The music business is really exciting right now
mainly because the old model is so obsolete. You look at artists now leading the way with how things should be done, rather than being driven by CD sales or label pressure. Now, more than ever, if you’re making great music, if you’re resonating with audiences, there’s really less need than ever for the “middle man.” You can offer up quality to a much wider audience just by being creative @cwomusic
Live Interview
Episode #373 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/10/12/episode-373-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax
GETTING TO KNOW CONVERSING WITH OCEANS
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
Alex Bondarev and the name of my solo project is Conversing with Oceans.
The music business is really exciting right now
mainly because the old model is so obsolete. You look at artists now leading the way with how things should be done, rather than being driven by CD sales or label pressure. Now, more than ever, if you’re making great music, if you’re resonating with audiences, there’s really less need than ever for the “middle man.” You can offer up quality to a much wider audience just by being creative.
There are always going to be ups and downs in any business.
The cons are that because it’s easier than ever to create and release music, the volume of it is just tremendous. It takes a lot more to stand out. The pro of this is it really engages your creativity on every level. And you don’t always need to be the one with the loudest megaphone. You can be authentic. You can be persistent. You can keep promises and keep delivering quality, while making a change for the better in the world overall. That sort of stuff (authenticity & quality, that is) really does hold up over time and in the end.
I think it’s all a matter of how you view it.
Where you’re struggling is often the very key to your greatest successes. If artists truly start embracing honest feedback (though it may hurt your feelings at first), but then use this to grow, I think that’s the secret. In order to keep doing this you have to realize that there’s always an opportunity to grow and learn from the challenge at hand.
If I could spend five minutes with anyone right now it would be…
My grandparents, they’re still in Russia and I only get to talk to them through Skype nowadays, as I haven’t been able to go back just yet. When I was very young, I’d spent an entire year with them and they really instilled such a love for music, a love for life in me that I’d want to hug them, to tell them how much I appreciate all they did for me growing up. I had my own record player, instruments all over the house, paint brushes, easels, markers, they’d read Greek myths to me before going to sleep—you name it. They taught me to always create. To always imagine. They were really teaching how to love. They’re truly wonderful human beings.
My name is Alex Bondarev…
and the name of my solo project is Conversing with Oceans. when I was 8 years old. My mom had played in bands when I was growing up and we always had a guitar around the house. My grandparents would always play piano and sing together. My earliest memories are of those performing for my family in our living room. Music has always been there from the start and when we moved to the States, it was very much an anchor. Growing up I’d played music, and still do, with my best friends in A Moment’s Worth. They touch upon this in an interview I’d done recently on News 12.
“Deeper” featuring John Forté is our latest single.
“Deeper” is a song about a deep,
underlying love that I believe runs through all things—a universal love. I think of this kind of love as what drives us and makes us get out of bed every morning. And even when things are difficult or seem bleak, this love keeps us going. The song talks about those parallels in nature and in society, and how we may not see it, but it still runs through all things.
I’d written this song one night not consciously thinking about all of this.
It kind of flowed out of me, like water almost. And I’d sent it to John because it was unfinished and I thought his voice, and what he’s about as an artist, would fit perfectly with it. I’d been listening to his music for a long time and just had a sense that it would work. Thankfully, he liked the track and contributed his part almost immediately. His verse, the lyrics, the timing, and the relevance of it—blew me away. He took it to a whole other place and I’m truly grateful to him for that.
The whole hope with my music is that it unifies people from all walks of life.
I believe music is one of the only things in this world that can really do that. It did that for me on a very literal level with “Deeper” – I was a fan of John’s work from when I was young. To now be able to collaborate
with him as fellow artists was incredible. The places I’ve lived and traveled to remind me that people, just about anywhere, have more in common than they do differences. We all have the same dreams and desires for happiness, for love, for unity and hope. My partner Elfenworks is really big on this. The ripples from our actions go a long way.
John has this great line in his verse where he says, “there’s no other.” And I believe this is true. My hope is that the music we make helps whoever hears it know the truth to that statement on a deep level.
I live in The Bronx currently.
But as a child I’d spent time living in Russia and India as well. We have some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and befriending. I come from the Bronx Underground, a true DIY Bronx-born music scene that united and inspired so many of us here to be musicians, to be artists. Today, it continues at local places like Alfie’s, Jimmy Ryan’s, and whichever artist or local business decides to organize a show in
their backyard—it’s very organic. Local networks like BronxNet also do a great deal to support the local arts.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.conversingwithoceans.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/conversingwithoceans/conversing-with-oceans-deeper
Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/4i9gHCBuwPF6RimVKX0Uba
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/deeper-feat.-john-forte-single/id1146552252
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversingwithoceans
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cwomusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversingwithoceans/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjsoYA_7c-A2-F8fGp1-c3A