JBACH is a rising singer-songwriter who continues to break his way into the music industry. Finding his potential on The Voice to spending a few years behind the scenes writing songs for other artists, it’s now time for JBACH to breakout as a pop artist on his own. Releasing his second single and debut video with “Taste,” JBACH shows his personality in a vibrant dessert-filled dream.
“Taste” tells the story of restraining yourself in front of the one you love, waiting for the right moment. With clever wordplay and sensual delivery, JBACH captures the eagerness of young love.
We sat down with the extremely talented and inspirational JBACH to learn more about the journey from his television debut on The Voice to the release of his latest project.
MIW: Fans of The Voice will recognize you from the memorable audition where you caught the immediate attention of Pharrell. What was it like to be on “Team Pharrell” and work with such a legendary artist?
JBACH: OMG. So incredible. You have to remember that I was a 19-year-old kid in scrubs when I got the call that I made it to the next round. To have a huge celebrity tell a small town Chaldean boy that I was talented and worth mentoring completely blew my mind.
MIW: What was the most valuable lesson you learned from being on The Voice?
JBACH: Honestly, the entire experience just validated my art and gave me such a boost of confidence that no other experience could have ever given me. Hearing what these incredible coaches thought about me and my music, and seeing Pharrell stop production just to encourage me to keep going and never stop after I was eliminated fueled me and is something I think about all the time. Before I left I told him I’d work with him again, and he told me he can’t wait. 🙂
MIW: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced breaking into the music industry?
JBACH: Learning the music industry from scratch has been a super interesting learning curve. I thought I was so smart and cool and well dressed, then all of the sudden everything I knew about like medicine didn’t matter and everyone is cooler and more stylish than I am and knows how to write songs and network. It took me a solid year of being really lame in sessions before I got the hang of it and started to understand like who JBACH is.
MIW: If you could choose any other career besides being a songwriter and artist, what would it be?
JBACH: It’s funny because people used to ask me if I could choose any other career than medicine, what would I choose, and I mean at this point we all know my answer.
MIW: Tell us about your new single “Taste” and the concept behind the video.
JBACH: Taste is literally one of my favorite songs that I’ve ever written and the video turned out even better than I ever imagined it would. It was shot over two days, 20+ hours in a garage with a table and a green screen. I saw the cover art for the Tayla Parx album We Need To Talk and thought it would be super dope to have like these photo satin gloves doing choreo and serving food. A bunch of friends volunteered so much time and energy into being there.
The director Milli2nd had to deal with my cranky self for 14+ hour days and is the reason that the video looks as incredible as it does. I have so many people to thank that made this video happen, it was super important to me that I featured them and I made sure to make the credits part of the video with the B Roll shots.
MIW: Do you have any other hidden hobbies or talents outside of music?
JBACH: I don’t mean to brag but I don’t think anyone knows their way around those Instagram videos where people play with slime quite as much as I do.
MIW: What is your favorite part about the music industry? Why?
JBACH: I’m constantly in awe of my music friends. It’s so cool to see people that I know and love and work with go off and do their own thing, thrive and be awesome. Coming into a session, doing the most vulnerable thing you can do with a stranger makes a weird instant bond with that person that you always remember. It’s something you don’t really see in any other line of work. Creating with dope people and becoming fans of my collaborators is my favorite thing about this industry.
MIW: What advice would you give someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
JBACH: You can do anything you want to do if you’re willing to give it your all, I’m not even kidding. Spend 12 hours a day writing, and you’ll become an amazing writer, no matter what. Very early on in my career, a cousin of mine told me I should be treating every day like a workday, even when I was just starting off. I knew I had a lot of catching up to do, everyone else around me had been making music forever, and so I devoted myself to just perfecting my writing and singing. I figured that if the odds of me having a hit song were one in a million, that I would just write a million songs.
Also, don’t be surprised if people aren’t fully supportive right away. That’s normal. Remember that you need to be so confident in yourself that it relinquishes any doubt that people around you may have. No one will believe something that you don’t believe yourself. It’s a big scary decision and people just want the best for you, and honestly, if people weren’t skeptical of me at first then I wouldn’t have the work ethic that I have today.
MIW: What can our readers and your existing fanbase expect to see from you musically in the near future?
JBACH: My new single When The Dark Comes comes out in September, with a music video on the way! Also, my mom just bought me a really cool outfit so everyone be on the lookout.
MIW: Where will you be performing next?
JBACH: I’m so excited to be performing again after a two-year break, and I’m playing a super dope artist showcase on September 5th at Hotel Cafe 🙂
MIW: How can our readers connect with you on social media, learn more about you, or stream/download your music and/or videos?
JBACH: Yes omg please follow me on Spotify and check the songs out! JBACH on Spotify, and @JBACH on twitter and Instagram. I used to have a Vine but like RIP…
instagram.com/jbach
twitter.com/jbach
