Residing in Powell River, British Columbia, Tyler Bartfai is a singer/songwriter who is driven heavily by cascading vocals and rhythmic guitar. Tyler plays with a wide variety of genres and pulls inspiration from his various influences such as JJ Cale, Jason Mraz, Eric Clapton, and John Mayer. No stranger to success, Tyler Bartfai has been out touring since 2017. He enjoys forming strong and authentic connections with his fans through his emotional lyrics and is always eager to play for an attentive audience.
Tyler Bartfai just released his debut EP “Can You Tell” and the emotionally driven new project was the result of working alongside 3 times Juno Award-winning producer John Webster. Tyler has gained nothing but success since the release of this EP. The subject matter of the 5-song release is accessible for listeners from all walks of life. With themes of love, emotional turmoil, and loss, Tyler remains an admirable and relatable artist. Not only is songwriting a Tyler Bartfai’s strong suit, but the musicianship through each track on the “Can You Tell” EP blissful navigates the story-line and journey for the listener. With the addition of renowned session drummer Randall Stall, tasteful electric guitar by jazz schooled musician Tristan Paxton, and in the pocket bass by Austin Parise, the “Can You Tell” EP with shy rocket Tyler Bartfai’s musical career to new heights! Along with the EP, Tyler released a Patricia Theatre Highlights video for the last song “Is This My Home”. Stay tuned for more from this up and coming artist! Listen to “Can You Tell” by Tyler Bartfai here and read more in our interview below!
Welcome back to BuzzMusic Tyler Bartfai’! It’s such a pleasure to be chatting with you again. "She’s The One" is the perfect track to introduce new listeners to your sound in 2019. What made you choose this particular track to start off the EP?
Hey again, thanks for taking the time to chat with me again! “She’s the one” was one of the strongest tunes I had written going into the recording process, and it developed very nicely as we moved along. It was a song myself and my producer felt would be well received, and a good way to start the EP out with a bang.
The EP as a whole is extremely versatile and diverse! How long has this project been in the making?
The recording and mastering process started in about June of 2018. Because I live in a relatively remote area (Powell River,) studio sessions were done in between tour legs and when I could sneak time off of work to get to down to Vancouver. We were done tracking in October I believe, and the masters were all done by March! The writing of the EP took place over a few years. I wanted the EP to act as a mixtape of sorts for my whole career, so I picked songs for it based on different areas of my musical interests, which includes some songs I had written a few years ago, to songs that were pretty fresh last June.
“Mr.Callback” is a great new track but it seems to have a meaningful message behind the lyrics. Can you tell us more about this song?
Mr. Callback for me was a way of sorting out my feelings coming of the tail end of a not particularly healthy, on-again-off-again relationship. It was about giving myself the freedom to guilt free make the decisions that would be best for myself and my well being. That is the oldest song of mine that made the EP, and one I still feel very in the moment with when playing live.
Since you’ve been making music for a few years, how would you compare some of the earlier material you’ve written to your debut EP? How have you honed your songwriting style over time, and what do you think are the main qualities that make a song truly connect and last in the long-run?
Great question! I’ve definitely seen an improvement of the overall quality of my work from when I started song writing up till now, so I’d consider it (slightly) more mature. I always strive to improve musically, and since I’ve only been playing guitar and writing songs for around five years, there has been a pretty quick progression in the knowledge base I’ve acquired, and that has translated really well into higher quality songs for me melodically. Lyrically, I’ve noticed things flow more freely the further I get into song writing, and the more frequently I do it. Basically, I would say I’ve gotten better at reducing the space between what I hear in my head, and what comes out, and that has made my songs more cohesive. All of that makes me really excited for future releases(Hopefully in the fall of 2020)!
What would you say is the most useful piece of criticism you’ve received thus far within your career? Do you typically take criticism to your advantage?
I always take constructive criticism to heart, and once I’m over my initial reaction of “psh you don’t know what your talking about,” I start to think about how I can use what has been said to me to my advantage and advancement. I can’t think of any specific criticism at this moment, but the ones that are most helpful are the ones that push me to get out of my comfort zone and keep aiming to improve!
Thank you so much for chatting with us again Tyler! Do you prefer the more intimate recording process over live performance? How do you personally feel when you're performing your music live?
Both of those have their places in my heart. The recording process tends to be more perfection oriented than I am in daily life, but watching a song take on its wings is something that is an awesome feeling that is very hard to explain eloquently. That being said, the main reason I got into music was to try and make connections with people, the way some music has connected with me, so I’d have to say I still prefer performing live. I always feel a strange euphoric mix of lost in my own head, and in the zone when I’m performing, and wouldn’t have it any other way!