Eric Turner
You may wonder who Eric Turner is on first glance, but if you take a second to look at the credits on hit songs such as Tinie Tempah’s ‘Written In The Stars’ or Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Break The Chain’, the name will pop up. Turner, an American who currently lives in Sweden, is a talented musician behind the songs and in front of the mic. He chatted with me a bit about his music, his success as a collaborator and what to expect this year. Make sure to grab his song ‘Angels and Stars’ now!
Arin: What initially got you into music?
Eric: I wasn’t a musician as a child, I was an artist. I was pretty good at drawing and painting etc… and I had a giant imagination. I spent a lot of hours coming up with cool things like comic books, movie ideas, I played a lot of dungeons and dragons and we would dream up these whole new worlds and play for hours, days, weeks, months at a time. It wasn’t until I was about 17–18 that I started to get this idea in my head that I should be a “singer in a band”. I dreamed up all these crazy themed band ideas but didn’t really know how to sing. When I was a sophomore in University I went on an exchange program to a Swedish University called Uppsala. I guess I went there cause I needed something different in my life. I was studying biochemistry and planned on being a doctor or whatever but deep down I think the artist in me started to rebel against that life. I remember crossing a street in Montreal and having a moment where it just hit me… if I continued on the path that I was on I could basically predict exactly how my life would unfold 5, 10, 15 years into the future. This idea freaked me out, I needed some sort of adventure as a career and I needed to start then. I went on an exchange program in order to see a new world and still keep en route to getting my degree. I was afraid that if I left it totally, I would never go back.
When I got to Sweden it didn’t take long to meet the person who first introduced me to real music. He was a another biochem student and he had spent all of his “after school” hours as a kid learning how to play guitar exactly like John Lee Hooker (a huge blues legend.) So I started singing the blues with this guy. Then it came very quickly… I sucked for about half a year but eventually I started to understand the little rhythmic inflections and the “soul” of blues music. I ended up staying in Sweden and starting a blues band that became kind of popular among the university bars, we were known to bring the party with us and we sounded really different. After a while I got into Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life”. That was the turning point for me as a singer, I listened to it a thousand times, until I could sing every note like him… then I could really sing.
A: Who are some of your biggest songwriting inspirations?
E: I really love the classic songwriters like, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, and David Bowie. Writing music is a whole other animal from singing or playing an instrument. You really have to work at it, at building an uninterrupted bridge from your heart and soul to your ideas and your melodies. I tell people who want to write better songs to write 50 whole songs and record them … then write “your” songs. I can imagine that the guys above went through similar processes writing. Sometimes you can hear a progression of a band or artist if they are lucky enough to do a real album before they are great. Their first album or albums kinda stink, then, something happens and they get it and the stuff starts to be awesome.
A: What is your favorite song lyric you have ever written and why?
E: Hard question… at the moment I’m really into a line from “waves of you” a song from my mixture “stylechanger”. It’s a lost love song. The kind of situation where you love someone so much, but you’ve come to that realization after you’ve screwed the whole thing up… and there is no way you are gonna get her back. And unfortunately, you can’t change the fact that you are totally gone for her and you’re just stuck knowing that you could had every piece of happiness life has to offer, if……
I still wave the flag for you
against the wind and racing
still sail in search of you
I still thread the needle through
saving every stitch
I ever had in me of you
A: If you could work with any artist who would it be?
E: Another tough one… any of the guys above… I really want to do a record with Rick Ross, I got some heat already written. Attention!!! Anyone reading this get on twitter and hit him up for me! You could write something like… “hey @RickRoss have u ever thought about doing a track with @ericturner that would be sickest #€%/& ever!!!”
A: What has been your reaction to the success of ‘Written in the Stars’?
E: Well, first of all let me put you in perspective. If you had told me 3 years ago that I would have a platinum selling single that topped the charts with a rapper name “tinie tempah” I would never have believed you. I was in another world that had a much more bleak outlook.
After my “Blues Days” I started a rock band called “Street Fighting Man.” We were the indie rock darlings of Sweden but the problem with indie rock is that it’s a long slow struggle, financially, spiritually, artistically… We had dreams of finally being understood but there was no real outlet in Sweden for getting the music heard except for free. We were heard a lot, but never on the radio, and no one needed to buy our record ’cause they could just find the download. I used to show up to festivals in Sweden and be followed around by fans, and I didn’t even have enough money to buy a beer. We had relatively big live shows for a band like us in Sweden but we are talking 500 max, not stadiums. This was my world ….putting two weeks of constant artistic analysis into each song, living off whatever we could, just so we could get to the live show and project our beautiful art.
It was awesome but ultimately, also quite frustrating and it took its toll on the band’s relationship. We started to hate on each other, spent too much time together, etc… as bands like that do. We were on the verge of splitting up when I met iSHi and I immediately saw that he was living in a different world. A world where everything was possible, everything was an instant of greatness, a song took a day to write… and was uncomplicated by over analysis. Things were done quickly and “all in” all the time. The world of hip hop. Awesome!!!! A wet dream for me! I realized, I was always so frustrated in a band setting ’cause I knew I had songs in me that only needed seconds to come out. I needed to write quickly ’cause all the time, and the struggle of indie rock was clouding my visions for these songs. Written in the Stars was written in 5 min. Stereo sun was written in the take you hear when you listen to track …all at once … and recorded at the same time. iSHi would play a beat and I would go into the mic booth with a completely clear head and write and sing the final take in the same moment. A perfect moment. That was WITS, Break the Chain, Angels and Stars, dancing in my head. It became a lot easier for me to write the songs I knew I could write. And the funny thing is … the beats!!!! Awesome! iSHi and I instantly fell in love with [the] sound of my rock voice in these urban environments. We knew we had something. We knew we were on to something that could vibe in a big way.
So what is my reaction to the success of WITS? If there are 100 levels to me, then on one level I understand why it became so big, but on 99 levels I basically feel like I won the lottery.
A: What is your biggest goal in music?
E: To write a perfect album that stands the test of time and speaks to people way into the future. Lol!!! Fingers Crossed…
A: What do you hope to accomplish this year?
E: I hope that the fans understand what I’m trying to do and that the music I make speaks to them for better or worse… the good the bad and the ugly.
A: What is the one venue that when you can stand on stage as a headliner you know you’ve made it?
E: When I was sitting at my piano waiting to start WITS and seeing letterman in the corner of my eye I knew I had gotten somewhere. I had to close my eyes and try to forget where I was just to keep focused. Crazy!!
I would imagine headlining Madison Square Garden would be a weird and ridiculous experience.
A: Everyone has the big social networks now (ie. Facebook & Twitter) but which is your favorite to use and best for fans to reach out to you on?
E: Twitter is a funny thing, I never understood it until now, and I’m slowly realizing how insane it really is… its like a constant conversation with the world that you can enter at any point and any situation. And the fact that there is nothing between what I’m saying and what you’re reading, no time, no editing, no nothing …instant access for all to all. I love it. Hit me at @ericturner, lol!!!
