4AM:COLLECTIVE

SSW: Let’s start with the background. What were each of you doing before you came together as 4AM:COLLECTIVE?

Blymar: Before 4AM:COLLECTIVE, I was attending school at SAE Expression college in Emeryville studying for a degree in audio. My intention was to solely be a music producer and make beats for artists. I work part time at AT&T as a retail sales consultant and would make beats constantly on my lunch break in the break room of the store. I secretly always wanted to be on the beats with my voice and not just only be the one who makes them.

Pistol P: I was completely focused on the production side of music. So, I would only try to make beats; emphasis on “try” because I never got that good at them.

Robin: Well, I’ve been making music on and off for about 10 years now. Before 4am, I was creating music out of my car, doing everything I could to make a name for myself. As a solo artist, man, it’s hard; the challenges, the pressure, the process – you go through it all, well, alone. It was hard, but it taught me a lot.

What type of music did you grow up listening to? Who has had the greatest influence on your taste in music over time?

Blymar: Growing up, I would say that a lot of music I would listen to would be Spanish music. All due to my parents who would always play, sing and dance to salsa, merengue, cumbia and etc. On my own, though, I would always listen to R&B and Christian music, being that I grew up Christian. I’ve always been more inclined to the singing portion of the Hip Hop/R&B genre than rap, though I do like rap too. Artists like Ginuwine, Usher and T-Pain are to name a few that I had burned on a cd. I would say Kanye West, however, is the artist who really made me love hip hop and has influenced me the most, both because of how he is as an artist and a producer.

Pistol P: Well, growing up as a first generation Mexican American, early on I was exposed to a lot of my parents Spanish music like corridos and cumbias. While I enjoyed it, I eventually discovered my true love while watching tv one day. That love was hip hop/rap and it has inspired me the most ever since.

Robin: As a kid, the only music I’d listen to was my parent’s music – so everything was in Spanish with a couple of Queen songs sprinkled in. Once I moved to the Bay Area… sheesh. It changed everything. I would listen to E-40, Mistah F.A.B. and other Bay Area artists, as well as Lil Wayne, Kanye West and a variety of R&B artists like Ne-Yo and The-Dream. But when I turned 11, I discovered the artist that would change the way I look at music and ultimately inspire me to begin writing: Drake. From then on, I began to take bits of The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and Logic. I hope I get to thank each and every one of them personally one day.

If you had to describe your sound in terms of feelings, how would you describe it?

Blymar: As for Blymar in 4am, the feelings I would describe my sound to be are both sad and arrogant. A lot of what we have in our catalogue has to do with heartbreak, but you’ll hear confidence too that is borderline cocky and gives the feeling that I’m going to be ok no matter what. So far, as Blymar, the solo artist, I haven’t really developed a feeling or a mood just yet.

Pistol P: Interesting question. I’ve never put thought into it before, but I would say it’s both boastful and vulnerable.

Robin: 4am’s? Unpredictable. I’ll leave it at that. Robin’s is a bit more difficult to explain now that I am no longer the artist I was, when we first started this collective. I’m still trying to figure him out.

The response to both of your EP’s so far has been pretty impressive. What has that feedback been like for you?

Blymar: The feedback to both of our EP’s has been very surprising and amazing to say the least. Surprising in that, as up and coming artists, the amount of people we’ve reached is rare; and amazing in that we have had so much positive feedback and love from our audience. It’s really unbelievable to witness from my point of view.

Pistol P: I know right! People seem to really relate to them, but it’s understandable since they’re all about love or heartbreak, which most people have gone through. I’ve also heard from some that even though they haven’t felt exactly what a song is portraying, they still feel like they have off just the emotion we manage to capture. That’s probably one of the better compliments we’ve received.

Robin: Incredible! I am blown away by the response we’ve had to both of our projects. People know our lyrics, they’re able to relate to our songs and they’re appreciative of the work that’s put into making them – everything an artist can ask for. Our fans, old and new, have been so kind to us. I’m forever grateful.

You just dropped visual to “Afterlife”, the single from your second ep ‘V2’. Such a great song! Can you tell us more about it? What was the inspiration behind it and what was the creation process like?

Blymar: Thank you! Afterlife was actually inspired, sonically, from our first single ever as 4amcollective, Maria! We wanted our first single of the year to resemble our first ever drop. Robin DuPont and I were in the studio, which is actually just my bedroom, and we had the beat on a loop. I don’t remember how we got to trying to make this song, but I do remember being a little frustrated with the creativity block we had run into. So, we switched it up and instead of working on songs we had started, we went ahead and started something completely new. My creation process to this song was the same to almost every song I’m on, which is to come up with cadences/melodies that are catchy to me, then after that write lyrics to those cadences.

Pistol P: I wasn’t on that one, unfortunately. I was just in the video burning rubber haha. I’ll let Robin and Blymar answer this one, but I agree it’s a great song and people are loving it in particular.

Robin: So, from my recollection, Blymar and I were working on other songs off ‘V2’. We were getting stuck, though. So, I told him we should just do what we did for “Maria!” and put on a random beat, flow to it and see where it takes us. So, we found a beat and I remember that in less than an hour, we had the beginning of our verses done. We finished that song relatively fast. I’m not sure when we decided to make it our single, but one thing is for certain… we had no idea it would go on to be one of our most listened to songs (to date, of course). It has no hook!

The Bay Area has always been very influential in terms of music. Any local artists who inspire you?

Blymar:  The bay is something special. A lot of the music I heard growing up in the bay are artists like the jacka, too $hort and e40. School was the main place I heard music like this because when I was younger, at home I wouldn’t hear hip hop/rap at all. Though being from the bay area, you don’t necessarily hear our sound and say “oh yea, those guys are from the bay.” We have this sound I’m not exactly sure how to describe and I love that.

Pistol P: Definitely all the og’s I grew up on inspired me; Too Short, Keak Da Sneak, E-40. One current Bay Area star named Kehlani has really been motivating me to keep it real and to just make good music in general, I love her!

Robin: I love the Bay and so many big names have come out of here, man. But it wasn’t until “New2Me” that I decided to tap into the sound. Kamaiyah was a huge influence on my hook, in terms of how I wanted it to sound. Honestly, my favorite artists grab from the Bay so often that I’m sure there’s a lot of influence I grab onto as well – I’m just not sure of the source.

Music industry has been severely impacted by the current global situation, and all of us have to adapt and adjust our lives and plans. Did your plans on music releases change? Have you guys found any creative ways to reach your audience?

Blymar: Most definitely. Originally, we wanted to have a listening party for V2. We were looking into renting out a venue or something along those lines and the plan was to invite people to come out, listen and celebrate the release with us. Due to the global pandemic, that was unfortunately not something we could do. We have tried finding other ways to advertise ourselves to new audiences and are currently still looking for ways to do so.

Pistol P: This is such a weird/scary time, and our main concern has been to stay safe, but using this forced home-time to make as much music as we can has been a big silver lining in all this. We’re dropping some songs soon, and instead of going out and filming short videos for promo like usual, we’re going to hire some digital artist to create stuff for us instead. I think it’s going to be great. It comes to show you there’s always a way to get the message out, regardless of the situation you’re in

Robin: Drastically. We had such big ideas for ‘V2’. We were all itching to perform again and get on the road this summer. All we could really do now is just promote and create. It’s been hard, though. At least for me, in terms of creating.

Let’s talk about more of your personal journeys. What is the hardest lesson each of you have learnt in life so far?

Blymar: One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is that no matter how close you are to a person, whether that be your best friend or your significant other, you must always guard your heart. Things happen, people change, and that’s an inevitable part of life.

Pistol P: To keep going! I’m fully aware of how cliche’ this is, but seriously, no matter what happens in any aspect of your life, you just have to keep faith and keep moving forward; towards your dream and/or whatever just makes you happy – you’ll get there eventually.

Robin: I think the hardest lesson for me has been realizing that not everyone you love is meant to stay in your life forever.

How do you use your intuition in your creative process?

Blymar: My intuition can be deceiving. For the most part it has helped get us to where we need to be; whether that’s for a project or a single. However, it has its downfalls too and I believe that goes for all of us. Sometimes we feel one way towards an idea or a situation than some of the other members. We convince each other to go with our gut and it ends up not being the best decision. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that you have to learn and be able to listen to and ignore your own intuition.

Pistol P: I use my intuition every time, really. There’s so many ways you can approach a song. Whether it’s the beat you go with, the flow you’re choosing, the lyrics, etc. – there’s no right or wrong answer anywhere either so you have to trust your gut when it comes to things like these.

Robin: My intuition is everything; when it comes to choosing beats, writing lyrics, recording – you name it. Sometimes it feels like when you shoot a basketball, and the second it leaves your fingertips, you just know you’re going to make it in. But sometimes it doesn’t.

We got one last question for you! Thinking of yourself as souls on Earth, what do you think your purpose is?

Blymar: I believe my purpose in life is to inspire others by being the best me I can be and to help those in need. Music is everything to me and I believe that everything happens for a reason; that God has put me here for reasons bigger than I know.

Pistol P: I love this question! I think our purpose is to find ourselves in this journey, and since I believe everything is connected to each other, we’ll bump into the people and things we’re meant for and together we’ll make this passage a memorable one.

Robin: I believe I was put here to create; create art, opportunities, life. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do: create.