Kevin McGuire is a lightning bolt, he’s got a sound with R&B influences and a country twist. It’s an intriguing only he could capture. CelebMix sat down with the musician for a chat about the backstory of his sound, his new single “3AM”, and what he has in store for the future.
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You describe your sound as hip-hop, country, and pop. Is that accurate or much more?
Interesting question! I’d take hip-hop out of the equation and replace it with RnB. The main routes of my music are definitely the Country-style songwriting, and so I try to build that over some Pop-Rnb ideas. ‘3am’ certainly includes that RnB influence! I would say though – as a whole – people will hear that my wider body of work is Country-Pop, with just a hint of RnB. I’m happy for people to just listen to my music, hopefully, enjoy it, and define it in whatever way they feel is right for them! As an artist, I don’t want to feel restricted by boundaries. I just go with whatever comes out and feels natural when I’m making music!
What inspired this album or your sound in general?
I’ve been listening to Country music since a young age. I always used to go out my way to check out the US Country charts, even if nobody I knew was interested in it! For me, Country music makes me feel something, it’s like ‘highly emotional Pop music’. Being a huge fan of Pop and RnB music as well I guess allows me to try to incorporate that into my sound.I grew up listening to Country artists such as Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift etc, and now people like Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line who are heavily mixing Country with RnB. This really gave me the confidence to just be myself, and mix whatever genres and styles I wanted into the music.
Tell us about your single “3AM”
‘3am’ was written in May earlier this year. I locked myself in the studio with my producer Kiz, and we smashed it out! It’s a song that I feel the majority of people could relate to!
We’ve all been there, having gone through a difficult break-up, months down the line, the last thing you need is for the past to be brought back up again, just when you’re finally starting to move on.
Even though they were the one who ended things with you, maybe they made a mistake. They end up calling you, trying to get back into your life. The song I guess tells of both the weakness and strengths of someone being in that position. Yes, you want the good times back, but the hurt they caused you is just too much to let back into your life. You have to move on.
In your new music, you speak about your battle with depression. Was this something that came naturally?
I wouldn’t say my music speaks about depression as such. However, I’m not afraid to speak about real-life and the struggles that come with it. That’s something I feel helps an audience connect with you, and vice versa. Music has always been a way out for me during difficult times. It’s an opportunity to lay down all your emotions without actually having to speak to somebody about what’s going on. Music is an extremely powerful tool. It can alter your entire mood in just a matter of seconds.
What else can we expect for you this year into next? Touring or new music?
I have huge plans for the next few months. New music, shows, videos, everything! This week alone sees the release of ‘3am’ on iTunes, the official video, AND the start of my tour in Newcastle.
We’ve already started planning the second single for early next year, and I’m just waiting to announce some more shows. Extremely busy times, but it’s what I live for, so I just take the word ‘busy’ as ‘exciting’!
If you’d like to find out more about Kevin, you can visit his Facebook page.
Do you love Kevin? Tweet us at @CelebMix.
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