Peter Cincotti
Peter Cincotti is set to make his musical return this September with the release of his new album Metropolis, the first album since the success of East of Angel Town.
Cincotti is known for his jazz work but East of Angel Town saw him begin to take the sound of his music down a different path - something he continues with this new album.
I caught up with Peter to talk about Metropolis, finding the right producer for the project and what he has planned for the rest of the year.
- You are back with your new album Metropolis so what can we expect from the album this time around?
I look at it like a continuation of my last album East of Angel Town and it is a collection of songs that basically sum up where I am at this point in my life.
The subject matter is very much modern and a product of our times - living in 2012.
- You were perhaps perceived as a jazz artist but this album takes you down a completely different path so what made you take on this new sound?
Well the last album was actually the first step in that direction, I didn't do much touring for the album in the UK, I have never categorised it but it was categorised as a pop album.
The two before that were jazz albums. So ever since I have started writing that is pretty much what came out.
I started about ten years ago and that was when I was playing jazz and I got signed when I was eighteen. And then I made my second record as a step to that before going on a road for a while.
Then I started writing and I hooked up with David Foster, who ended up producing the third album, and what came out was this sound - whatever it is. It was never and intentional deviation it was just an evolution I think.
- But how exciting was it to put together a sound that was new for you and appeal to an even wider audience?
I don't even think about who it is appealing to as I am just glad that I am able to just play what I feel - which is always a miraculous achievement in this day and age in the record industry.
I don't think 'my audience will grow' or 'this will grow' - in fact I had to fight to make the record that is in my heart and in my mind.
- There is some pop and dance in there as well as some driving beats so how would you describe the sound of the record?
I think it is very eclectic this record as there is everything from techno influences to rock to some of my jazz roots to pop music to traditional song writing from people like Billy Joel all the way up to Ray Charles - but very much with a modern twist.
It's hard to sum up as there is a lot of variety on this record and I think that there is something in it for everyone.
- It was almost ten years ago when you released your debut album so how have you seen yourself develop as both a writer and musician in that time?
The writing is really what changed everything to me. Once I started thinking in terms of what I wanted to say in a song and how to capture a moment in three minutes that is when the style changed.
Over the last ten years being on road was a huge part of that development, playing in front of live audiences and playing every night and playing in front of new audiences.
Growing up in New York was a huge part of that as well and I think my entire New York has been an inspiration because there is just so much going on here.
Even as a kid I would go and see an eclectic group of music; everything from rock concerts at Madison Square Garden to funk music and Blues - I grew up seeing everything.
Once I got the chance to do that for a living all of those influences started to come together through the writing really.
- I was reading that Graffiti Wall is partially inspired by the 20th anniversary of the demolition of the Berlin Wall so I was wondering what inspires your writing?
It could be anything and it is hard to know as songs can take shape without you knowing the direct inspiration for it. Even with Graffiti Wall that was not an intentional inspiration.
It was just a weird moment where the song was being written and we were half way done when I turned on the TV and I saw the anniversary of the Berlin Wall - these weird moments just happen for some reason.
It happened with my last single Goodbye Philadelphia, which was a single off the last record. You never know when a song will happen in everyday life you jut notice things but it could be a film, book or just looking out of the window.
- John Fields has served as producer on the album so how did that collaboration come about? And what were you looking for in a producer for this record?
I took me a while to find the right producer because I was looking for something specific - especially after David Foster, who is a legend, producing my last record.
This time around I needed someone who could play, I am not one of these artists who likes producers who talk in metaphors 'more green, less blue' - I am not really into that.
So part of my criteria was finding someone who could think conceptually and we could talk about colours all day long (laughs) - but at the end of the day I like someone who can sit down and play it and say 'no a B instead of a B flat'.
And John is one of those guys, not only on one instrument but on several. But most importantly than the playing is a certain instinct that you just have to feel symmetry with; you feel that you line up with someone and they are the other half of something. And I really found that with John Fields.
I had all of these songs that I had written and I knew the record that I wanted to make but I really wanted to put it through his filter because he has a very specific sound and instinct.
So I was really curious about taking my songs and my lyrics and the subject matter, you don't always hear the subject matter with that kind of production, so I was interested in creating a hybrid of things and he was the perfect guy to do that.
It was great working with him as it was very in the moment and there was no plan I can't really explain it. It was very spontaneous but efficient.
- How did you find working with him and what did his experience bring to the record?
All of the producers that I have worked with have been experienced in different ways - they have been legends. I have been really fortunate to work with people with so much experience on all of my records.
I valued John's instinct more than anything else and his approach to making records; obviously those are derivative of his experience.
But we had to find something within every song before we were on out way and I just liked his method of doing that as it was very unconventional and very modern. It was a nice vibe with him.
- You are also executive producer on the album so how much do you enjoy that side of putting an album together?
I have always been executive producer on my albums whether I get credit or not and that is the truth (laughs) - this time I happen to get the credit.
I have always been very specific about the kind of albums that I wanted to make and because each one has been pretty different from the other there are always people that you face that want to stop you from doing that - not because they are bad people just because if one album works then lets just make the same one again and we can all make money.
So I have had to deal with that but that is just part of it. I can either make the records that I want to make or I could just care about the cheque that I get - if I did that I would still be making jazz records right now.
- But Metropolis is your first album since East of Angel Town in 2007 so what have you been up to in the five year gap?
A lot of it was writing for Metropolis and a lot of it was touring for East of Angel Town. One year of that was going on the search for the right producer as that really did take a while. The other thing that I have been working on is a musical here in New York that my sister wrote - she wrote the book about ten years ago when she was in college.
For years she has been wanting me to turn it into a musical and I was like 'I don't know about the theatre' 'I couldn't care less about the theatre' I just didn't know that form.
And then somewhere between East of Angel Town and this record I just went 'screw this I will write a song for it'.
So I just tried for fun to write a song and we just kept developing over the last five years and it took on its own life.
We have a full act and a full two hour musical and we just had out first production of it last month in New York - it is called How Deep is The Ocean? So that has taken up a lot of time.
So I was writing for that while I was writing for Metropolis and they couldn't be more different in terms of style.
- So how did you find stepping into the musical world? Is it something that you have enjoyed and would possibly try again?
Yeah I love it, I really loved it. I want to keep developing this piece as it has got some great responses.
I really liked writing for characters. There was something particularly enjoyable about it because of the timing, as I said writing for Metropolis was an extended journey that was mixed in with politics and record companies and A&R guys.
So going from that to just writing for the play and not having and A&R guy breathing down your neck it was freeing and it felt great - especially to write in a comedic idiom. So that was kind of like an outlet for me while I fought the business battles of Metropolis.
So it was really nice that I had that as a creative outlet and when I went back to write songs for the record they would actually influence each other even though the styles couldn't more different.
- You have an ever growing fanbase so for any of those fans reading this interview do you have a message for them?
I can't wait to see them on the road as it has been too long.
- Finally what is next for you are we going to be seeing you over here in the UK?
I hope so. We are talking about and I hope to be there in the fall. I would love to come back as I love the UK and I am sorry that we didn't do as much touring there as we should have on the last record.
Peter Cincotti's album Metropolis is released 3rd September