By Ezra Lloyd
Touring Colorado right now with a fresh new album is Son Little. The veteran artist is in our home state, so we figured we would catch up with him ahead of his show at The Fox in Boulder and Washingtons in Fort Collins for Colorado Sounds 4th Birthday Party.
Who was the first artist that resonated with you?
There’s a lot of music that I loved as a kid, but I think the first one that made a real impression was probably LL Cool J because he was from my neighborhood in Queens. He had that song ‘Radio’ I remember hearing and relating to— I still relate to it, actually. I can’t live without my radio!
Who are you really listening to and paying attention to as an artist now?
As always, I’m all over the map as far as my listening tastes. I have certain stuff I always go back to, but I’m always looking for new stuff; different music for different moods. This past year I listened to a lot of Brittany Howard, Freddie Gibbs, Mdou Moctar, and Jessica Pratt.
Where did you catch your biggest break as an artist?
Well, my first break was definitely in Philly. I’d met the late Rich Nichols, the former manager of The Roots, and he kind of dropped me into the mix, got me my first gigs in music. After a few hard years, he gave me another break and put me on their album, Undun, which is partly what led to the deal with Anti, which was my next big break. I sort of think that unless you start off on the top shelf, you need a whole bunch of ‘big breaks’ to survive and make progress. I hope there’s more ahead for me.
A friend of mine showed me your self titled album 5 years ago, and I couldn’t get enough of it — what has changed in your life since then? And how have you noticed it affect your music?
For one thing, that was the first time in a long time I didn’t have another job besides music. I’d quit working to focus on making the record and although money got really tight, it was amazing having so much time to just create. It’s gotten a lot harder to spend that kind of time just on art. That’s probably the biggest change. I really have to work hard to make time and space for myself to create, and I have to be a lot more efficient because there’s a lot more demand for my time in general.
Tell us a little bit about where this new album came from, influence wise and stylistically?
A couple of years ago I was at the end of three months of touring, riding around the UK in the rain and I’d repeatedly forgotten to download music for the ride; the only things I had in my phone was the Van Morrison album ‘Hard Nose The Highway’. I listened to it on repeat for like two weeks. Something about the tone of it, plus the endless rain— it left a mark. There’s something so gentle about his sound, really soothing. I remember thinking I wanted to do something with that gentle feeling.
Has traveling influenced your ability to write? Or do you draw more inspiration from existing in new places?
Traveling is both good and bad for writing. New places are inspiring, but when you’re touring, there’s almost always people around, which makes it hard for me to get anything going. I’ll usually choose joking around with my homies over sitting down and writing. It means I have to jot down notes and then flesh them out later. Sometimes those ideas never really materialize because by the time I get back around to them the mood is just gone.
(Bonus question — is there a favorite city or town that you like to go to recharge? I’m going to guess its the house in Petaluma, but I’m interested to hear if you have found a new spot)
I love Petaluma. It’s super quiet and I find it really easy to get in the zone there. For my first album, my spot was Woodstock, NY. so far, those are my favorites, but I could always use more—
Faith seems intertwined in your influences, and as a son of a preacher how does it play a part in your life now?
There’s always a leap of faith involved when you’re making art, I think. You have to believe you have it in you to perform, whether it’s onstage or in the studio, or in your writing headspace. Also since the goal is connection with your fellow humans, I think you have to kind of tap into the hive-mind a little bit, which I think is inherently kind of spiritual. I don’t think it’s really religious per se, but to be a good preacher you have to understand your congregation. The greedy will always use whatever they can to gain money. Politicians will always use whatever is available to gain power. It’s just the way of the world— I just try to be the best person and artist I can be day by day and hope that’s good enough. It’s going to have to be.
What advice would you have for artists just getting started in the present?
Try to be the best version of yourself you can be, and be careful of people who try to change the essential parts that make you unique. once those things are gone, there’s no going back. trends often don’t last long– but the art you create can last forever.
