With over five million streams on Spotify alone, Troy Javelona is the rising alt-R&B star from South West England. After going viral for his infectious track ‘Go Away,’ Troy Javelona has been steadily releasing singles sprinkled with his unique brand of ‘loverboy-indie’. His recent EP, ‘For You’ is the latest addition to his beloved discography and is making waves once again in the alt-R&B scene. We catch up with Troy Javelona after this incredible release…
Hey Troy! Your latest EP ‘For You’ delves into the highs and lows of falling in and out of love. How do your personal experiences influence your songwriting and the emotions you convey in your music?
I’d say my songwriting serves as a journal about how my love life is going. When I do my songwriting sessions, I look back and reflect on points that have changed me as a person. On some days, I enter a state of flow and really capture my emotions into the lyrics, and it’s great because the instruments then follow. Doing it in my room creates a safe space for me to be truly authentic – no distractions.
What is the process like writing and recording your music in your own bedroom studio? It’s amazing to think that For You was created entirely in your room!
‘For You’ took about a year to make. It really differs every time – but the most common process is starting off with the instrumentals. It usually starts with the guitar chords, then drums. This gives me a foundation to work with, and while I’m creating that I’ll hum some melodies. I try my best to use the things I had: I remember at the start of producing I never had a bass guitar, so I would pitch my electric guitar an octave down to simulate a bass guitar. After the instrumental is mixed, I would set out a whole day for recording vocals. I would say I’m a perfectionist, because I really try to make sure I do my best takes on each lines of my lyrics. Once everything is recorded, I set a dedicated amount of time mixing and mastering, making sure the final product is the best quality I can get it to.
What was it like seeing ‘Go Away’ go viral and hit 4 million streams? How has it inspired the rest of your musical journey?
It has only been a year. And to see that amount of streams feels so surreal. It has completely changed my life – I graduated from University having no clue what to do after, and it is truly a blessing to be able to do music full time now. ‘Go Away’ was made in a day. This virality has inspired my mindset to think that anything can happen if you just put it out there, you never know what people like so you might aswell give it a shot.
You describe your music as ‘loverboy-indie.’ Can you explain what this means to you and how we can identify it in your latest EP?
Most of my lyrics are in the theme of love. The songs in ‘For You’ are mostly about my current relationship with my girlfriend. The loverboy-indie identity comes from me making love songs in my bedroom, and the ‘creating music in my bedroom’ aspect allows me to create that indie feel.
‘For You’ features a range of dynamic guitar riffs, catchy hooks, and harmonies. Can you discuss your creative process for crafting these elements in your songs?
A lot of these riffs and harmonies are inspired by my favourite artists Tom Misch and Steve Lacy. These riffs and hooks are a must in all of my songs, and I try to make them sound like they are bouncing off each other. It usually takes a lot of messing around to get the guitar tones right, which I think are very important. All these aspects are created mostly when I have built the foundation of guitar chords and drums.
As a young artist with over five and a half million streams on Spotify, what do you think has been the key to your success in connecting with such a broad audience?
I think the key to success is something that I learned with my business degree. It’s called Kaizen – which is a concept that refers to business activities that look to continuously improve all functions. That can be applied to making music – always look for new techniques, new methods to improve the quality of your music. After all, it is a product at the end of the day. I’ve only been producing for three years, and within those years, I always made sure I was adopting the Kaizen method – always looking to improve. In my opinion, that’s how you make good music, and the rest will follow.
What’s the music scene like down in Plymouth? Any gigs you’d like to mention?
The music scene is very small here in Plymouth, but I would like to mention one thing. The university I went to has a function room that does open-mics every Thursday. Going to this every Thursday for the past two years has given me the confidence to play music live. It gave me the confidence to play in front of a crowd, which then led me to playing my first show in Plymouth! Without this, I think I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Are there any specific projects or collaborations you’re excited about pursuing in the future? We can’t wait for more lover-boy indie tunes!
I’m hoping to do a collaboration with another upcoming artist in my similar genre called marQ. He is insanely talented, and I hope to create with him soon!
Thank you for talking to us, Troy!
Thank you for these questions, they were really fun to answer!
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