An Interview With Singer-Songwriter BISOLA On Her Brand New Single “Million Miles” and Much More!

Singer/Songwriter Bisola recently released her newest single,  “Million Miles.”

Bisola is known for her life affirming songs and soulful voice. She has been honing her songwriting skills since she was 13 years old.

In 2012 she officially released original material with her first single “Need A Little Love.” A year later in April 2013, her debut EP “Holding on to the Light” was released – a collection of heartfelt, uplifting original songs with a refreshing Soul/R&B twist. Bisola has had the opportunity to perform at esteemed venues around London such as Hackney Empire, The Bedford and Smith’s of Spitalfields.

After the success of her debut EP, Bisola went back to the studio to record “The Impossible.” The song was released in autumn 2014 and reached #5 in the Indie Charts (Soul Genre), receiving positive reviews from fans and media around the UK. Achieving runner up position for songwriting in the 2014 ‘Song of the Year competition’ and recognition as a Semi-Finalist in the 2014 UK songwriting contest has inspired Bisola to continue writing and recording catchy yet thought provoking music.

Bisola is now back with “Million Miles” a catchy single produced by David Ezra which is taken from her upcoming EP out in March “Lessons My Mama Taught Me.” Bisola explains “Million Miles is an upbeat and refreshing love song, The track puts a spin on that special moment when a couple in love profess their undying love and promise to go that extra mile for each other no matter what.” The music video is now available on Youtube and you can stream and buy the single on all digital platforms.

Watch the music video on Youtube: https://youtu.be/NUOxM_GPV2o

Check out ‘Million Miles’ on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/million-miles-single/id1193391172

Learn more about Bisola in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! What are some words you would use to describe 2016 for you and your music?

Personal and hopeful. I think historically a lot of my songs have been about inspiring and motivating people but this time round I really opened up and shared some of the personal challenges I was going through

What were some of the highlights?

I was really pleased with the progression in my songwriting as well as the fact I was able to build up enough confidence to start playing the acoustic guitar myself at a couple of my gigs. It’s great when you can have that level of flexibility when performing.

What are you most excited about for 2017?

Releasing my music video for Million Miles! I’m really pleased to finally get it out there and the feedback has been awesome

Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions?

🙂 I stopped doing resolutions ages ago as I usually lose interest or the motivation to see it through after a few months. Nowadays I just pray and keep an open mind about what I need to do as well as try not to be too hard on myself if I mess up.

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory? Could you see yourself doing anything else today?

I dreamed about being a singer when I was a kid but I come from an African background where people in the arts are seen as un-serious and time wasters. As far as your parents were concerned you either studied to become a Doctor, Lawyer, Accountant etc so yeah at the back of my mind even though I loved music I always kinda felt it would just stay a dream. Funny thing is now that I am pursuing my music I still have a regular 9 – 5 office job so I guess my family can’t complain too much about that! (Laughter)

In your career, you’ve been recognized for your songwriting abilities so I would love to know how exactly you go about writing a song? How does a song go from just an idea in your head to something with lyrics and music behind it?

To be honest it’s all really a bit random with me. I could be in the kitchen doing the dishes and an idea pops in my head or the bathroom having a bath. I’ve even woken up in the middle of the night with a fully formed melody going round and round in my head from nowhere. The tricky part is taking the idea and working it into a complete song. That requires time and space and cos I’m always so busy doing ‘other stuff’ it may take months – (assuming I do go back to it) before I go back and try to get the verses, lyrics and overall arrangement done

Let’s talk about your recently released song, “Million Miles.” What was the inspiration for this single? How is it different or similar to anything else you’ve put out into the world?

Million Miles is really different cos it’s an out and out love song between a boy and a girl /man and woman and it’s the first time I’ve ever released something like it as I’m more into writing about life issues, struggles people go through and stuff like that. Also it’s got a real mainstream pop production which again is a bit of a departure for me as I’ve tended to do more of a Soul sound in the past

What was it like filming the music video for “Million Miles”? How creatively involved were you with the making of it?

It was COLD!!! It took suffering for my art to a whole new level. (Laughter) That said, I absolutely loved the results so it was definitely worth enduring the freezing temperatures while we were filming. I worked with a great video production company out in Manchester called Video Inc and they were really enthusiastic and full of energy and ideas. We kinda came up with the concept of the video collaboratively and I traveled up to Manchester during a bitterly cold October to do the filming. Like I said I’m happy with the results but next time I think I’ll opt to do future videos indoors or over summer time!

In March, you will release your next EP, “Lessons My Mama Taught Me.” What can fans expect from this collection? How will the rest of the EP sound like compared to “Millions Miles”?

I’m really pleased with the body of work on this EP. It’s an album I’m dedicating to the memory of my Mum who sadly passed away last year. The title of the album really tries to encapsulate a reflection over what I’ve learned from while she was still here and now she’s gone. Hopefully this in some ways honors her memory

When do you hope to release your next full-length album?

Gosh that’s a great question! Hopefully next year but we’ll have to see how things go. Working full time like I do can sometimes make it really challenging to find the time and space to do the music you know

Who are some of your favorite musicians? What musicians would you love to work with in the future?

Emeli Sande, Adele, Alicia Keys are great ‘cos they write their own songs and have awesome voices and yeah I’d love to work with them in the future for sure. I’m also loving JP Cooper right now. He’s soooo cool.

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people take away from your songs?

I really hope people can be moved through my music to go and be the best they can be, do the best they can do and most of all that it inspires them to have faith that there’s someone up there who loves them and has a purpose for everyone’s lives.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself or your music?

Yes please keep me in your prayers that I can keep doing this and get better at it, come out to my gigs, share and support my music even if it’s just with one person ‘cos you never know what it might mean to them – or me! And finally a big thank you to those who are already supporting and listening to my music. I really appreciate every single one of you.