Interview: British Singer-Songwriter Fantastic Mr Marcel Discusses His Music Video "Build Your Heart A Wall" and "Stop Calling Me Names Mixtape Vol 1.0" Project

Thanks to London based singer-songwriter Fantastic Mr Marcel who connected with DCWS for an exclusive Q&A to discuss his music video “Build Yourself A Wall”, which appears on his project “Stop Calling Me Names Mixtape Vol.1”. Along with the music video and project, we also talked to Fantastic Mr Marcel about how superheroes have influenced his music, his thoughts about the urban music scene in London and much more.

After reading our interview with Fantastic Mr Marcel, be sure to stream “Build Yourself A Wall” on Spotify, connect with him on his website and social media, and listen to “Stop Calling Me Names Mixtape Vol.1”.

You've mentioned that you're influenced by superheroes; how would you say that they have impacted your music? Also, which superheroes specifically?

I’m influenced by the X-Men and their difference; this influences how I write and make my music. With every song I write, I play a different character, there’s a different scene and its given a different energy. Originally as an illustrator I think of every piece in a different art form, elements and moods and persona to feel what I'm doing. It allows me to carry a different emotion back story and just be playful with it to create something different or magical.

For me it’s empowering and gives me the strength to also feel conformable on stage to create music to also inspire and also empowers anyone else. It helps me believe in something to give me confidence to do what I need to do.

Tell us about your project "Stop Calling Me Names Mixtape Vol 1.0". What was your creative process for its development?

It took me about 5 years to make and in that space and time, i was finding myself musically and also trying to find my identity and voice. Most of the songs started out as acoustic demos and later got transformed into polished songs.

Musically I like things that are different, as I am very much interested in all genres, because I believe that there are only two types of music, good music and bad music. I also wanted to put out something that was heartfelt, personal but also relatable. I also wanted to show off my range with all the tracks, also introducing them to my different personalities. My new material its totally different.

We're blown away by your music video "Build Your Heart A Wall". How did you and the director, Max Benoist, come up with its treatment?

The outcome was actually very random. You have an idea in your head, you try to execute it and it doesn't quite come out the way you want it because nothing ever falls into place the way it should. Instagram/reality kinda thing lol.

We just ended up utilizing the environment very well and all the tools we have to create the best outcome with what we had in the time. I’m happy with the result because we created something quite beautiful and special for a first video.

Of the songs on the mixtape, why did you select "Build Your Heart A Wall" to create a visual for?

Well, obviously hahahahah I mean I think out of all the four songs, it’s the crowd contender. It’s probably the fan favourite; I love it but now it’s like I need to create something that’s has the build and the vocal capacity to match this.

I guess for me, this song is the most expressive and heart felt on the mixtape, and I felt people would really gravitate towards it, and I have to say it’s been doing just that.

What would you say is the state of urban music (Rap, RnB/Soul) in London right now in 2020?

I don't really listen to a lot of new music, so it would be a bit hard to make a judgment or say where I think the direction of music is going. I think it’s a hard one for me, but personally I only listen to artists that I already know or like or see either in a magazine, see on a YouTube recommendation or advert or just happen to stumble upon.

With that said, I love a lot of new music and artists and I think it’s all about the voice first for me, then the lyrical content as a musician. I believe music is changing and has gone backwards in fact to the old style of music and how it sounds and the structure it’s written in. It’s all very simple, yet effective, not over saturated and lyrically straight to the point.

But I feel the quality has also lessened because it’s so easily accessible and produced. A lot of the creativity is gone because more music is sampled from old or original music to make hits and it takes away the craft from the vintage style with some riding the bandwagon to make something new, which isn't necessarily good.

Stream and Share “Build Your Heart A Wall” on Spotify

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