PIERRE DA SILVA
Hailing from London, Singer/Songwriter Pierre Da Silva has a penchant for writing infectious tunes and relatable narratives. Inspired by acclaimed Artists like Donny Hathaway and Lauryn Hill to more contemporary artists such as Lianne La Havas, and Adele, his creative journey began at the age of 18 where he started writing music. Being an avid storyteller, Pierre is greatly influenced by real life experiences and hardships, allowing him to invoke strong emotions in his fans. With his unique vocal ability he carries a quality that is smooth yet raspy and ‘maturity far beyond his years’.
Having written music featured on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 1xtra, the rising artist has also worked with and gained the support of a multitude of industry heavy weights such as Little Simz, Rukhsana Merrisse, Che Lingo & Kaleem Taylor, Becky Hill, Jacob Banks, KISS/MTV presenter Tinea Taylor, and internet sensation Jay Shetty. With big dreams and plenty of energy to spare, Pierre seeks to positively influence society with his music, and is well on his way to becoming one of the most phenomenal artists in our generation.
We sat down with Pierre to talk about his journey in the music industry and how it all started.
Listen to 'Say You Do' below
At what point did you know you wanted to be a musician?
That’s an interesting question. I think I knew from a young age but I talked myself out of it because I was quite shy. I didn’t really see it as something I could do as a child, I’ve always wanted to sing but was to scared to start, it wasn’t until I was seventeen that I really got into it and knew I actually wanted to do it.
How would you describe your sound?
I’ve always found that a difficult question to answer and ask other people to describe it for me by what they hear but I think now I feel like I’m more comfortable in what I do. I would say it’s a blend of soul and pop music specifically Brit soul inspired by people like Adele, Maverick Sabre, I also love Celeste that’s definitely a path I want to follow.
Who would you say is your biggest inspiration?
My biggest inspirations are Lauryn Hill, I loved her MTV unplug album because of how raw it was, it was all about the lyrics and the stories she had to tell and that really inspired me in terms of telling stories and learning how to write songs. Maverick Sabre his debut album also really inspired my writing. There’s a heap of black soul R&B singers that have inspired me so much vocally from Donny Hathaway to Jazmine Sullivan and Amy Winehouse. I absolutely loved how she made you feel like you knew her and that’s something I want people to feel about my music
Tell us about your first live performance, what was it like?
I started singing in the church at the age of fifteen, but my first proper performance was just before I started university. It was during the time of the London riots; I was living in Birmingham at the time and decided to put on a showcase in the local area to show the positive things young people were doing. I wasn’t planning on performing however a friend came across a video of me singing on my sister’s phone. He persuaded me to perform at the showcase while he played the guitar for me and we literally put something together the same day. That was my first performance, it was so exciting, and I remember leaving the stage thinking I want to do this again and again.
Where did you get the inspiration when writing your latest single?
‘Say you do’ literally wrote itself. I was in the studio with one of my producers, it was his bedroom studio, and I had no idea what I was going to write about. He put on this loop and stepped out the room to do something, by the time he returned I had already written half of the song, the first verse the pre chorus and the chorus. It’s weird, I didn’t realise what I was writing about until I started writing it and I just kind of ran with it. Sometimes I write songs not really realising what I’m writing about and sometimes I relive things that I’ve already written about.
If you weren’t pursuing music, what would you be doing?
I would probably be working in the medical field, I went to university to study pharmacy and that was around the same time I really fell into my love for music, started writing songs and really threw myself into the London music scene. That influence made me realise I like music more than I loved pharmacy and that’s when I decided to leave the course.
where do you see yourself in the next year?
I would love to see myself with an EP out, hopefully working on my debut album. Right now, I’ve been working on a lot of music recently, meeting a lot of producers, talking to several managers. At the moment it’s all about building a team around me and finding the right tracks and getting the right music.
Name three things you like doing apart from music?
Reading, it’s something I don’t do enough of but I’m trying to get back into it. I really like art but I’ve not done it for a long time, that was my first passion, I studied art up to A-level but I think music has taken over everything so if I’m not working it’s mostly music.
Name three collabs you would love to do?
I would love to do something with Jorja Smith, I absolutely love her music, her voice she has a very distinct voice and I really like the way she writes her songs. Celeste and Beyonce. I would love to write a ballad and sing it with her, that’s something that would be very unexpected and pretty cool.
What else are you looking forward to?
We have something coming out soon which I’m really looking forward to. I’m focused on the music at the moment and just collating a bunch of music and writing with new people as well as my current collaborators.