Today we’ve had the amazing opportunity to have a little chat with Alexander Beatz, the mastermind behind MIDDLESPOON. He’s ready to deliver an addicting set of pop tunes with a touch of hip-hop. Working side by side with producers/songwriters Jinx McGee, Lonely Child, and MSTR WTVR. Describing his craft as “pop with purpose”, he’s determined to deliver an optimistic point of view about love in his debut album “Brightside”, a breath of fresh air considering most love songs almost always show the depressing side of the story. Taking heavy inspiration from Bruno Mars, Charlie Puth, Justin Timberlake, and Jamiroquai the album is full of catchy hooks and an outstanding production quality. He moves effortlessly between genres, mastering anything that it’s in his path.
“Happy” is MIDDLESPOON’s latest release accompanied by a music video. Using Alexander’s own words “Happy is a gathering of friends, family, all those that pass the VIBE check. A day through beautiful Austin that turns into the best night of your life surrounded by the people you love. All aboard the magic vibe bus, let’s go!!“. I couldn’t describe it myself better. Well! Let’s see what Alexander has to share with us.
MIDDLESPOON IS A STRANGE NAME. WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA?
The name implies more than 2. It’s playful and promiscuous. My former producer Jinx McGee and myself have always viewed relationships on a spectrum and our interest in the many forms of love became the focal point for our music. MIDDLESPOON just felt right.
YOU’VE WORKED WITH MANY INFLUENTIAL PRODUCERS AND SONGWRITERS. DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL EXPERIENCES TO SHARE?
Jinx McGee really gave me the permission and the support to be bold and FINISH the songs regardless of them being perfect or not. Later, working with Bryan Ray and Tony Hoffer was a dream come true. Their combined expertise and wealth of knowledge completely upgraded my game to a level I’ve been striving to for years. The quality of sound is paramount for any record and arguably the most important investment you’ll make as a recording artist. Coming from MIDDLESPOON’s first EP, which was recorded in my little backyard shed studio, to a pro studio where we recorded the new album and worked with some true legends to get the best quality sound, was truly amazing to be a part of.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE PHRASE “POP WITH PURPOSE”?
Never thought I’d be making POP music. Was always more of a lo-fi hip-hop jazz kid but the challenge presented itself and I was intrigued to see where it lead. I think all of us would like the chance to help make the world a better place so I thought – Im gonna make POP music but it’s gotta have a purpose. That purpose for the most part is to uplift people and help those that might not feel seen to feel seen. Speak out about ideas that might not be heard a majority of the time and hopefully bring some joy and relief to those who need it.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR DEBUT ALBUM “BRIGHTSIDE”?
I didn’t set out with the intention of making an album full of uplifting songs about love and relationships but that’s what happened :). Calling it “BRIGHTSIDE” just made sense. BRIGHTSIDE comes off as entirely positive but we forget that with the Brightside also comes shade. It’s not all smiles and butterflies it’s pain and strife and all the trials and tribulations that come with life. The hope is that even when we’re at our lowest if we can look on the Brightside and see the blessings amongst all the bullshit we can make it through. This album is a shoulder to lean on, a boost of confidence, and the much-needed support for everybody and anybody to just be themselves and keep moving. It’s not a focus on the positive it’s an understanding of life being full of good and bad but still meeting every day the best we can. And sometimes that means we gotta dance it out :).
COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW SINGLE “HAPPY”? HOW WAS THE CREATIVE PROCESS?
HAPPY is a Magic Vibes Bus from space, Captained by Stellar Fred, sent to Earth to gather the appropriate joy seekers to inspire and partake in the best night of all time. HAPPY is effortlessly POP! It will have kids to grandparents clapping their hands and stomping their feet. The song practically wrote itself and was super fun to make but it took some real finessing to make it what it is today. It was a song full of breakdowns and build-ups and endless hooks. Bryan Ray was vital to this process. We had to remold and reconstruct the song almost entirely. It took some time but we trimmed all the fat and brought it from almost 5 minutes down to just over 3. For the video, we wanted to represent Austin, Tx. Our goal was to incorporate as much of iconic Austin as we could. Our adventure starts in south Austin and makes its way to the east – everyone is invited from the queers to the cowboys – get on board – LET’S GO!
DO YOU GET INSPIRATION FROM OTHER BANDS OR MUSICIANS? COULD IT BE ANOTHER MEDIUM LIKE A MOVIE?
I think most creatives would agree that inspiration is something you look for wherever you can find it. I pull from conversations with friends, movies, and other artists of all mediums.
HAVE YOU ALREADY BEGUN WORKING ON YOUR NEXT PROJECT? IF SO, WHAT MORE CAN YOU TELL US?
We’ve got some hot features in the pipeline as well as some new tracks and some older songs we plan on reproducing. There are a ton of amazing artists in Austin that we’re very excited to collaborate with.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS YOU’D LIKE TO ADD? HOW ABOUT A FEW FAMOUS LAST WORDS?
Our mission is to gather, spread joy, encourage people to be themselves, and dance till our dreams come true.
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