A new double single from Ricky Jamaraz brings on a bright and pop riddled rock feel with colorful synths, cinematic vibes, and an endless energy that gets channeled into lively guitar riffs that make you want to jump around the living room with your hands int the air.
The Arrogant CDs double single consists of its A -side which is a track called "CDs! Noodles" and it's got that charm and warming feeling like it's describing past summers in the form of music, tones, and textures.
The track is absolutely alive and has this showcase of youthful songwriting that feels good to listen to.
The B-Seide or second single is called "am i arrogant?" and this one has classic and personal vocals that talk of social media and honest thoughts and perceptions that all come from a real and genuine place.
The song also keeps to this lively energy but the most addictive part of this one is its honesty and straight forwardness in terms of lyrics.
Of course, there is also some outstanding guitars work that beckon classic rock and give off a rainbow of notes with layers solos and harmonies before busting back into the song's chorus which again, is so brutally honest that it's insanely refreshing.
You certainly get the fact that Jamaraz has a real love for his craft and that seeps through with every passing second.
His approach to songs always has a pop sheen over it and makes it so enjoyable and enticing no matter what the sub-genre he chooses.
With the release of such a lush release, we wanted to touch base with Jamaraz to talk shop about the release.
Here's what went down.
RAG: Okay so let's start with the Arrogant CD’s EP. This record has a cinematic rock feel to it. Where did this EP come from?
Well, I came down with a pretty bad cold or something for 2 weeks back in April, and I literally wrote about an album’s worth of songs in that time, including these two. I have written a few more since then, and I’ve recorded most of them, and they are to be all released as an album in the (not too distant) future!
The first track “CDs! NOODLES!” is an instrumental because at the time of recording I had a really bad sore throat, so couldn’t sing. I sort of forgot about it for a while, and when I remembered it was a thing I tried singing some lyrics but like I wasn’t feeling anything, so I kept it as it is. Besides, I like it better that way.
The second track “am i arrogant?” was recorded later obviously, so I could sing stuff properly, and it was super fun to make. I have a thing where I seriously overthink what specific people think about me, I’m sure most people do, and this song is about that. Most of the time I’m happy to act like a right weirdo around people, but as we all know, as soon as love becomes involved, you have to sort of rethink every little thing you do, and how it might be perceived to a certain someone, if you know what I mean.
The brilliant thing is I already had this song written for ages, and I continued to write it as I recorded it. If I felt like doing something, I would just do it, that’s what I love about how I make music independently, in my bedroom, it’s just me and my dreams, up to me to make them happen, you know?
RAG: I'm hearing some great styles on both of these tracks. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Oh god, don’t get me started on influences! I like music, I like it all. Rock, jazz, heavy metal, synthwave, blues, lofi, you name it! But not Olivia Rodrigo, because I only like good music. I guess I am subconsciously influenced by this massive range of amazing taste I have, but I couldn’t pinpoint who exactly makes me wanna do what I do. It’s such a hard question for me. Simply too many to count, everyone influences me in little ways and I guess it sort of builds up to be a big influence of tiny things. I don’t know what I’m on about, but that’s the beauty of it, really. I like not knowing what’s going on, it means all I’ve got to do is speak my mind and it’ll be true to me.
RAG: So how did this all begin for you really? When did you fall in love with making music?
Picture this: a small child, age 3. He puts his hand on piano, OH SHIT!! IT MADE A SOUND!! His eyes widen, his face almost incapable of holding his grin. Passers-by may speculate that this child had been given some sort of mind-bending drug, but no. He has just discovered music. The mad thing is, if he puts his hand somewhere else on the piano, it makes A DIFFERENT SOUND!! What if there was a way to order these sounds to... to make... a tune? That’s all I do, when you think about it. I just get a load of different sounds and organise them in a way that is pleasing to my earholes, and pleasing to yours aswell, but that’s just a bonus.
I started actually MAKING music properly during lockdown, having so much free time on my hands I basically learned how to play the guitar by myself (with the help of my dad teaching me like 5 chords earlier), and I learned how to write songs and the whole deluxe package. I only started recording music in May 2021, and oh my god I have come a long way since then! Only my close friends have heard my original demos, but they are on YouTube somewhere if you can be bothered to find them though.
RAG: What's next for you as an artist?
Ideally, find £2.4 million on the street, then buy myself a new microphone because mine has been dropped so many times it looks terribly deformed. Okay, seriously, I have no clue what’s next for me to be perfectly honest. I know where I want to be though, my end goal is to have my song in a TV show or movie, so that I can brag to my friends and it’ll be funny. Okay, actually super seriously, I just want people to know the words of all my songs, and sing them so I don’t have to. You know that scene in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody where all the people in the stadium sing Love Of My Life and Freddie just stands there, in awe at what he’s accomplished. That’s where I want to be.
RAG: What inspires you to write a song?
I write songs to get stuff that’s lurking inside me out to the world, as a cheap alternative to therapy! It’s like writing in a diary, only it rhymes and you can dance to it and hum it in the shower. Honestly, doing anything creative I think is essential to humans, we need a way to get things off our backs and out of our minds. People are interesting, I’m interesting. I write about myself, because I know the most about me, and you know it’s a nice thing to write a song for someone, when just saying what you want to say isn’t enough to get your point across. If pictures paint a thousand words, then music must be that massive art gallery in France or something.
RAG: What are you doing when you're NOT working on music?
Well from 8:50 till 3:20 on weekdays I do have to go to school, which is alright because it’s fun to be around people who don’t mind me existing. It also proves to be an unlimited source of inspiration, always someone’s heart being broken or two guys puffing up their chests like emperor penguins to see who deserves more popularity points. Little do they know I’m being interviewed on the INTERNET so I’m like technically the most popular, right?
If I’m not doing anything music related and I’m not at school, then I’m eating or watching TV. It would be a lie to say I don’t do music-related activities when I sleep, because I sometimes reserve dream time for maybe testing out super expensive guitars, or writing songs while sitting on top of the roof of a skyscraper in New York (which is how I wrote my epic hit “City Lights”). But that doesn’t happen often. I’m mostly conscious when I make music.
RAG: Who are you listening to right now?
Ever heard of a band called “Los Campensinos!”? They’re so good, I can’t explain. I love their unapologetically indie/punky sound, and I love all the imperfections!! Like not being rude, but it’s not the best quality of recorded music, and that’s what makes it so good. It’s real. And I love their lyrics, It’s just saying things as they are. Doesn’t have to have a hidden message, doesn’t have to be super evocative. I like lyrics are that specific. I love 80s power ballads, but oh my god the lyrics are so shit!! It’s all so same-y. I recommend you listen to “Drop It Doe Eyes” by Los Campensinos!
RAG: Are you doing live performances?
Not often, but I do. It’s hard, cos all my songs are like full band songs, I record all the instruments myself. So if I do live performances, it’s just me and an acoustic guitar, so it’s a different yet equally charming sound. I think I’d like to do live performances more often though, because it really is good fun, and it’s cool to see the smiles on the faces of the people looking at you. STORYTIME: It was early February this year, my first gig, just me and my guitar. While I was playing just another love song I thought nothing of, there was this guy trying to approach a girl who was there. His friend was being the wingman, pep talking him and all that. This girl was with her friends aswell, dancing along to my song. The hopeless romantic approaches the girl and they talk, and they’re smiling, my god they’re smiling! YOU GO DUDE!! They then started swaying together, and I saw myself exit my body in happiness. I was part of that, I don’t know where they are now, but I was at the start of it, and maybe they wouldn’t have met if they didn’t both happen to be at my gig. That’s a live music moment right there, nothing quite like it.
RAG: This release seems like a big undertaking. What kind of advice might you have for other up and coming artists out there?
Here’s something my sensei taught me: The One Percent Rule. If you improve something about yourself by just one percent everyday, then it’ll add up. Doesn’t have to be a lot, but just one percent everyday can make such a big difference, just takes a bit of patience. And then there’s usual “Be yourself” bullshit that everyone tells you, like what does that even mean? It’s more important to figure what “yourself” actually means. Figure yourself out, don’t go in blind. Sit and think about what you want to do, where you want to be, and how you’ll get there. One step at a time, you know? That’s what I think, I might be completely wrong or whatever but I don’t really care.
RAG: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
Fans of my music? Oh, I don’t have them. JUST JOKING! I would like to say thank you so much (duh), I’m so lucky to have people like you, you make things so worth it. Shout out to people who I think are reading this: Hi Sophie, hi Stevie, hi Zac, hi Kyle, hi Mum, hi Dad, hi Emily, hi Dan, hi Ben, hello everyone!! Thank you so much for supporting me in everything I do and for buying me CDs and noodles.
STREAM ARROGANT CDS NOW ON ALL PLATFORMS!!!!!!!!!
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