Philip Seven is taking the music industry by storm with his hit single 'Beautiful Surprise' and after winning the Barbados Music Awards 2008 as the best rock/alternative artist it is looking like he has a promising musical career ahead of him.
TotallyBarbados.com caught up with Philip Seven to find out about the man behind the music.
Philip Scantlebury is thirty-one (February 2008) and grew up in the Eagle Hall area of St. Michael in Barbados. He attended Roebuck Secondary School and was raised by his mother Jeannette Scantlebury, along with his three brothers and only sister.
Philip recalls that his mother was always singing, but says in general his family are not that musical. He is grateful to his family for being supportive of his musical career and that they respect his space to explore all his options.
Philip's performance at the Barbados Music Awards 2008 was excellent and certainly had the ladies in the audience wooed by his good looks and beautiful voice. Sadly for all his female fans, Philip is in a relationship and is unfazed by all the female attention that he receives.
As a solo artist Philip performs as 'Philip Seven' as he has always believed that seven is his lucky number, and he turned out to be right when it came to winning the Barbados Music Awards 2008.
He is also lead singer in 'Masala', who were also nominated in the Barbados Music Awards 2008. 'Masala' performs at Lord Willoughby's Tavern on the west coast of Barbados on a Friday night, at The Ship Inn on Saturday nights and Jumbies on a Tuesday nights, both located in St. Lawrence Gap on the south coast of Barbados. The band covers soca, reggae, 60's Beatles tunes, 70's rock classics and of course some of Philip's original material.
In his spare time Philip likes to surf, play basketball, watch movies and most importantly rest. Philip believes that sleep is very important and says he sleeps as much as possible!
Philip started singing when he was nineteen and learned to play the guitar. He then joined local R&N acapella group 'Suave', where his full vocal range came to it's potential. He then joined a soul and blues band called 'Acoustic Blue', which was where he developed his passion for rock music.
The band then changed their name to 'Le Groove' and it was at this time that Philip began to record his own material. He then joined the Toni Norville Project, where he further developed his vocal range in R&B and Reggae.
He then teamed up with Kirk Brown and formed 'Strategy'; this allowed Philip to have regular performing slots across the island and still work on his song writing and original material. After a year Philip moved on to create 'Masala' as it is today.
He works with a team of writers from Sony/BMG to create his songs and in particular is grateful to Derek Brin, a Canadian music producer for his contribution on 'Beautiful Surprise'. The track was also recorded as a reggae remix by Clive Hunt at Harmony House in Jamaica.
R&B artist Brian McKnight and Stevie Wonder inspire Philip and as a fashion icon he likes the style of Lenny Kravitz. His music is influenced by current trends in the market such as pop and has tried to create a fusion of pop, rock and alternative.
Personally he is very grateful to his friend and local music producer Gary Serrao of Gee Whizz Studios for his help and support and his manager Sanita Bradshaw from Pyramid Entertainment.
Philip believes that growing up in Barbados has influenced his music and his mindset. He feels that some Barbadians are narrow minded because they live in such a small country, he however likes to think outside of the box and thinks this is conveyed through his musical style.
Philip has currently released 'Beautiful Surprise' throughout the Caribbean region and in Europe. His next single 'Nothing left to say' is about to be released along with his first EP.
With regard to winning at the Barbados Music Awards 2008, Philip is pleased that 'Philip Seven' as an act has now be launched to the public and was quite shocked to have actually won, as he was nominated in 2006 and again in 2007.
Philip is not yet signed to a label and is quite happy as he is; he really wants to go on tour with the band and likes the freedom of controlling what he records and where that is distributed.
Philip has scheduled some major performances for 2008, Heineken Barbados are really looking forward to working with Philip Seven and Masala at one of their events, which will include the Heineken Regatta in St. Maartin, the Heineken Music Festival, The Green Synergy Event and a Heineken Full Moon Party.
Philip is also looking forward to working with some of the UK's up and coming musicians who will fly over for the Barbados Music Festival in October 2008.
For the future Philip plans to always live in Barbados, he likes the way of live and that people are more laid back and don't get involved in your business, he believes it is very important to be able to lead your life the way you want to.
He also loves the sunshine and thinks that is why people in Barbados are happier than those who live in cold countries. He believes his fellow nationals are a caring race and just couldn't imagine living anywhere else however, he would like to travel and visit various countries, he hopes to go to Dubai, France, the Italian countryside, Peru and even Alaska!
Philip is a very motivated individual and his dream would be to play Wembley Stadium in the UK one day, and he hopes that by this time next year he will be on tour with the band.
For those visiting Barbados Philip would recommend that you go to the Black Bess area of St. Thomas and take in the view of the entire east coast, he says it is the most amazing view.
For further information on Philip Seven please log on to http://www.myspace.com/philipseven
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