Everyone wants success, but Master Peace is out to do it on his own terms.
Words: Martyn Young.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to be a pop star or a rock star,” says Master Peace. Well, why not be both? That’s exactly what Peace is going to do as he plots his way to superstardom in 2021. Master Peace is an artist determined to do things his way. He can be a pop star one day and rock star the next. Whatever he is doing though is guaranteed to be exciting and formed in his own wonderfully singular image.
“I didn’t really want to be a musician as I didn’t really understand it like that,” says Peace of his early days making music in London in late-2017. “I didn’t understand how to really get through it. If I wanted to be a musician, then I want to do it my own way. I didn’t want to be like everybody else,” he adds confidently. “Especially being a Black musician and making the type of music that I make; I didn’t want to be the stereotype that everyone puts Black musicians in.” The impetus to forge his own path and subvert people’s expectations of him came from a desire to look within himself and his emotions to find a personal approach to making music. “I started writing stuff. I was going through a weird time in my life, and every time I would feel stressed, I would just write things down, and it would make me feel better,” he explains.
A musical pivot would provide the catalyst for the genre-fluid artist that Peace has grown into today. “I started off making grime,” he says. “I went to radio sets and was a grime MC when I first started. I never released music though as a grime MC. The reason why I started in grime was because I enjoyed it at the time and also all my friends liked it. It was something that we all did. I knew I didn’t want to be a grime MC though, I was just doing something that I didn’t really want to do so I was like, let me start being the person I want to be.”
“In school, I wasn’t the popular guy; I always wanted to get noticed in my own way”
— Master Peace
Master Peace knew he wanted his music to be honest and open and show a vulnerable side which you can hear is his dreamy indie-pop vignettes with a subtle edge. It was something that crept up on him almost by surprise. “I had broken up with an ex-girlfriend at the time and went to the studio on that day,” he starts as he tells a story of his musical awakening. “I was properly down about it. I started writing a song about the relationship. I sang it, and I kind of yelled it in a sense. It was like a chant. My producer at the time was like ‘Oh My God, I like how raw your voice is when you sing. It’s like you’re not actually trying to sing. It’s really rough and ready and down and dirty’. When I heard that it was like maybe this could actually work because not many people sound how I sound on that song.”
Indeed Master Peace’s distinctive voice immediately stands out. While his music is distinctive and idiosyncratic, the themes he wants to explore are based on universal connections. Master Peace has no interest in being a niche concern. He wants to connect on every possible level. “My whole objective was for people who are like me to relate to me,” he proclaims. “In school, I wasn’t the guy who had the latest clothes or the latest shoes. I wasn’t the popular guy. I always wanted to get noticed in my own way. When I started making music, I wanted to make music for people like that who are going through a hard time in a relationship or feel that nobody understands them. That’s why my music is so honest. I want Jack from Middlesbrough or Stacey from Brighton to understand.”
“The average person doesn’t have a car or the best trainers or all the glitz and glamour,” he continues. “I can admit that I don’t have the best things, but what I do have is truth and honesty. On my most recent ‘Love Bites’ EP people said I was so relatable and when they were in a relationship they felt the same way too, and they connected with the songs. That’s what I care about the most. Making people feel that they’re on the same level as me. I’m not any better than them.”
5 things you need to know about Master Peace
He really really loves ‘The Big Bang Theory’
It might be cool to say you don’t really like the Big Bang Theory. Nope. That’s it. But Master Peace likes it, so that’s nice isn’t it? (Yes, that is nice)
He likes fitness and working out
It’s good to stay active, isn’t it, Dear Reader? Yes, we know, we’re sat on our sofa riding out lockdown surrounded by Penguin wrappers too, but we’ll go for a run soon.
He’s not a party guy
Indeed, Mr Peace prefers staying in and making amazing pop bangers instead of drinking and smoking. What a wholesome fella he is. And really, who needs ‘booze’ when you have bops?
His new single ‘Overdrive’ is a banger
He made it in the style of one of his fave childhood bands. “This is my Busted song! It reminds me of Busted and McFly with Blink 182 and Sum 41. I’ve always loved that sort of music.”
He’s got a new EP on the way with maybe some plans for an album
He’s been working with George Reid aka George from AlunaGeorge. Isn’t that exciting? Love a bit of George.
Master Peace knew he wanted his music to be honest and open and show a vulnerable side which you can hear is his dreamy indie-pop vignettes with a subtle edge. It was something that crept up on him almost by surprise. “I had broken up with an ex-girlfriend at the time and went to the studio on that day,” he starts as he tells a story of his musical awakening. “I was properly down about it. I started writing a song about the relationship. I sang it, and I kind of yelled it in a sense. It was like a chant. My producer at the time was like ‘Oh My God, I like how raw your voice is when you sing. It’s like you’re not actually trying to sing. It’s really rough and ready and down and dirty’. When I heard that it was like maybe this could actually work because not many people sound how I sound on that song.”
Indeed Master Peace’s distinctive voice immediately stands out. While his music is distinctive and idiosyncratic, the themes he wants to explore are based on universal connections. Master Peace has no interest in being a niche concern. He wants to connect on every possible level. “My whole objective was for people who are like me to relate to me,” he proclaims. “In school, I wasn’t the guy who had the latest clothes or the latest shoes. I wasn’t the popular guy. I always wanted to get noticed in my own way. When I started making music, I wanted to make music for people like that who are going through a hard time in a relationship or feel that nobody understands them. That’s why my music is so honest. I want Jack from Middlesbrough or Stacey from Brighton to understand.”
“The average person doesn’t have a car or the best trainers or all the glitz and glamour,” he continues. “I can admit that I don’t have the best things, but what I do have is truth and honesty. On my most recent ‘Love Bites’ EP people said I was so relatable and when they were in a relationship they felt the same way too, and they connected with the songs. That’s what I care about the most. Making people feel that they’re on the same level as me. I’m not any better than them.”
You can hear his genre mashups in the way his songs act as little musical melting pots. “I was heavily influenced growing up by Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, but the music I liked making was indie music so I’d try and implement some of their influence in the backing vocals to enhance my music,” he says. “I get a lot of inspiration from hip-hop and indie rock music.”
It’s been a three-year musical journey for Master Peace as he experimented and slowly but surely found his way. “It took me quite a long time to get heard,” he says. “A lot of people knew about Master Peace, but they didn’t really KNOW.” Well, 2021 should be the year to change all that as Master Peace looks to spread his own brand of knowledge to the masses.
Taken from the March 2021 edition of Dork, out now.
