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James “Simmy” Sismanes is one of Australia’s rising star producers in the music scene and his record label: Simmy Music has been gaining a following since 2010. Now as he continues to expand internationally, jacobelyacharjournalist.com recently corresponded with the rising producer for his first American interview.
1. Jacob Elyachar: When did you want to be in the recording industry?
Simmy: I’ve always wanted to do something in the field of entertainment. When I was young I’d put on performances, create “companies” and restaurants, design pamphlets to bring in customers and played around with a number of different basic audio software programs so I guess I always knew I wanted to do something creative at some point. It wasn’t however until probably around 2005-2006 that I first decided music was my calling card. I developed an Internet friendship with a dude on a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony forum (who have always been my favourite artists) who basically taught me the basics and gave me an understanding of the array of production programs out there for beginners. I picked up a couple of skills and started remixing tracks probably a whole year before I began to develop any of my own original material.
2. JE: Who was your first act that you signed?
Simmy: Well the first act I ever worked with was a dude named ‘Aei’leon El Nino’ who was at the time affiliated with my idol and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member, Bizzy Bone. I started producing material for him and a bunch of other 7th Sign artists (Bizzy Bone’s regime), which was a little flattering for me at 14-15 years of age! I actually first started producing gangster rap (laughs) but quickly moved on to some more soulful material, producing a slow jam, R&B joint with a very talented artist by the name of Madeline. It wasn’t however until I met ChriStylez that I began ‘Simmy Music” and signed him up as the first official artist for release.
3. JE: Could you describe the process on how you pick your artists?
Simmy: Obviously, first and foremost, my artists need to be talented. I really prefer to work with artists that have an ultimate desire to succeed and can see and complement my creative vision for any projects I endeavour to complete. With my label originally being set up for the purpose to push my music as a producer, many of my artists I select are based on their vocal tone and style – I feel like there’s certain artists out there that have such a unique voice that seems to compliment a lot of my work to perfection. If I feel that the artist’s lyrical content and voice is right, I’ll make sure that the chemistry is also there. With ALL the artists on my current roster, together we have the ability to constantly create music without hesitation. I also base a lot of my selection on the artist’s potential branding capabilities. I really like artists who present themselves in a unique and selective fashion something that we can take advantage of when the time of release arrives. For example, Giulietta’s pink hair and blue lips makes for a perfectly creative brand image and helps us deliver the music to our fans effectively through more than one avenue. It’s also extremely important that the potential artist’s attitude and personality is right – I like confident and charismatic people. Bottom line is, no matter how talented you are, if you’re not grounded and genuine and our personalities don’t match, it makes it extremely difficult to develop a working future with you.
4. JE: What does each of your artists bring to Australia’s music scene?
Simmy: The current roster is a balance of American and Australian artists but it’s always been my goal to bring Americanized pop and urban dance/R&B music to the Australian shores. For a long time, our industry has been missing a ‘Chris Brown’ or a ‘Justin Bieber’ or ‘Rihanna’ – those artists that seem to control the industry as a whole in 2011 and that’s principally because Australia lacks the capacity of producers to make these things happen. Each of my artists, being in line with American top 20 commercially selling musicians, brings a unique but fresh sound in an industry that has been lacking teen-based, radio-friendly records for decades.
5. JE: Do you have any thoughts about expanding your musical empire to get more artists like ChriStylez?
Simmy: I’m always looking to expand. For me, there’s nothing more exciting than venturing out and working with brand new artists both local and international. That moment when you create that first hit with an artist you’ve just met and you know the relationship is going to be long-term is priceless. Right now, the main focus is on the continued promotion of the ChriStylez record and the brand new record from Giulietta but I do have scheduled meetings with new artists in the beginning of 2012 to discuss additions to the roster. I’m also looking into networking and producing with some major, high-profile artists – not to have them on the label but to expand my current discography. In terms of expanding the empire, I’m really looking into focusing the delivering of music through not so traditional means. I feel like fans never really get to experience music in its full potential and that’s one of the main reasons the Giulietta record is coming out for free at this point. I want to give fans more reasons to connect with my artists, and to bring them closer, encouraging interactivity between both parties. Looking long-term, I’m hoping to develop a strong and committed roster that venture out into not only music but also other forms of entertainment to help build and expand the Simmy Music brand.
6. If you had a chance to pair your artists with American artists, who would you pair up with and why?
Simmy: Oh wow, that list would be incredibly extensive! As a solo producer, I’d LOVE to work with Justin Bieber and Usher. Justin seems to get incredibly scrutinized by a lot of people when in actual fact, that kid is an incredibly talented musician! So he’d be a blessing to work with along with Usher and I guess the justification for that speaks for itself! But in terms of pairing my artists up, I’d love to have Giulietta get on a record with Ludacris. His flow seems to compliment any and every pop artist out today. I’d also love to get her on a record with Flo Rida for a fairly similar reason. I’d definitely want to see a collaboration between ChriStylez and Nicki Minaj, that’d be fire! And our youngest artist on the roster, Josh Levi, would fit perfectly in a duet with Willow Smith.
7. Is there anything else you would like to share?
Simmy: For any more information, please feel free to visit www.simmymusic.com or follow me on twitter @simmybeats.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.