer, etc. People also like to compare; it’s almost like the way we are programmed to see faces everywhere…. Is that Jesus in my tea!
What’s the best criticism you’ve ever received about your music or performance?
Easy answer, complicated songs that don’t sound it.
Is there anywhere you would like to go that you have not been?
Pretty much everywhere! Though this music thing has taken a lot of time away from travelling, you can’t say I’m not dedicated to the art! And especially for the latter of learning about different cultures and their music. Though I really love Europe because of all the history and its architecture. I also just happen to love medieval history, so this coincidence is in a little bit of my music, too. I am also lucky that I live pretty close to go travelling to these particular places.
If you had an unlimited budget, where and with whom would you record your record? What about production and mastering? And why?
I don’t think I’ve ever thought about this as I’ve always been pretty poor haha! I’m too much of a control freak to let anyone else do anything for me unless out of necessity. So production-wise would be all me (unless to study off someone who I admire, like a K-pop producer, maybe Blackpink’s guy!?)
But I would love to work with Andy Wallace as there’s nothing that he’s done that I don’t like mixing-wise. Utter genius, and the way he goes about it is really cool too! Mastering, I would have to have a think, I would probs have to listen to my favorite albums and go from there. The Use Your Illusion albums by Guns N’ Roses are up there, so maybe this mixing and mastering wise!
Studio-wise, though! I’ve already mastered it and with a great engineer in Abbey Road, but would also like to record there, of course! But saying this, ‘apparently’ it’s more a vibe place than actually sounding good. So Air Studios, more for orchestral stuff, and a real, real-world studio, as it’s right up my street with the way it’s set up. If I could build my dream studio, it would look like this. On this, I also love my own little studio, how humble it may be, I’ve made it so it’s an environment that’s relaxed, that you want to write music in. The plan in the next few years is to build one from the ground up in the garden of my home, but we’ll see!
Politics and music. Yay, nay, or what the hay?
Hay, where’s the horse at, naaay! I’m from Liverpool, UK, so of course! Haha. I have one song in particular that’s all about it, ‘One Last Stand’. With a powerful video to go with it! It’s written a lot about the government in the COVID crisis and the non-communication to the people more than ever in the current climate, etc. I’m proud of this one, but it’ll be funny to see who gets it, likes it or not, haha.
Tell us about your experience of going it alone as an artist. How hard is it to get your music distributed, promoted, shared, etc?
It’s actually pretty easy to get it distributed, I think; it’s just the knowing and then the how. Promoting and sharing can be hard, though, and for many reasons. One, because you’ve got to whore yourself and do the sell, “look how great I am,” but a lot of the time I feel embarrassed and don’t really want to do it. In the ideal world, people would find it somehow and make their own opinions up, and then hopefully would want to buy a ticket to a show.
But at the same time, you’ve got to also believe in what you do, which I most certainly do. Then there’s the classic, “it’s not what you know but who” This applies to all careers, too! And if you’ve spent all these years honing your skills without social media whoring, but to your small pound, it’s going to be harder if they’re the only ones sharing. But sharing, whoever it is, really does go a long way, and people should know this, not just for me but for all artists! This is why I believe it’s important to be kind to everyone.
I’m always the first guy to clap the person doing their first open mic, because if you know, you know. That’s how hard it is to get up and play, let alone show your own personal music to the world. Then in the modern world, with all streaming, promotional companies, money set aside for all things, starting with the instruments right up to the recording, mixing, promotion, merch, etc! The biggest problem I find is on the ad’s side of things, not because people won’t click, but I feel sometimes where you HAVE to put in people you sound like to pick up people who also like the same things, which I get, it makes sense! But when your music can be so genre-varied, it can be hard to find the right audiences.
What’s next for Neil Potter?
I have a few things up my sleeve, but definitely orchestral stuff next, as I feel it’s all been leading towards this, but there’s also plenty more to do with the album coming up! Hopefully, some travelling of some sort too, because I need a little break, a little because I can’t stand not to be doing something musical!! Haha
Appreciate such a good interview, guys. Cheers!!
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