In this interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up and coming stars on the planet. 

This time we had a chat with James Deacon, a genre-bending singer-songwriter with a point to prove with The Calling EP. 

From the humble beginnings of playing acoustic covers in pubs to the release of his debut EP, James Deacon’s musical career has been far from standard. A severe injury impacted his guitar playing ability, but against all odds, his music ended up stronger than ever. Tracks like ‘Mama’ and ‘Not Givin’ Up’ demonstrate an artist who is able to bring honesty and relatability to his music, while encasing them in perfect production and enviable vocal harmonies. 

We’ve had the chance to catch up with Deacon about a diverse range of topics, from Jimi Hendrix, to social media, to Roses Passionfruit Cordial. 

TMR: How does it feel to be dropping your debut EP?

It's surreal honestly. I have always wanted to be in music but I never really thought I'd get to a point where I'd be releasing music 😂 I kind of always thought I'd be stuck playing acoustic guitar covers in pubs and bars for my entire career, so every little achievement and every step of this journey that may seem trivial to others, feels like a massive victory to me.

TMR: ‘Mamma’ comes from the idea that social medial is ruining a generation. Was there any particular moment that inspired you to write the track?

I wouldn't say a specific moment; I would rather say a collection of experiences lead to my belief that social media has ruined my generation. ‘Mamma’ was written very organically, and I happened to be thinking a lot about the impact of social media on people's self-esteem at the time.

TMR: The EP is also going to include your debut single ‘Not Givin’ Up’. Is there a story behind  that one? Any particular reason why it came first?

It's a very difficult process when it comes to selecting songs and singles and EP's etc, because I think any song writer will tell you that songs are not just always music, most times they are a musician's therapy session that has been condensed into selective words and chords, and it is very hard to pick and choose what song to include and what song to leave out. 'Not Givin' Up' was the first ever song Paul Gala and I ever worked on together - he had a beat and an idea for a song, and 5 minutes after meeting me he played me the idea, and I instantly ran into the booth and laid down some ideas of my own and that was when I realised that I needed to work with Paul and his Label Bad Future Records. So, it was the beginning of my journey and that's why we chose it as the first single.

TMR: You had an accident that severed the tendons in your right arm. How did you get past that and keep making music?

Yeah, I fell on a bottle of Roses Passionfruit Cordial behind the bar where I worked, and it cut the nerves, tendons and one of the arteries in my right wrist. I had an amazing surgeon Chetan Patel, who against all odds repaired my arm but due to the severity of the nerve damage I permanently lost feeling in my pinkie and ring finger and parts of my hand and arm. The first thing I did to get over the injury, was get a tattoo of the Roses Passionfruit emblem on my arm because I wanted to try and turn the negatives of the situation into a joke, haha. It took me ages, but I worked around my disability until I could play guitar again and I just decided life is short and I should go for what I want because failing at music would mean at least I tried.

TMR: How much does your own work draw from the music around you in the South Africa/Johannesburg scene?

It doesn't.

TMR: If you had to narrow it down to three artists, who would you say your biggest influences are and why?

Jimi Hendrix. He is the reason I found my love for guitar. I was 10 and I had a Discman portable CD player but no CDs to listen to, and then I found an unmarked scratched CD in an old box in my brother's room and it turned out to be Jimi Hendrix - Greatest Hits. I proceeded to listen to those 12 or 13 tracks on repeat every day for 3 years without even knowing the artist's name. The first chord I ever learnt was the first chord from the song Purple Haze, and it took me hours to figure it out 'cause it's a weird blues chord and I had never played a guitar before or even ever played a chord because up until then I had only ever played violin. I have his signature tattooed on my left wrist. His music is the reason I first decided I wanted to be a musician.

John Mayer. John Mayer is my hero. His entire career in my opinion has been flawless, his writing ability is second to none, his guitar playing rivals Hendrix. Mayer is the kind of guitarist that you listen to and then as the song finishes you stop and say, "fuck I better go practice". He has been my greatest inspiration musically for the last 10 years and it's one of my dreams to one day work with him on a track.

Paolo Nutini. ‘New Shoes’ is one of the songs that changed my life. It's the song that got me a full music scholarship to high school. I sang and my older brother played guitar for my audition and we must have done something right because I got a call a few weeks later to say I got the scholarship. I love all of Paolo Nutini's music and the passion that he writes with and performs with. He is another artist that has had a profound impact on my life as a human being and as a musician.

TMR: Who would be your dream collaborator?

John Mayer. 

TMR: What was your first experience actually making music? 

When I was 4, I started learning the violin because I heard a Vivaldi violin concerto in A minor on Classic FM and then asked my mom if I could learn to play it, haha. So she and my dad went to the ends of the earth to find someone who would teach a 4 year old how to play the violin and eventually they succeeded. For the first year I played a violin made of a tissue box with a cardboard toilet roll neck, and a stick from the garden as my bow to get my posture correct, haha, but eventually I think 'Twinkle Twinkle' was the first song I learnt to play 😂

TMR: If you had to choose just one track to introduce someone to your music, which would you choose? 

This is a very difficult question because I don't really fit into one genre and as such, if you listen to one track, you'd think I'm a hip-hop artist, but then listen to the next and it's blues or heavier rock so it's hard to say.... But of the 6 tracks I've released so far I'd probably say 'Mamma'.

TMR: Do you get more satisfaction from the response to your studio releases or the reactions of fans at live shows?

Live shows for sure. The reason anyone gets involved in this industry is for the roar of a crowd. There is magic in a live performance especially if the crowd and the performers are in sync. Studio releases are amazing, and this is my first time experiencing it, but I've been performing live weekly in one way or another since I was like 10 and that's because of the feeling you get. If you've ever performed live for an audience, you'll know the feeling I'm talking about.

By Dan Peeke