Wilsonn Saturn Return Interview

Sydney R&B Artist Wilsonn shares his debut EP, 'Saturn Return'

Sydney R&B artist Wilsonn delivers his groove filled EP, 'Saturn Return' on Soul Modern. A body of work that see's the artist get personal, with emotive lyrics about how his relationship has caused him to grow as a person. For the second release on the recently launched label imprint Soul Modern, the 7 track EP, 'Saturn Return' explores a diverse range of sounds from energetic electronic production to soothing R&B tones. Already impressing fans earlier this year with his single from the EP, 'Standing Floors', produced by Grammy nominated duo Christian Rich (Childish Gambino, Drake, Earl Sweatshirt, Lizzo and Kanye).

The new EP features tracks such as 'Like A Verb', produced by MXXWLL (Ty Dolla $ign, J.Cole, Snakehips), who adds pulsating synths, and New Jack Swing vibes, reminiscent of late 80s pop, further showcasing Wilsonn's infectious vocals. Other EP tracks include, 'Even If I Know' and 'Saturn Return', co-written and co-produced with fellow Sydney favourite, Xavier Dunn (Jack River, Set Mo, Peking Duk), who adds dynamic electronic production. 'Even If I Know' is a melancholic track about the obstacles in relationships, in contrast to the title track 'Saturn Return' which has an uplifting tone both sonically and lyrically.

The EP is an ode to Wilsonn's wife, telling the story of their relationship and their ups and downs, Wilsonn discusses "This EP is my story, the story of my wife and I's journey in life & marriage. Our love story, our journey of growth and changes. This work is by far my greatest work and I dedicate this to her!"

Drawing inspiration from the likes of Frank Ocean, Miguel, Daniel Caesar and H.E.R, the talented artist has proven his versatility as a song-writer, vocalist and producer. Wilsonn has already garnered international attention, with support from major online outlets including The Music Ninja, EDM Sauce, and This Song Slaps for his mixtape 'Idiocentric'. The Sydney local has also lent his songwriting talents to various artists including Mau5trap signing Attlas for the release of 'Batch', hitting the top #10 on Billboard electronic charts.

'Saturn Return EP' is out now via Soul Modern.

Interview with Wilsonn

Question: How would you describe your music?

Wilsonn : Honest, feel good vibes, raw, story telling, soul, r&b.


Question: Can you tell us about Saturn Return?

Wilsonn : Definition of "Saturn Return" is every 27 to 29 years, Saturn returns to the sign it was in when you were born, a cycle called The Saturn Return. Understanding this cosmic rite of passage can help you advance into your next stage of adulthood. I used this concept to tell the story of a time in my life where I was going through some stuff in my marriage and my wife told me about "Saturn Return" after hearing about I saw her as Saturn and me as the sign I wanted her to return to. So that gave me the idea of creating the whole EP around that concept as it seemed very appropriate and connected to me at the time.


Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Wilsonn : Yes, to tell the truth, be vulnerable, to really care for the people they love and always do your best to learn from your mistakes and the lessons it teaches you! There are ALWAYS lessons, no matter how many times you fall, get back up and walk again. My new single "Like A Verb" basically gives you the main secret to being in a relationship. Check out the record and listen to the lyrics and you will see what I mean.

Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Wilsonn : I love being able to let whatever I'm carrying inside out, basically writing to me is a healing practice and also like journaling! The other exciting part of writing is exploring new chords and instruments. I try my hand and whatever is in my studio and whatever instrumentation is required with the ideas that come to me, I will have a crack at it even if I don't play that instrument well. You just have to be patient and learn to get that idea in your head out.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Wilsonn : My music teacher Ed 'Amico who was an insane trumpet player from Boston who went to school with Quincy Jones and played with some of the Jazz greats back then and a school friend/bandmate of mine that convinced me to come to the front and try a hand at singing and being a frontman and leave the drums behind as I was always a drummer before I was a singer.
Also when I heard Bobby Brown, "Don't be cruel" album for the first time, that changed my life!


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Wilsonn : DVSN, Roddy Ricch, Dave, Miguel, Frank Ocean, Khalid, H.E.R, 6Lack, PJ Morton & Samm Henshaw. I know a lot of artists!


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Wilsonn : Lots of setbacks, losing record deals, management, then bouncing back again can really put you in a place where there's no self-belief or confidence in yourself. Basically a lack of self-worth always questioning whether you are capable of even doing this anymore. That was the biggest challenge I had to face in my career.

Question: What's a typical day like, during COVID19?

Wilsonn : A typical COVID 19 day in self-isolation for me is working from the home office, not sure if many know but I'm also a CEO of a company, which is a future-forward company for digital media PR, an online agency. So I would be working with my team during the day and just checking to see the business is running smoothly. Then I would be working on new ideas in the studio and attending to all things Wilsonn! Planning the next phase and where we will be on the other side of this pandemic! I also feel this is a great time for all of us to reset, reflect, change, heal & grow from the things we have put aside when the world was going a hundred miles an hour. So this break has definitely given me the opportunity to put aside me time as well.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Wilsonn : Being able to share my stories, to perform live, and make the lives of the people coming to watch you that much better even if it's for that moment of time that they are there with you. In a way, artists can be selfish and known to be exactly that, then at the other end of the coin, what we do is a service to others! We make people feel good, forget about their problems even for that space in time they are with you. So some would call that selfless as well! That's what I love about being an artist.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Wilsonn : Just one artist? ha ha It's a hard one, I would love to actually collaborate with one of my close friends and who I call a brother, Touch Sensitive, I love his music and have been wanting to get in the studio with him and come up with a masterpiece for a while now! But I would also love to get in the studio with Miguel, I love that brother's talent and creativity and I feel that would be just a magical creative experience for me! That's definitely a dream collab.


Question: What's next, for you?

Wilsonn : More music! The original plan was to go out on the road and play all the songs from my debut EP that was released on Good Friday titled "Saturn Return". But thanks to this annoying woman I have a problem with, bloody Corona Lee Jenkins, those plans are put on hold! So it's going to be more music and I can't wait to announce who I'm working with on the next few records in the making. I guess I'll have to wait till 2021 to tour this EP along with the new jams!


Question: Can you share your socials? (links please)
Wilsonn : Instagram 

Facebook

Twitter

Spotify


Interview by Gwen van Montfort