In Conversation: Medley
We’re back with another In Conversation feature! Massively excited for this one as we’re speaking to Hamza Malik, who goes by Medley - an independent artist, musician and producer based in Greater Manchester. In the interview, Medley bravely opens up about the journey to becoming who he is right now, the life experiences that led him to find his passion and offers important advice for upcoming and emerging musicians and artists. Just recently, Medley released his latest single, ‘Same Old’. You can listen to that and more of his music here.
Hello! Introduce yourself, who are you? What do you do?
Hello there! My name is Hamza, I'm a British born Pakistani Muslim, I'm 25 & I'm from Rochdale which is just outside Manchester. I'm an actor & music artist, I go by the name Medley. Aside from a job at a retailer for almost 4 years, I've mostly worked as an extra on various projects (some corporate, some TV) with occasional speaking roles since the age of 16. I am currently represented by an agency called Blossom Artist Management. Their support & their faith in me as an actor is only going to lead to good things in the future! Funnily enough, my music career is very young. By August 2021, it'll be 2 years since I started releasing any music! It started on SoundCloud with no formal training or any idea of what to do, how to edit etc. It's safe to say I learned a LOT since then & I managed to navigate my way to independently release my music on streaming platforms soon after, all whilst learning to produce mix & master (Still an ongoing process though.)
If I was to describe what my genre of music is I'd say Rap, with a lot of influences. Some tracks are smooth & slow & melodic, others are a lyrical assult over a high bpm, some are boom bap influenced vibes, but all have one thing in common, a nice flow with a lot of meaning behind the words!
Tell us more about 'Medley', why did you pick it? Where did the name originate from?
Truth be told, my cousin actually suggested the name for me (Shout out to SAF) and the more I thought about it, the more it felt like the right choice. The reason he suggested it was because it was the name of the street our grandmother lived on. I was very close to her & spent a lot of my childhood there, & it was from those times spent there that I discovered my passions, mainly being acting & music. Many nights were spent watching movies at my grannies with my cousins & uncles & grandma, and my taste in music widened after my uncle would ask me to find songs on LimeWire & send them to him via Bluetooth (remember those days?) through this I discovered different genres, different sounds & it influenced a lot of who I am now, I didn't really realise until my cousin suggested the name 'Medley' to me. I also felt that the name 'Medley' was appropriate because of my variety as a creative, I love expression & all the different ways of conveying it, whether it be sonically through my music, or through acting, writing, anything!
When did you know this was your chosen creative path? Did you find yourself quicker than anticipated?
Music has been the backdrop of my life, since a kid whether it's been Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, The Isley Brothers, King Tubby, So Solid Crew, Biggie (and SO MANY MORE) I've been surrounded by so much variety of music in my family, everyone listens to something different! But as an artist? I honestly never had the confidence to express myself musically up until the age of 23, but at the same time, the arts have always been the most constant influence in my life in all of its forms. So, to understand how I got to being Medley, I'll have to go back about 13 years so bear with me, it'll connect!
Since high school I knew my goal was to end up with a job that I enjoyed, I felt this was so important to me even as a kid, I just didn't know what I enjoyed yet. My first actual step into anything creative was dancing believe it or not! Breakdancing specifically, I wouldn't say I was amazing at it but looking back on it, it really did help shape my confidence. For a lot of my teenage years, breakdancing was the sole hobby I had, it was one of the studies I took on at GCSE & A-Level. By the time I got into college I didn't have the same passion for it anymore, I was studying Drama & Media Studies in college along with Dance, the former two appealed to me much more for two reasons. One, I was looking for another way to express myself aside from B-boying, & media & drama were that ticket, whether it be the actors expressing emotion through the characters they play, or how the shot is framed to signify something, there is expression everywhere!
Shortly after my first year of college, one of my cousins had passed away, I was 16 at the time & very close to him, he was like my big brother & he passed away at the age of 32. Because of this, something switched in my mind & showed me how fragile and quick life is, it gave me a drive not to be complacent anymore & to really go for my dreams. So, because of this, I decided to find out the steps needed to get into acting, which resulted in me finding an agency that employed people as extras on shows, along with deciding to study Media Performance at Salford University. This course would give me the information I need in regards to acting for camera, editing, lighting, directing, producing, sound, presenting, camera operation. Whilst at the same time my work with my agency would give me practical experience of what it's like to be on set, some with low production value & some with high production value. I was enamoured with the prospect of becoming an actor, which I still am, but I felt like having an understanding of the whole process behind the camera would enrichen my performance & help me if I ever had to made my own videos.
After 3 brilliant years at Salford, I graduated with first class honours and then...!? Nothing. Nothing at all, I couldn't find any work in content creation, I would have occasional acting jobs, along with making some YouTube videos & I had my retail job by then, but I became very disenfranchised with that conveyer belt mentality that I'd find my job straight after graduation & live happily ever after. This is when music started to appeal to me, a good friend of mine just started freestyling one day & kept telling me to try, which I couldn't at all, I used to write poems through my teenage years so I was no stranger to writing a rhyme but I literally had no ability to catch a rhythm properly let alone think of words off the top of my head. I was 21 then, but I was hooked, after that day I never stopped writing! Slowly but surely, I learned how to freestyle, along with learning how to write rhymes in a song format from random beats I found on YouTube. Aside from a handful of friends knowing I liked to rap, I didn't really go around calling myself a rapper, I had no confidence in myself in that respect & honestly, I spent 2 years writing & understanding my voice as an artist. Aside from one song I released in 2017 under the name 'Ardeshir' (after which I swiftly deleted) I held myself back from pursuing music by making excuses for myself.
In July 2018, my grandmother passed away. It changed our lives & traumatised me, I was with her when she took her last breaths, like when my cousin passed away it rocked the foundations of who I am, but it also motivated me to be relentless with my dreams yet again, and gave me the push to just say f*ck it and do what makes me happy. A short while after I officially released my first song 'Devil' on Soundcloud. That’s when I knew music was 100% part of the same path acting is for my journey. I had a lot to learn when I released my first song. But I knew the joy I got from it was amazing, so for a while I was finding instrumentals on YouTube, rapping over them & putting it on SoundCloud. After finding out how to distribute my music on Spotify & Apple music, I knew I had to either make my own beats, or collaborate with a producer, I had to step the levels up rather than hoping to find an instrumental I like on YouTube! And like with acting, I wanted to know the other side of music, not just rhyming as a rapper, I wanted to know how to make my own beats & edit etc, so I learned! And yeah, I just stayed consistent with it, tried networking as much as I can & became a sponge for information (& hopefully, you'll be able to hear the improvements with every release!) 12 releases later, here we are! I know it was a bit of a long answer but I hope that all connected!
Your latest tune, 'Same Old' was just released, tell us more about it!
'Same Old' is a personal track although I'm sure everyone can relate to it. It's about my fear of my life not changing, for things remaining the same. The same old routine, the same weather, the same life. I don't think there is anything wrong with being comfortable in your routine, but for me personally I know there is a massive world beyond my current proximity & I just want to explore it, I don't want to be who I was a year ago, I want to learn, grow & thrive.
It's about keeping the faith in your dreams, despite your surroundings & not looking back in 30 years' time & just regretting all the time you didn't take advantage of. For me it's a reminder to keep growing. I'd like to think for my audience it's a song that motivates them & makes them feel less alone, that they are not the only one who wants to leave their town & pursue their dreams & explore the world beyond their own.
What inspired you to create 'Same Old'? Do you find that your influences fluctuate, or is always similar for all of your music?
Same Old started off as me wanting to make a song I could talk on rather than rap fast like I had been doing on most of my previous songs, so much so that the name of the project on Logic was literally 'A Beat I can talk on'
I never made the beat with the intention of it being my latest release, I just wanted to see what I could do at a lower BPM then I'm used to using. And probably an hour later the beat was made though it wasn't the finished product at all, but it was structured enough for me to be able to write to it. When it comes to writing a song, for me the instrumental is key, I visualise what the music makes me see & how it makes me feel, and this particular beat for 'Same Old' made me feel a lot. I just had the image of walking endlessly on a cold day, it made me feel like I was on a journey to something new.
Aside from how the instrumentals make me feel my influences literally could come from anything at all, a comment someone said, an experience I've had, my point of view on something or someone, even a word, many things, I think for the most part my releases have reflected different parts of life that influences every human being. Relationships, fears, dreams... Basically, anything that resonates within people influences me, expressed through a beat or a rap. But I think my influences will very much chop & change as time goes on, after all my name is Medley!
What advice would you give to any budding musicians and artists, who might be reading this? What would you have wanted to know when you started your career?
For any budding musicians/artist, the first thing I would say is BE YOURSELF. We are all unique individuals with our own voices, don't worry about how others sound, what they do or what they speak on, you have lived different lives, you aren't the same & that's a good thing!
The second bit of advice I'd give is to know your purpose, why do you want to release music? What do you want out of it? When you have this question answered it will help guide you, it's kind of like a goal. For me, whether it's acting or music, my main aim is to have my audience forget about any BS they have experienced even if it's for a few minutes, the same way all my troubles would disappear when I'd be watching movies/listening to music at my grandma's.
The last three bits of advice are probably the most important, firstly... FOCUS ON YOURSELF. Social media really can have you comparing all of your movements to someone else when in reality it's not fair on you, we only post our highlights online, not our bad days, and we all have bad days. Secondly, move at a pace you are comfortable with. You might spend months on one song to get it right, which is fine! But the longer you leave it the less confident you are with it (at least for me) find the right balance in timing that works for you.
Lastly is a bit of contradicting advice, network with people, get to know other artists you resonate with. Obviously, some may not see your messages and not reply, but I'm talking more independent artists, there is something to learn from everyone & if you're lucky you could end up collaborating with someone you work very well with sonically. However (here's where the contradiction comes in) do not depend on anyone. Unless you have an actual functioning team to help you, my advice would be to not leave something important to you in the hands of someone who has other priorities. Again, it comes to finding that balance... I've come across a lot of people who blow smoke up your backside, get you excited to collaborate & then you hear nothing from them for months. Some people operate weird, if you want to be respected, operate with integrity, honesty & punctuality.
& When I started my career, I wish I knew how powerful YouTube/Google really was. (Although I found out later) you can learn almost anything over the internet! Because of it I can now produce myself, release my songs independently, do my own PR. I wish I understood the tools at my disposal before I started rather than learning along the way!
Also, to any UK based artists who are reading this, starting out or otherwise, if your music is on streaming platforms, I have a spotify playlist called 'Big Vibes Little Island' Which features Independent UK artists, there is NO payment & there's no rules on genre. It's a playlist by an artist for the artists. I was sick of people asking me to pay for playlist placement! (It's a no no according to my distributor.) You can find the playlist on Spotify & you can get in touch to feature your song by Instagram or twitter via the handle @bigvibeslittleisland. Anyone who listens to that playlist, shares it or follows it, you are helping each and every artist by getting there sound out to more people. It's a beautiful thing to know people appreciate your expression!
What's next for you?
I'd love to know the answer to that too. Acting wise? Just working towards having a successful audition, I guess! And musically, what I do know for certain is there are new singles on the way very soon, along with a couple of music videos being recorded soon. What I'd love to do this year is my first live performance on stage as a rapper & to collaborate & release music with all sorts of artists. So, for anyone reading this (especially in Manchester / Greater Manchester) Drop me a message! Let's connect & work together!
If you'd like to contact me or check out my work just head over to the link below & you'll find what you're looking for! Thank you & stay blessed!
Make sure you check out Medley’s work here: https://linktr.ee/MedleyH & @hamzamedley
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Image credits: Hamza Malik (Medley)