Q&A: Linchpinmusic
Toronto native Linchpinmusic blends together traditional R&B, Afrobeats, and elements of acoustic on his debut project, Pink and Numb. Growing up in Nigeria, the rising star participated in open mics in Lagos and self-taught himself production programs. Soon after, the R&B singer-songwriter relocated to Toronto, which exposed him to a variety of different genres and cultures that would later shape his musical identity. On his debut, the R&B wordsmith explores themes of heartbreak and vulnerability while adding attributes of color to his music. “Pink” comes from the notion that we’re all pink on the inside (human) as well as associating the color with an overwhelming sense of tranquility and peace, while “Numb” comes from a place of pain inflicted from heartbreak. With the release of this project, Linchinpinmusic hopes to curb toxic masculinity and prove that men can be vulnerable and show emotion without taking away from their vigor. We had the opportunity to speak with Linchinpinmusic about discovering his sound along with the creative process behind his debut, Pink & Numb.
Do you mind introducing yourself?
My name is Linchpinmusic I’m a musician and an expressionist, I like to see the world through the eyes of an artist as I have observed over the years that I’m vulnerable when I write music, and that in itself is my purpose as a musician which is to take people through the different phases I go through as I journey through life. Also, I want to play my part in curbing toxic masculinity because showing your emotions does not take away your strength as a boy.
When did you start getting into music?
For as long as I remember to be honest, I’m the last born from a very musical and artistic family, we had instruments just lying around the house especially the guitar which I would pick up sometimes to play with. I remember growing up watching my elder siblings sing and play different instruments and also listening to some of my dads records even watching my mum design clothes and African beads e.t.c gave me an aesthetic eye by intensifying my imaginations and all these subconsciously set me up for my teenage years when I decided to take music up as a career around the ages between 15-18 when I started teaching myself music production and attending different open mics I just knew being a musician was my path.
What was the creative process like behind your debut project Pink and Numb?
I would like to say firstly it was me accepting the fact that I had all this built up pain in my heart accumulated from over the years then accepting the fact that I’m human. Normally I would want to do everything by myself but this time I just wanted to just be the musician. So I reached out to my friends whose works show a similar sense of expression and aligned with my phase for example the designer of the EP cover ‘Bolu Sowoolu’ I went through her works and there was a continuous flow of how she expressed herself that I related with. In Pink and Numb I wanted it to sound as raw as my emotions so I mixed it without so much processing and as a matter of fact, I added Vinyl crackles purposely to songs like ‘Numb’ featuring Sofinari and ‘Erase You’ even the intro where I had a poet called Beryl that also shares a similar vision set the pace for the EP with their spoken word. Most of it was recorded just when the quarantine started so it was me producing from my studio and sending files to my collaborators to either add a violin, Bass, a melody, chord progression e.t.c and just communicating mostly on ‘Zoom’ except in cases where it was inevitable to not be in the same studio like the FALL BACK {acoustic session} where ‘Ajhani Azure’ another great musician too came over to actually play the Bass and guitar chords we just had to be in the same studio that time for that vibe. But for the most part, I just took the EP as my therapy so it was a lot of meditation too while I was writing these songs trying to get in touch with my feelings in the process.
With Pink and Numb being your debut project. Was it difficult to find and hone in on your signature sound?
I have always been drawn to chill and relaxing music because it was often how I calmed myself down when things moved too fast in my head. So I wasn’t really far from the sound I portrayed in Pink and Numb before now, I was just able to channel what was already there into creating a body of work. So even if I’m on a rave song I always find a way to tame the beat with my delivery to match my pace.
How did you go about choosing Linchpinmusic as your artist moniker? Is it difficult to detach yourself from the persona?
This one is kind of a funny story, so as a kid I used to call myself ‘Young T’ which was basically ‘Young Tony’ for some reason in my early teen years I lost touch with the name because I knew it was generic and would not stand the test of time for me. One day I’m watching CNN with my family and the reporter that day somehow mentioned “Linchpin” and it stuck so I went to look the name up and the meanings I came across blew my mind as it resonated with both how I saw myself and my zodiac sign I’m Libra. It means literally ‘A pin passed through the end of an axle to keep a wheel in position’ and metaphorically ‘A person or thing vital to an enterprise, organization or industry’. There was something these two meanings had in common which had to do with balance and stability and as a Libra that sums up my personality! So I like to see myself as a musical Linchpin hence the name ‘Linchpinmusic’ so it would be hard to distinguish myself from the name when it describes my persona so well.
Which song from Pink & Numb resonates with you the most?
That would have to be “Numb.”
Who are you currently listening to?
There is a long line up of artists that inspire me but my top 6 in no particular order are Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator, Kid Cudi, Pharrell Williams, Burna Boy, and Giveon.