EQUATE Introducing Scott Vlassis
"I think with anything, expectations are always great, but it’s just putting out feel-good music for me."
Up-and-coming R&B and Pop singer Scott Vlassis has been making a lot of noise with his breakout hit ‘Golden‘ - from the track getting picked up by legendary Instagram account IMJUSTBAIT to dance group Diversity spreading the love on Tik Tok, the single has catapulted Scott into the spotlight. Growing up listening to a variety of singers such as Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Plan B and Alicia Keys, Scott has always been passionate about music and ever since recording his first ever song at a youth club when he was 15 years old, the Berkshire-based artist knew that a career in music would be his dream. Calling his music ‘new old school’, Scott’s sound gives us a warm, positive 80’s retro-infused feeling - following up on his previous single ‘Precious Life‘, his latest offering ‘Golden‘ truly proves that he is one to watch. With a new record deal with Polydor under his belt, he is ready to take the music scene by storm.
Read the full interview below..
EQ: Has music always been something you wanted to do, or did it develop in your school years? When did you know that this was your passion?
SV: Music has been my passion and dream since I was old enough to understand the music I was listening to, and how it had such impact on my mood.
EQ: What has this journey taught you so far about pursuing dreams?
SV: It’s still early days for me, but it’s just never giving up regardless of what people say and how people look at you, I just enjoy expressing myself.
EQ: You call your sound “new old school” – can you tell us more about the meaning of that?
SV: The new – old school is from growing up listening to some of the best (in my eyes) old school music and how I reflect that in my sound.
EQ: Which artists did you grow up listening to and which inspire your artistry the most?
SV: I grew up listening to allot of the greats, the likes of Stevie wonder, Luther Vandross, teddy Pendergrass, Al green, Sade, Cheryl Lynn, Isley brothers. The list is massive I have a playlist on my Spotify with all the songs I grew up to, the playlist is called Golden inspiration.
EQ: Let’s talk about your incredible single ‘Golden’! Can you tell us your inspiration behind this?
SV: To be completely honest the inspiration is just life, the journey and the ups and downs that help me write and create the music, I work with the same producer since I was 14-15 and the connection and sound is just something, we both created.
EQ: …It also got picked up by dance group Diversity last year who then turned it into a TikTok dance! That must have been a crazy feeling – would you have ever expected ‘Golden’ to do so well?
SV: I think with anything, expectations are always great, but it’s just putting out feel good music for me – at that time I think it was what people needed, and I just finished shooting the video before lockdown one.
EQ: You’ve recently come out with your live performance visuals (and your vocals are incomparable) but we have to talk about the original visuals because we’re obsessed. You took inspiration from the film ‘Drive’, are films and other creative forms mediums you take inspiration from a lot?
SV: Not really, I love creating ideas for my music, if I had the chance I wouldn’t be in my videos as I would love to direct them to try and emphasize my vision, Drive played a part in Golden as for me it was a vibe watching the movie and I like to try and tell a story in allot of the video ideas as well.
“It’s hard for everyone who’s following dreams I think again for me it was the realisation of working my job to be able to support my dream. Everything comes at a cost and dreams aren’t cheap.”
- Scott Vlassis
EQ: What’s usually your creative process when writing a new song or planning a new video? Do you like to work alone or with your creative partner/producer?
SV: When I’m creating new music, I work with a select few producers, and we sit in sessions make beats and write. When I’m planning the videos, i try and listen to the song in my headphones for about a month on and off and understand where the song takes me, what I’m feeling, then I try to reflect thoughts and come up with a storyboard.
EQ: You’re only at the beginning of your career but have already gained a huge fanbase! With so much talent out there, did you first find it difficult to navigate the industry when you started out?
SV: Yes, it’s hard for everyone who’s following dreams I think again for me it was the realisation of working my job to be able to support my dream. everything comes at a cost and dreams aren’t cheap.
EQ: Who would you love to collab with one day and why that person?
SV: There’s a few people I would love to work with but all for different reasons. Wretch 32 I would love to work with as his music is real and his lyrics are genius, Love to have worked with Plan b, Labyrinth, I would love to work with the weekend but again these are all dreams of mine if I ever get the chance, it would be incredible.
EQ: Musically, what are your plans for the rest of the year, are there any exclusives you can let us in on?
SV: I have a catalogue of music, I think at this stage it’s about putting something out that isn’t too far away from the golden, but I have a lot of different genres. In the background I’ve been working on an album so hopefully one day in the near future people will have allot of variety in 1 album from me.
Watch the most recent live visuals for single ‘Golden’ below!