Tristan Clopet – Superficiality is a Sin

New song from Tristan Clopet – Superficiality is a Sin

Tell us about where you are from and how you got to this position today.
Practice and being no good at acting. My mom forced me to start learning an instrument when I was five. I wanted the drums. She said, ‘no way.’ So I then I gravitated towards the piano. Just because we had one in the corner of the house. I eventually took up drums and electric guitar when I reached my teens. And played for hours and hours each day. Couldn’t get enough of it. Life is a lot better when you do what you love. I wanted to be an actor for a while. My grandfather was a theatre producer in London and my grandmother was an actress, so it was in the blood. I did a lot of plays in high school and such but luckily, I wasn’t good enough to make it to the next level, so I turned to my other love, music.

What are you currently working on and what can we expect to see?
I’m working on my first full-length right now. Don’t know what’s it’ll be called or when it comes out or who’s producing but I do know that it’s easily the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’m so proud and even more excited to start playing these songs with my band. But before that, I’m going on a few solo tours this winter. Going back to my roots, working on the songs from the foundation up and refining my skills.

What is one of the most drastic changes you’ve made about yourself in the last year?
I finally found my sound. It took two EPs and a lot of hours practicing and performing but I feel more comfortable now than ever before with the message and the voice of my music and most of that progress was made this past year. It’s a process of success and failure, acceptance and rejection. Sometimes you have to look harder and longer than normal but it’s there for you to find.

Tell us about one of the hardest challenges you had to face in the industry?
Well, our industry is in a massive transformation. So the whole thing is very tricky. With all of the file sharing, illegal downloads etc, it’s been flipped. So I think all of us are still finding our way. It’s exciting but unsettling because it’s such a massive change. If you had told Berry Gordy all those years ago that today’s musicians are giving away their music for free, he would’ve laughed. Or believed you and started selling cars.

What are some things artists need to be careful of?
Own your own stuff! With the leverage musicians have these days, there’s no reason you should be giving up your copyrights.

What would you spend a million dollars on?
I would donate it to charity. That’s the right answer isn’t it? What do I win? Seriously, I don’t know. I’d probably set my dad up with a decent car.

What was your biggest risk taken in your career?
Nothing’s a risk in this career if you have the mindset of needing to do a lot of things you wouldn’t normally need or have to do in order to succeed. Starting out, you’re always going to have to make sacrifices that don’t make a lot of financial sense or may grind you down emotionally or physically but that’s how the music gods separate the wheat from the chaff.

What are the best ways to sell your products as an artist?
I sell way more albums at shows than I do online. That’s because you’ve just earned their faith by performing for them. They know exactly what they’re buying. That’s why it’s so crucial to have a great selection of merch. Not just one t-shirt but four different designs and colors, buttons, stickers, posters, hoodies etc. After all, that’s your livelihood.

What is one of your favorite ways to promote yourself and your music?
I do this thing on YouTube called Living Room Sessions. I perform a cover of a song, maybe one that people will search for, and they find me and maybe enjoy my cover, and it serves as a gateway to my original music. So far it’s been really successful, we’re almost at 600,000 views in just our first year. Plus it’s fun to record it and play all the parts.

Any last comments or statements?
It doesn’t make a lot of sense for independent artists to be charging for their music these days. But then again, you gotta try and pay the bills. So we’ve adopted the ‘pay what you want’ pricing scheme for our last two EPs. It’s been great because there’s no boundary between your music and a potential fan. Plus the fans who can afford to spend $5 on an EP typically want to help support you so it’s a win-win.