Diandra Interview Simon Grossman: Love Makes Your Music Grow

Simon Grossman is one of the most charming people you will ever meet because he is also one of the sweetest. He has a childlike glee when approaching music; as if he is still that little kid learning and singing  by the piano as his mom watches him super impressed. He always knew he loved music with a sincerity, most of us, would save for a person. Yet, now that he has found his “person,” music is only flowing more through him, and his latest album, Mujer Electrica, is proof! Thus, in our interview, he discusses how much love has made him grow.

Diandra: How do you feel you have grown from your debut, Ciclo, compared to Mujer Electrica?

Simon: When I recorded Ciclo it was a surprise I was doing it. I had a bunch of songs that I had posted on soundcloud, but the people listening to me were mostly friends. With this one, I wanted to be more professional. I recorded my debut from 18 to 21, and I didn’t realize, “Oh this is happening!” It just happened. With Mujer Electrica, I wanted something that represented me now.

Their both love albums and are about relationships, but Ciclo was more about the cliches of love. It was about the stubbornness and the naivety. Yet, this one is about being in a relationship and how serious and comfortable it makes you. I am with someone that I have been with for a year and a half, and it is so much maturer.

Diandra: How would you define Mujer Electrica?

Simon: Most people, correctly, think it is about a specific woman, and it is about my current girlfriend. Yet, Mujer Electrica can be anyone. It can be your mom, your aunt, your sister, your cousin. Anyone! They lighten and bring love to your life. It is about their energy, and I, guess, I meant it more in a philosophical sense. Hombre Electrico would mean the same thing. It would be a man that brings life and support and protection to all that a Mujer Electrica gives to them, and then reflects it upon the world. This album is reflecting the love I am, currently, receiving.

Diandra: How do you think music has taught you to give love back?

Simon: I don’t think it has. I think I am just a vessel. I don’t want to romanticize that I do not know what I am doing; “It just comes!” Yet, I really do. I just let it happen, and write songs about what I ma learning or experiencing. It is great to put into song what you do and what you are going through because that is how realize how common what you are feeling is, and you get people saying how they relate to you. I think that is the beauty of music; it makes people identify with someone they do not have near.

Diandra: If your process is so fluid, then how would you compare Ciclo and Mujer Electrica?

Simon: I think I got more serious so the filter became stronger. My thought process was filled with more, better information, and I felt like was storing and decoding life differently. So that is why I think it is not a conscious decision; it is just because I have become maturer. I think in the beginning of my career, I was so anxious about being liked and making EVERYONE enjoy my music. One negative comment, and I would try my best to make them like me. In this album I realized you cannot please everyone. Some like Mujer Electrica more than Ciclo, and I had realized you cannot make a sequel of your first record. It is like when a director knows he makes a good film, he does not make a sequel. He makes another, different one.

Diandra: Well, your career started singing at a summer camp. So that is why I am so curious about how you see your growth.

Simon: That is a good question! I was the guy who played guitar at bonfires. I would play “I’m Yours” or some common hits, and, in between, I would slip in one of my own to see if anyone noticed. (He laughs) That is how it started. I have the same attitude towards music as back then. I am still proud of the music I do. I think I am the same kid in terms of how much I love music, but the music is different because I have grown.

Diandra: You have said you are from multiple cultures. You are from Venezuela, you have spent so much time in the U.S. How have both influenced you?

Simon: I come from Caracas, which is a very small, social circle. If you are not going to certain parties or soccer games or if you are an artist then you are considered weird. Then, I heard this band that came from the same circle as me, and I said, “Hey, you can make music, and still be cool.” The Caracas music scene gave me a “If they can, why can’t I?” When I moved to the U.S., I was 15 and 6 months beforeI had started a band. So with my friends and the people I met, that is when I really started writing songs and doing the whole thing. I took what I learned in Venezuela, but I really absorbed things from what I started to listen to here. The music I make is a mixture of both worlds colliding.

Diandra: In Latin culture, family is everything. How would you say your family influenced you as a creative?

Simon: My mom! She has always been very artistic, and dealt with artists, especially up and coming artists. She is an interior designer, and she supports up and coming artists in Caracas and Miami, and putting their art in people’s homes. And I would see how she interacted with them with such kindness, and it was so nice. Every time, I come over she is telling all her friends, “He is the one that sings!” Every time I post something she reposts it, and she is on mom-duty. She is so proud.

I think it gets real when the people who know you start to genuinely appreciate your work, and it is not because they know you. They genuinely like it, and they have people saying, “Oh, have you heard this artist?” and they are like, “Yeah, he is my family,” or “Yeah, he is my friend.” It all becomes serious to them, and they see it is work.

WHAT A GREAT HUMAN BEING! On November 15, he is playing DROM NYC and you BETTER be there to enjoy the rich, simplicity of his acoustic set. Moreover, concerts are always better when you know the artist is good in talent and personality. For More Information On Simon Grossman Click Here.