We had the opportunity to talk with William Black about his exciting new album Pieces. It just dropped today, take a listen below:
RR: Hey Will! Can you tell us a little about where you drew inspiration from for this album?
WB: I wrote most of Pieces during lockdown. I was doing a lot more traveling during the writing of “Pages”. At that time I was surrounded by friends and touring a lot. For this one I think that quarantine influenced the themes a lot, it was weird a time for me as it was for everyone else. I’ve tried to be really open about my journey with mental health and I think Pieces is an honest look at that. So I guess the short answer is that my inspiration came from looking in, working with my friends, talking with a lot of other people, and the music so many other people were releasing during quarantine that gave me motivation to not stop either.
RR: How did you get your start in music? What continues to keep you motivated?
WB: I’ve been going to festivals since like 2010. The first one was life-changing for me. I didn’t know how to be one of the people playing on stage, but I knew it was the end goal from that moment on. When I was 18 I had to get my life back together after pretty much everything had fallen apart. My parents got me some help and part of what I did to keep busy during that time was to go to Icon in LA to learn production. I got thrown in with some insanely talented and motivated people: Jauz, Sullivan King, and Slander were all there the same time as me. My best friend, and writing partner, Jon was there at that time too. It was easy to get motivated back then because we were all trying so hard to get better at the craft to hopefully pursue our dreams. Staying motivated has been mostly the same for me – I’m still around incredible musicians and constantly ask for feedback. We learn from each other and I’m grateful for that. Playing shows and meeting fans is another thing, it really makes me want to keep making music because it means something to them too.
RR: You’ve been on fire lately playing lots of shows and festivals, how has it felt returning to live shows after the past year and a half?
WB: Like I said a minute ago, all I ever wanted to do was to be on stage playing for people. Quarantine was really hard because I had just finally gotten some momentum and then all of a sudden I’m stuck inside playing Call of Duty talking to people about “when will this finally end”. 2020 felt a lot like I was a merch company that happened to put out music occasionally. Luckily I got to do some of the Park and Raves and livestreams with Insomniac – super grateful to Pasquale for putting those on. At the time I didn’t realize it, but we needed those a lot. It wasn’t the same though. Seeing people dance and smile is the real deal and I’m happy beyond words to be doing that again.
RR: Who are some of your musical idols? What kind of music inspires you?
WB: In the early days I was listening to a lot of different styles but I think my biggest favorites were: Above & Beyond, Dash Berlin, Skrillex, Porter Robinson, and Nero. These days I love the music my friends are putting out: Illenium, Said the Sky, Dabin, etc. However, if you hang out with me you’re most likely to hear me playing Nothing Nowhere, Bring Me The Horizon, liquid Drum & Bass (that last Netsky album was SO good), and some stuff like The Kid Laroi.
RR: We can’t wait to see all of the positive feedback from Pieces! Do you have a favorite track off the album?
WB: I can’t wait either! It’s really hard to say what my favorite track is because it’s changing pretty constantly. Right now I really love “Only Reason” with RORY – it’s about that time I was talking about when I was 18 right before I got into music and put my life together. It was really dark and that song makes me feel all sorts of ways. “Don’t Look Down” too, that track has such a positive message and it makes me happy every time I hear it.
RR: If your music had a spirit animal, what would it be and why?
WB: My music does have a spirit animal! My golden retriever Ava is always with me and when things seem dark she’s helped me so much to smile again. I actually wrote a song called “Coming Home” on Pages that’s about her! You can see her on my Instagram stories pretty much every day haha.
My thanks to you guys at Raver Rafting for taking some time to get to know me, I really appreciate it! Also, if you’re a fan or supporter reading this, please know I can’t say how grateful I am to you for letting me do what I always dreamed of.
RR: And many thanks to you! It was a pleasure getting to know you better, we are so excited for you and all that is to come! Always more than happy to support.
Make sure to listen to “Pieces” and keep up with Will on socials below!
Connect with William Black:
https://www.facebook.com/itswilliamblack
https://twitter.com/itswilliamblack
https://soundcloud.com/williamblack
https://www.instagram.com/williamblack
https://open.spotify.com/williamblack
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