Meet Underground Music Artist, Wilfred
Wilfred’s melodic sounds are made for the summer, so I got a chance to ask him some questions about his recent EP as well as himself!
Wilfred, from London is an underground music artist wanting to make a difference within the music industry with a twist. Originally from Ivory Coast, Wilfred dived into creating music as a means of wanting to further evolve the kind of music that’s not commonly heard nowadays so he is here to make a difference. During this uncertain stage in the world today, he spent his quarantine creating an exciting tape that focuses more on the art of rap and grime and Wilfred truly crafted the EP very well collaborating with many of his friends. His love for music and experimentation is represented through his ecstatic tracks so having the chance to find out more about himself as well as his work was a great honour.
What’s your name, and how old are you?
My name is Djibril Wilfried Moctar Cisse, but I just go by Wilfred, (22).
Where are you from Wilfred?
I was born in Ivory Coast- moved to the UK in 2004 because of a civil war.
How did you get into music?
After I stopped working full time on Savile Row, I found it hard to dedicate myself to things because I had all these friends at CSM who studied Architecture and Fashion and Fine Art and all these things- but they often procrastinated about things and that started to rub off on me, and so I just decided to tune everything out and not go out anymore, and within 2 months or literally being at home every day (early quarantine life) I started making music as a therapeutic thing, and also a lot of music I was interested in didn’t exist to the extent as I’d like.
What is your work about?
So I made this tape (and another tape) during quarantine mainly because I wanted to go further in my music practice, but also because I wanted to understand the formula and structure in music that’s around my peers a lot, and so this was really a self-given exam in rap/grime.
Who are your favourite music artists/bands?
My favourite band is Pink Floyd and my favourite musician is Kid Cudi, but they’re too precious to me to play- I only listen to them in either direr times, I only really listen to my own music and my friends. I’ve lost interest in ‘industry music’; it feels like a plastic fast food meal, I’m more interested in the fresh apples in my neighbour’s tree.
Who and what inspires you?
I’m really inspired by my childhood, it’s something that has always created this urge for greatness and legacy, because there were higher possibilities of me not being here, than me being here, I can never forget the value and worth of EVERY life.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on a more Clean and evolved project, and I made another project with my brother (Will Reubin) which is very ambitious and will reeeeaallly show the Pink Floyd and Kid Cudi influence, and also his Tame Impala and Led Zeppelin influence.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
If you’d asked me 3 years ago I’d immediately say the Beatles, but honestly I’ve lost interest in a lot of the music in the world- I’m more interested in what my friends are doing or what an 8 year old could do with a synthesiser. There’s really only one person right now that I am making new landscapes with and that’s Will Reubin. His way of looking at the world is literally beyond the box, and he can literally play almost anything.
If you could open a show for any artist who would it be?
The bait answer would be Frank Ocean, just because he’s the only competition... but really would love to have opened for Nina Simone. She can really make that pen bleed.
What do you want to see being done differently in the music industry?
Well what I want to see done in the art field (including music) is a less mystified lifestyle, and clearer representation of the ACTUAL way things are made and the real process of a lot of these things. There’s too many kids thinking they’re a producer because they have quantised, 4 bar electronic drums with a Travis Scott type melody, which they loop for 1:40 minutes and that’s it, like making a t-shirt doesn’t make you a fashion designer. Organising a ‘shoot’ on Regents Street with a point and shoot doesn’t make you a photographer or a creative director, and all these have been blurred because the people in charge now are giving the wrong information, so they stay in power, and all the kids continue to buy into the falsehood. The same way a duckling imprints the first moving object (after hatching) as their ‘mother’, is the same way the youths are being imprinted by a lot of these super villains.
What message would you give to others who may want to get themselves into music?
RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!
If you live in England, sign up with PRS (if you live elsewhere look up the equivalent). Don’t sign anything you don’t know. Don’t get a manager until there’s actually something to manage. We don’t need another Young Thug or Travis Scott, if that’s what you’re doing then it’s okay, but don’t be biting, and if you are, make it sexy. Mainly be transparent. Do you thinkall about the money or do you genuinely think you’re doing something fresh? If so move with that, don’t talk about art if you only want money, and if you care for the arts, please sort out your business because you won’t get a platform if you don’t and if you do, you’ll get milked dry.
Can you play any instruments?
The only thing I’m trained in is Bespoke Tailoring, but no, I could not tell you where the C key on a piano is, in all the things I lack, I’ve surrounded myself with honest and transparent friends to help elevate those things. If I was to be given an instrument and 10 minutes though, I could come out with something probably worthwhile.
