Ibby VK is a 24-year-old pop, folk, R&B, and acoustic singer/songwriter. The Dubai native originally was in school for chemical engineering but he soon realized his true passion, making music. His styles range from topics like your standard love ballad to self-acceptance, signature break-up songs, and death. Not only is he an incredible writer but he prides himself on his simplistic approach to live performances. When on stage you’ll find him with his guitar, his loop pedal, and not much else except his charisma and alluring stage presence. This year, Ibby VK has been hard at work in the studio perfecting his brand new EP “One Man Nation”. The EP features two previously released singles “Where We Belong”, which has accumulated over 250k streams on Spotify alone, and “Fire In Me” which was previously featured on BuzzMusic and is still one of our favorite uplifting anthems to this day!
Ibby VK is driven and ambitious and never shows signs of slowing down. His new EP “One Man Nation” includes three new original songs including “How To Mend A Broken Heart”. This song is a beautiful ballad from Ibby VK. It’s evident that he poured his heart and soul into this release. The emotive lyrics provide a step-by-step guide to pick yourself up after heartbreak and it’s uplifting and spectacular to the core. We always look forward to more from Ibby VK!
Who has had the biggest influence on your life musically thus far? Can you describe the impact this particular individual has had in terms of your song “How To Mend A Broken Heart”?
I believe that no one will ever have as big an influence on your music as yourself, followed by the producer(s) you work with, who for me are Rayan Bailouni in Dubai and Andy & Sean in Abu Dhabi. As for HTMABH in particular though, it was written years ago when I was a huge fan of The Script, but when I started to record it, I wanted to go in a more acoustic or stripped down the path for this particular song.
What are some of your ultimate goals as an artist? Are any of these goals currently being put into place/being worked on?
If we are talking long term goals then those would definitely include breaking the international records and becoming a top-selling / streaming artist globally. But in order to achieve your long term goals, you need to set short term goals and hit those first, which I have been doing consistently, and I am very thankful for that.
We absolutely love your latest release! What predominant message was integrated within "One Man Nation"? Can you tell us more about the concept of the EP as a whole?
Thank you so much, that is kind of you. well the name of the EP comes from the lyrics of one of the singles "Fire In Me" which is about to reach 100K streams on Spotify as of now, and it goes "I've got no inspiration, except these tears and One Man Nation, looking back at me, and I see, this Fire In Me" and that is what I wanted the EP to represent; an independent artist that has had no guidance or help whatsoever, but instead chose to do everything himself and invest in his own job before anyone else even cared. There is also a flip side to it, as I always perform solo at live shows no matter how big or small, no backing tracks, dancers, gimmicks, etc.. and I wouldn't have it any other way, even when I am being constantly told that it will never work or amount to anything.
You seem to be an artist that puts more thought into their lyrics than most. What can you tell us about the lyrical depth within your most recent singles?
Thank you for noticing. I do really care about lyrics more than anything, which might not be what the majority of people care for these days, but they are the most integral and key part of any song to me. The lyrics on the EP vary so much, from "Where We Belong" which is a conversation between a dying man and the Angel of Death, to "Fire In Me" which I talked about previously, and HTMABH which I wrote as a guide and a comforting message to anyone with a freshly broken heart, or scars of one, in order to get over those feelings that can be very dangerous if bottled up and not dealt with. Every song has to be a story, and it is my duty to try and make it a good one.
Thank you so much for talking with us about your new EP and creative process. Can you describe how your performances feel? Do you enjoy live shows, or do you prefer the actual songwriting process? Also, any live shows coming up in the near future?!
Yeah plenty, I have some big projects and shows I am currently working on as well as hopefully a tour around Europe if all goes well. But for now, most of my live shows will be taking place in the MENA region, mostly Dubai and Abu Dhabi, etc... I love the songwriting process as that is what I have always wanted to do for a living, but live shows are where all the fun is at for me. I always tell people that I know I am not the best singer, songwriter, guitarist, loop artist, or whatever other things you want to call me, but I will always be damn sure to give you a show you will never forget. I want whoever buys a ticket to one of my shows to always get their money's worth and then some. A fan is investing their time and money in an artist, the least that artist can do is to earn that respect and give it back.
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