Coxx is back

By Shamar Blunt

After some time spent away from his true passion of creating soulful, memorable music, Peter Coxx has finally returned to his love of the art and pushed it to the next stage in the form of a locally funded album.

Coxx is no stranger to the music arena here on the island, after being part of the Richard Stoute Teen Talent Contest at the age of 14, performing at many local events, and taking part in several showcases for international music companies such as Sony Music, BMG, Vista, and others, all before the age of 20.

Some may say it was only a matter of time before he guided all of his talent and experience into one project in the form of his new album entitled: The Original Copy.

In 2020, after COVID-19 had reached the island and the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) took the initiative to offer several grants to local artists in the creation of several projects, Coxx lunged at the opportunity to finally make what he always wanted, an album filled with his passion.

Coxx sat down for a chat with Barbados TODAY, to give an insight into his new album, and how his time away from the stage and experiencing the loss of his mother, had fuelled his new work.

“As a promise to her, I started playing guitar and being involved in music again. I went ahead and applied for the grant at the NCF and I was successful, so I made the album.

For me, [The Original Copy] represents the original version of myself because I’ve always been in music, I’ve always been a musician, but you know life happens, and certain situations that I [went] through would have tested me. However after my mom passed, and knowing the promise I made to her, I used music as a method of healing, and [decided] to get back to myself, hence the album,” he said Admitting that earlier on in his musical career, the glitz and glamour of the field are what first drew him into pursuing a music-based vocation, Coxx said that over the years his understanding and respect for the industry have now matured to a level of him being fully engrossed in the venture, simply for the love of it.

“When I came out of the Richard Stoute Teen Talent I wanted to be a superstar, I wanted to be signed, I wanted to be pretty much what Rihanna is right now. What has changed for me, is that I am not trying to do that now, I am just trying to create what I hear, and let it go and see what happens. I am not holding on to any expectations or anything like that…all I want to do right now is to create music as often as I can, get it out there to a wider audience, and I will be thankful,” Coxx added.

The Original Copy features 14 songs that cover various genres and was made with the assistance of producers Jason Alleyne of Escaband Studios, Corry Ford, Sean One of RBM Entertainment, Anthony Lohar of Commercial Music Inc, and Peter Coxx himself.

Though the music industry in Barbados has changed drastically over the last decade, with many local acts expanding into different genres outside of the predictable soca, Coxx believes the industry can go even further now, particularly into the digital arena.

“Unfortunately, or fortunately, due to COVID-19, the world may end up going a lot more digital now. If I upload a song to YouTube or elsewhere, I can’t get paid for it currently because of the system they have between [America] and Barbados. I would like that changed.

“I would love to see more education for us artists to show us how we can make money and make a living for going more digital in our works,” he suggested.

Though The Original Copy is still a fairly new project, thanks to the NCF, Coxx has finally realised his dream and says he fully intends to capitalize on this chance to market his music and brand to a wider stage, as he pursues his love and passion for the art.