A Chat with Props (08.03.19)
Born out of an obsession with making noise, this South London-based indie-rock artist hit and scraped any item he could to produce his new sound for the world. Moving from BBC Introducing to releasing his debut single, ‘Wired’, Props is on his way up! Taking some time out, we were able to catch up with the artist and ask him some questions about ‘Wired’, genres and instruments he plays.
OSR: Hi there, Mark. Thanks for sitting down with me for this interview. I truly appreciate your time. Alright, the name – why ‘props’?
P: When I was little and got my first pair of drum sticks, I hit literally everything in the house trying to find interesting sounds. I’ve still got that kinda fascination with making sounds from random household objects which I guess are just my ‘props’.
OSR: You’ve just released your debut single, ‘Wired’. Can you describe the meaning behind the track?
P: In short, I guess it’s an observation of the pros and cons of connection in this weird internet age.
OSR: I love the lyric ‘sleep when you’re dead’, but what is your favourite line from ‘Wired’?
P: Same actually. ‘Sleep when you’re dead’ has kind of been my mantra while writing these songs; not hitting the sack until I’ve finished something.
OSR: This is your debut single, so was there any anxiety about recording and release of the single?
P: Yeah, totally. This is the first project I’ve worked on where I’ve self-produced everything, so trying to get the song to sound like what was in my head was a real challenge.
OSR: Did you have any problems when it came to recording or release of the track?
P: I’ve been slogging away at this one for a while, so the problem was calling it a day.
OSR: Nowadays, there are so many musical genres; it’s hard to keep track of what goes where. What do you think of these growing classifications, like indie now having indie-pop or indie-folk and indie-rock? Is it just labelling or is it necessary to define musical styles?
P: I think it can be useful, but I think most artists nowadays would define themselves with a ‘vibe’ and the sound world they create. Maybe we should just call everything ‘alternative’ and be done with it?
OSR: How would you define your sound?
P: Case and point for the previous question. I’d say it’s POP in capital letters.
OSR: Can you tell us a little about how and why you started playing music?
P: I actually started on the trombone, but I quickly started tinkling on pop instruments. Rather than trying to learn other band’s songs like every other kid, I found that creating music was way more satisfying. I’d sit at a piano for hours playing the same four chords.
OSR: How important do you think platforms, like BBC Introducing, are for emerging artists in today’s music industry?
P: It’s just great to have a reputable name backing your tunes, even if they only play your tune once. It’s all just minor hype really, but it’s nice to know someone is interested!
OSR: What, do you think, is something everyone looks stupid doing?
P: Sleeping.
OSR: If your life were a movie, who would you want to play you?
P: I can’t deny that I haven’t thought about this. I always conclude it’d be the most boring film ever, so probably some dog actor.
OSR: What’s the most embarrassing thing you have ever worn?
P: Everything I wore between birth and this time last year.
OSR: I know you’ve only just released a single, but can we expect more music from Props?
P: I’ve got a couple more tunes set for release over the next couple of months, and I’ve just started recording another batch. Pumped to get creating again.
OSR: A new artist in the field, what advice can you give to other new acts?
P: I think just getting stuff finished and putting it out there. Saying this as someone who has literally hundreds of unfinished Logic files.
Thanks so much to Props for chatting with me. To enjoy more of his music, check out his Facebook, Twitter and Spotify!
