10 Questions with R&B ‘Wild-Child’, Pisceze
Prior to Dodging Bullets, Pisceze independently released a collection of singles, many of them paired with storytelling music videos shot by a variety of industry creatives. A standout track titled, Play It Back, features the same smooth yet dynamic sound we now associate with Pisceze. Being relatively new to the game, the artist utilised the past 2 years being in and out of isolation to build up a reputation and brand as Pisceze, whilst simultaneously working on herself and her own personal development. As someone who is greatly influenced by the spiritual and natural world, it is clear she is highly in touch with her surroundings and identity, which arguably is crucial in achieving success in this industry.
Tell us a little about your upbringing. Were you surrounded by people who had a musical influence on you growing up?
Yeah of course, number one is my Dad. He knows how to play like every instrument, so growing up I would watch him grow into a musical genius. He’s the reason why I got into punk rock music, that’s the first genre of music that I was introduced to and fell in love with. He used to always play Sweet Child of Mine by ‘Guns and Roses’ and collected every type of vinyl and CD. Even in an Asian household where it’s a little strict and they don’t really believe in being a musician or doing something that makes you happy, and more towards doing certain things to provide for the family. But my dad made me feel okay and confident doing different things.
What has your journey been like breaking into the music industry to where you are now with the release of Dodging Bullets?
It’s actually kinda funny and it happened a little fast because I have a lot of friends in the music industry. I started out with song writing. I feel like I’ve always song-written all my life, like when I was younger I’d write poetry, Literature was always my favourite subject. Growing up I was surrounded by a lot of people in music and then songwriting came and some of my friends said ‘why don’t you start doing music too’ and I was like okay! So I started it and I really enjoyed it.
Would you say your character traits align with those of a Pisces, and does that have an influence in the music you make?
Definitely, as a pisces we carry all the traits of the 11 other signs, so carry the most emotion and I portray that a lot in my music and try to spread the message that it’s not wrong to be sad and let your feelings out. For me its easier to say that because I’m the type of person who will bottle things up, but to showcase it in my music is my way of expressing how I feel.
What typically is your creative process?
Creatively, whatever I hear I like to twist. I’m in this stage of referencing songs, like with my last release Dodging Bullets, Blink 182 was my favourite band and with the song All the Small Things, I took that idea and put it into Dodging Bullets and made it sound a little R&B. In my creative process I have to listen to my emotions or how i’m feeling in the moment. Or if I hear something cool or something that the lead singer of a rock band said, I like to twist it in my own way.
It’s been over a month now since the release of Dodging Bullets, how have you so far found the response to the single?
The response has been super cool, I think this release has been a little different to my other releases because i’m diving into my roots.
We loved the visuals for Dodging Bullets, is that creative aspect important to you as an artist?
A cool thing that i’m exploring in my artistry journey is that i’m very big on visuals and telling a story throughout my songs. Visually it all has to make sense, but it also has to resonate towards me. Even when i’m creating a song I visualise the music video or how i’m going to perform it.
In the video prior to Dodging Bullets, (Play it Back), you can see i’m all dolled up and my hair is all blonde and I haven’t been touched before, which was meant to represent me, like a rebirth. When the guy pulls my strings that’s when I start coming to life and becoming Pisceze. Then Dodging Bullets, is about meeting the right person at the wrong time and toxic relationships. It’s chaos and that’s why I portray that punk rock vibe, where you just want to let it out. In the video you see the pink showing through in my hair, representing Pisceze has a bit more life now, she has emotion. I like to change my hair to tell a story.
Tell us about your experience as a woman in this industry and this genre of music.
I’ve learnt how to hold my own and that you can’t be weak. As women we have a hard time saying no, especially when we are under pressure. But once you let out the first no, there’s a ton of no’s that come into play after because you get so comfortable saying no. Just get through the first one and then you’ll become more comfortable. You’ll be more powerful and know exactly how you want certain things and won’t need to question yourself.
Who would be your dream collab?
Bruno Mars for sure! His body of work is just incredible. He knows how to put on a show and I would love to work with him one day and pick at his brain.
What was your experience like over the last few years during Covid-19 as an up-coming artist?
I’ve only been doing this for a few years now, so 2 years of it was in quarantine but I feel like it was an opportunity for me to really know myself before I got into the industry. I’m a wild-child so if I didn’t know myself, who knows where I’d be right now. During that time I really learnt how to enjoy my own company and how to be alone and work on myself and have the right people around me. I feel like a lot of people showed their true colours, so it was a good time to cleanse out relationships and friendships, so internally it was a learning process.
What can we expect going forward, any plans set for the summer?
I’m in partnership with RBC Music and we have a lot in store this year in terms of performing and releasing. I also have a single coming out next month (April) and it’s based on a very true story, that happened to me a couple weeks ago so i’m very excited for that!
Check out Pisceze on Instagram and listen to her latest track, Dodging Bullets, here: