Great to have you on Xttrawave. Please, introduce yourself.
My name is Joseph Brooks and I work under the musical pseudonym Bäckar.
I’m originally from a small town called Elmira in upstate New York.
More recently I’ve relocated to Los Angeles, California and that’s where I would call home now.
Where did you get the name Bäckar from and what does it mean?
The name Bäckar literally is a Swedish word for Brooks. I’ve been very influenced by Scandinavian artists like Abba and Robyn.
Tell us about your new music? And what’s the story behind it?
My new single is “Anything For You”. The song is a blissful blend of melancholy and emotions.
What got you into music?
I’ve basically always had music in my life in one way or another. I had formal piano lessons but I didn’t really find a love for it until I started teaching myself how to play piano by ear and writing my own music. That’s when I knew that it was what I wanted to do.
I grew up in the church. As the son of a pastor you can only imagine the types of music I was exposed to. Also it’s hard to not be seen as a “goodie two shoes” as soon as someone finds that out about you. There were always a lot of expectations for our behavior because of my dad being a minister.
If it was “secular”/ non-christian then it wasn’t allowed. You were lucky you’d get to listen to the oldies station. This ideology was that if you weren’t singing for God you were singing for satan!! If you were playing music that wasn’t Jesus music it was bad….
Needless to say, that didn’t stop me!
I can remember sneaking “secular” radio after like 11pm at night on the local radio station with headphones on just to be able to hear the latest Pop/Top 40 music. (Pharell Williams, Timbaland, Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears etc)
Out of all that kind of music there were a couple of gems. The analog centered synthpop of Joy Electric and emotional punk rock from Relient K and catchy/bouncy indie pop from a band called Elkland (Jonny Pierce).
Who are some artists that you’re listening to right now?
Right now I’ve been really enjoying artists like TV Girl, Computer Magic, Lights, Electric Youth, and Cory Henry and The Funk Apostles. I’ve also been listening to some Synthwave.
I’m often drawn to new music that has an old soul. If it’s catchy and I feel something when I hear it; that’s what I look for.
What makes your music unique? And how would you describe it?
It’s alternative pop/synth pop music. I think that my voice is a big part of what makes my music unique. I don’t find that there’s a lot of male vocalists making the style of music that I make. The sound really comes down to the production which is done by myself.
Do you play any instruments? And why do you love it?
I play piano and drums
Who is a keyboard player who inspires you?
Cory Henry, that’s an easy one. I actually met him by accident! He was there with Lalah Hathaway on sunset and vine. He was on his way to play a gig that night and had pulled there car over looking for the venue. We had a conversation about music. It was a very serendipitous encounter.
Any particular artist/band you would like to collaborate with in the future?
Robyn or Music Producer Ariel Rechtshaid
What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects?
There IS an album coming. I’m hoping that will be released later on this year. The pandemic in some ways has been a nice creative retreat from the norm and I’m choosing to make the best of it to write and have some isolation to gather my thoughts.
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