We interviewed melodic future bass talent N3WPORT on his recently-released heartfelt three-track EP, Best Part of Me.
Earlier this month, American producer N3WPORT released his first EP, Best Part of Me, on new imprint Heaven Sent.
Also read: N3WPORT drops heartfelt three-track ‘Best Part of Me’ EP
In line with the label’s ’emotional music sent from above’ ethos, Best Part of Me is perhaps the Washington D.C.-based artist’s highly emotive record to date.
The titular closing track in particular has gained positive fan reception due to its relatable lyricism and the emotions conveyed through the instrumentation.
The EP opens up with ‘Where You Are Now’ with vocalist Dianna delivering airy vocals that contrasts well with the track’s stirring synths. After that, ‘Miss You’ touches on the melancholic themes of the EP with catchy synths and epic guitar solo.
The best is saved for last as lead single ‘Best Part of Me’ sends fans on a emotional rollercoaster with its lyricism dealing with themes of love lost and personal trauma, complemented by vocalist SVRCINA’s performance.
To celebrate N3WPORT’s newest release, we had a chat with the producer to tell us more about the EP.
AsiaLive365: Greetings N3WPORT, how are you during lockdown?
N3WPORT: I’m doing pretty good all things considered! I’ve been fortunate to be locked down with my wonderful wife and our french bulldog puppy! So between hanging with them and making music, I’ve had a pretty good time 🙂
AL365: Congratulations on the release of your ‘Best Part of Me’ EP! How do you feel knowing many fans are listening to the record right now?
N3WPORT: I’m so excited that it’s out and I’m SO grateful to everyone listening! I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from the week it’s been out and I can’t tell you how excited I am for more to hear it! It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work, so it feels really good to present it to the world and for it to be received so positively!
AL365: Listening to the EP, I feel like there’s a personal story to it. You put yourself into these three melodic tracks. What was the inspiration behind the EP?
N3WPORT: The EP is designed to tell a love story in reverse. It opens with ‘Where You Are Now’, which plays on the ideas of infatuation. It moves along to ‘Miss You’, which tells the story of a break up, and having a desire to move on but still missing the person you’ve ended the relationship with. The EP closes with the title track ‘Best Part Of Me’ which tells the story of love and loss, and when you lose someone close to you, it can feel like you’re losing the best part of yourself. While I’m happily married, the themes of love and loss are very prevalent in all of our lives, and it’s certainly something I’ve experienced and know I’ll continue to experience throughout my life (although maybe not in the form of a break up any more!) This EP was very personal to me and I also asked the vocalists and songwriters SVRCINA, Sarah McIntyre and Dianna to really draw on those emotions as well as we wrote these tracks together.
AL365: Which track would you pick as your most personal/favorite and why
N3WPORT: I think my favorite has to be ‘Best Part Of Me’. Writing that with SVRCINA and Sarah McIntyre was an incredible experience and the song turned out so perfectly. I think it most clearly demonstrates the complexity of love and loss, and overall I’ve heard SO much from fans since it’s release as the EP’s single in May that many people are really identifying with the emotions conveyed in the track and appreciate how it makes them feel. It’s so cool to get a response like that after working so hard on a track, and I’m really excited to get more feedback as more people listen.
AL365: Your music is usually described as melodic/future bass. What are some musical influences behind your sound?
N3WPORT: I would say artists like ILLENIUM and Seven Lions are definitely huge influences. However, I’m also heavily influenced by bands like Blink-182 and Green Day, who I grew up listening to before EDM was on my radar! I think being well versed in different styles of music definitely helps to create my sound – I love listening to everything from dance to hip-hop to punk to worship to classical and cinematic! Music is so fun because it’s endlessly diverse.
AL365: You’ve collaborated with numerous vocalists that really nail the vibe your songs aim to go for. Was the process in finding the ‘right’ vocalist difficult?
N3WPORT: I think it can sometimes be difficult, and sometimes be super easy. It just depends on the project! For both songs on the EP, it was quite easy to find vocalists that perfectly matched the energy of the songs. SVRCINA and Dianna were both easy and very fun to work with. Singing on Miss You myself was an interesting process. I’ve never been a huge fan of my own voice, but I kind of liked the way it sounded when I put some vocoding on it and decided to keep me as the vocalist on that one. Overall, I look for vocalists who are fun to work with and passionate about the music they’re writing. As long as those two things click, making the track and making them sound perfect with the instrumental becomes an easier and more seamless process.
AL365: What’s next for N3WPORT later this year?
N3WPORT: Definitely some live performances, and some more music as well! I’m currently working on an Acoustic version of ‘Best Part Of Me’ which I’m really excited to show everyone. I’m also pretty excited to play in front of people for the first time in over a year soon too! Stay tuned and follow me on social media to keep up with the latest, because some fun stuff is just around the corner!
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