Armed with a brand new single and swiftly rising streaming numbers across her repertoire, songwriter and artist HarMonique kindly stopped by to talk all things music and inspiration. We dig into the creative process for her singles, her ambitions and influences, and plenty more. Here’s the conversation in full.
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Hey – a pleasure to talk, thanks for your time! To introduce things, where are you based, and who or what first inspired your passion for music?
I am based in Brooklyn, and I was introduced to music through my ex of 7 years who went to school for audio engineering over 10 years ago.
In what ways did growing up in Brooklyn impact your approach or exposure to different types of music and performance?
That’s an interesting question. I wouldn’t say that my inspiration came from where I reside. Because I left Brooklyn at 13 and moved upstate until about 21 which is where I met my ex. I am more inspired by the greats Michael Jackson, Beyonce, and Rihanna to name a few.
Oh Lawd is the brilliant new single – great vibes and a passionate vocal, a strong melody and hook. How did the song come to be, and where do you imagine is the best setting for people to escape into it?
This song was actually the first song I’ve ever released in 2019, but the last song added to this album. When I created this album, I wanted it to follow the 15-count track list that the majority of my albums followed. I had 14 so I needed one last track to tie it all together and then I stumbled across this and it was perfect.
I feel like this song completely captures the essence of who I am as an artist entirely and I can’t believe it wasn’t the first song written for this album honestly. But yea the album now is 23 tracks long because I started adding a bunch of songs that I love to this album just in case I never release another album again.
How important is it for you to represent positive vibes and inspirational ideas as a modern artist – to empower your fans with feel good anthems like this?
Oh my gosh this is an interesting question. I feel like I don’t really pay too much attention to that. I love inspirational fun music and sounds so when I heard this sound said OMG! I have to write to that and from the sound these are the lyrics I felt went the best with it. My take on writing and creating music is if it moves me and makes me feel something then I will write to it. And the sound will tell me what the type of song/subject matter will be.
Earlier this year the single One In A Million was launched and has been massively streamed by fans. The mellow tones showcase a different side to your style. How do you decide which direction to move in creatively, and how would you describe your own style overall?
My style is fluid just like me. I am a Gemini and air sign so my take on life and a lot of things has always been free and flowing. So, when it comes to me as an artist I do have the same approach. One in a million was released because it was an easy song to create a video to, to me R&B doesn’t require as much as pop does but then at the same time I dabble in R&B yes but that’s definitely not my preferred genre. So, I wanted to make sure I released something that was a little closer to me and who I am as an artist before the summer ended.
What’s been your biggest achievement so far in music?
I’m not sure what my biggest achievement has been so far. I am appreciative of every step that comes with this journey. All I’m really focused on right now are reaching my goals. And I am really focused on just putting on the best material I possibly can.
What’s your biggest ambition right now?
So yea my biggest ambition at this moment will be working on putting out this album. I am definitely excited to showcase a full body of work I have been doing music for years so it’s definitely time for me to finally share everything I’ve been working on but I need to make sure everything sounds up to par.
How often do you perform, and where can fans catch you on stage in the coming months?
Sooooo actually, I have not started performing yet. I have been so focused on perfecting my sound that I have not really gotten out there but now that I have the material, I can start getting around to doing that. Because I am definitely excited to really hit the stage and share my sound.
What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned about the music industry over the past decade?
I can’t say that I’ve learned any “lessons” I just feel like the business aspect of music really sucks the fun and joy out of the creative process. But at the same time, you still understand why things have to be the way they are in order for it to be lucrative for everyone involved. But I can say that I definitely feel like the record label execs exploit new artists for their own financial gain.
When it comes to the future of your music, can you tell us anything about what we can expect next from you?
I am definitely hoping to achieve as much as possible I want to create more content and getting my face out there more, start doing more performances really working on perfecting my sound. I do plan on releasing a brand new single and video before my album drops in April and then after it drops, I really want to rerelease my single from 2021 “Take Over” and finally shoot a video for that as well and then I want to get started on something new finally. I have the material but depending on how this album does that will tell me if I’m interested in releasing another one, I just might drop singles here and there until I figure that out.
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