The man with the golden touch

Mr Midas

UMA Best Newcomer and Choice FM’s most downloaded artist, Mr Midas, is bringing dancehall to the masses this summer with his energetic new single, ‘Midas’. The chirpy South Londoner has been doing his thing on the underground scene for some years now but it was T4’s hit show, Musicool that catapulted him into the limelight. Since then, Mr Midas has landed a huge TV presenting deal and has plans to take the Midas brand global. In a café in Carnaby Street, London, Mr Midas tells Xcel’s Emily Crane the Midas story so far and explains why everything he does seems to turn to gold.

Why are you called Mr Midas?

The Mr. Midas persona is about doing everything I wanted to do, being everything I wanted to be. I was a really shy, reserved child and having that name gave me a way to kind of escape.

You started out as a sound engineer. When did you realise you belonged on the stage rather than behind it?

As a sound engineer I learnt the craft and loved being behind the buttons making beats. At that time I’d give my beats to people and hardly any artists would give me good feedback. It got to the point where I thought, you know what, I’m going to start writing myself. So that’s what I did. I gave out my songs and people were asking who’s that artist? I was like, forget the artist, listen to the beat. No one liked my beats but they liked me as an artist.

Does your technical background help you as an artist?

Definitely. When I’m working in sessions with people, I know what I’m supposed to sound like. I’m very hands on to make sure the Mr Midas sound sounds the same. A lot of people think I’m a rapper but I’m actually a dancehall artist. A rapper has quite a monotone voice whereas I have ranges on my vocal.

What genre of music do you belong to?

People put too much pressure on what your genre of music is. Some say if you do any other type of music you’re not keeping it real. Well, that’s rubbish because every genre of music steals from something. As long as I keep true to who Mr Midas is, I can do any kind of music I want. I was at a rock gig where I was booked in at the 12th song and by the 4th song, everyone was chanting my name so I was brought on. For me that’s crazy because they don’t come from my world and I don’t come from theirs but they understand my energy and that I love what I do. I’ve never created music for a black background, or for a UK background, I’ve created music for any audience that wanna take me. I try to make music to entertain, that’s what I’m about. In that moment you’re in my world and enjoying it. I don’t make music for someone to say he’s the hardest guy. To be honest with you, that means nothing to me. My music is for everyone and that’s really important to me.

How did it feel to pick up the Urban Music Award’s Best Newcomer gong in 2007?

The funniest thing is that I’d been to the UMA’s before but had to always sneak in. One year I pretended to be a presenter, another year I was press. So when I actually won, you know, I’m very rarely speechless but I was blown away! I never expected that at all. It was great because the public chose me from all these acts that were hugely popular at the time. When I received the award I thought wow, I’m actually alright at this, there’s a reason why I do this because sometimes you do doubt yourself, even me.

Does it mean more to you that the public voted for you?

So much more. It’s nice winning anything, but when it’s people actually taking their time to call up, log on, email, no one has to do that. People went out of their way to do that for me; you can’t get a bigger appreciation than that.

What have you been up to recently?

My second single, ‘Midas’, has just come out which I released through my own label, Goldtouch Records. The single features a singer called David B who’s a wicked vocalist. The song has got an upbeat atmosphere and it’s a global introduction to who I am. The tune is produced by JD Aka Dready, he’s produced for people like Busta Rhymes, Estelle, Fun*dmental, so he’s doing huge things.

Tell me about this presenting deal, are we going to see Mr Midas the TV show?

I’ve just signed a huge TV presenting deal with an agency called Insanity Talent Management. I’m such a chatterbox, put a mic in front of my face and I’ll talk all day. Presenting is a world away from what I do musically but I love it. I’m actually writing my own TV show called Inner-city Lifestyles, which is basically a magazine lifestyle show. We’re shooting half of it in the UK and half in America.

Is that an exclusive?

Yeah! I’m not going tell you too much more about it but it’s going be huge. The TV show is going to help show Mr Midas as a brand. That’s the road that I’m going down, Mr Midas as a brand, not just a guy in front of a mic.

I’m also starting up a production company called Goldtouch TV. For now its all Internet-based shows so things like behind-the-scenes of music videos, interviews with artists, interviews with myself etc. I’m blogging it on all the Internet sites, Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, so keep an eye out for that one.

What did you take from your experience on Musicool?

It changed my life. I think one thing that people could tell from Musicool was that I was very good at what I did, but that’s because of years of work. People on the underground urban scene already knew who I was, but the public didn’t and that’s what I’ve always found hard in my career. Being on T4, well, you can’t get much better than that. It’s funny because young mums, rock people, indie people, guys in prison, all sorts of people watched it.

What? Guys in prison?

Do you know how many times people stopped me and said they used to watch me in jail? It’s crazy. T4 spans all kinds of genres and I think I was something fresh for people. The public were like who’s this guy? He just loves himself, who is he?

You’re involved in a number of educational causes. What’s your motivation for this?

I’m not a millionaire but I’m doing ok so being involved in an educational cause allows me to be able to give back which is a great thing. I’d say I’m like a modem. Where someone talks in analogue and some people talk in digital, I can transfer information both ways and it’s an amazing thing to have the opportunity to do. I was in the House of Commons four months ago doing a talk with all different sectors and politicians for the National Literacy Trust. I talked to people in Parliament who have to dictate what happens in the education system for the whole year and then I’d go off to Brixton and relay the information to people one-on-one.

Is that important to you?

Very important. I do a lot of inspirational talks in schools. People will always try to hold you back or say you’re rubbish and you can’t get there but if it’s in your heart, you can do anything you want. I’ll never forget a parent’s evening at school where my geography teacher told my parents I’d never make something of myself. That moment has always stuck with me and since then, I’ve never allowed anyone to dictate to me what I can and what I can’t do. It’s the same for anyone else. My advice is if you’re willing to work hard, you can achieve anything, just stay focused and learn your craft. That’s very important. People see this music thing and don’t realise it’s a job and a very hard one. So learn your art form, learn the industry, learn the business and try to be different from everyone else.

You can download ‘Midas’ from iTunes, Napster, Amazon or any of the good online stores.

www.myspace.com/mrmidasakadd
www.twitter.com/mrmidasonline
Facebook: Mistar Midas

 

All photos courtesy of: Saira Awan Photography