[FEATURE] VIPER PRESENTS: PABLOMARI
Get familiar with UK artist Pablomari…
What five words define your sound?
Jumpy, Turnt, Fly, Sexy, Melancholy.
Tell me something unique about your creative process.
I like to record in my kitchen most of the time. I wouldn’t say I can’t make tracks in the studio or elsewhere but it’s definitely a unique thing/space for me. Like I have to go out into the world to experience life and take in what i’ve been through – good, bad or indifferent – before bringing it back home and locking in, the prodigal son returns kinda thing and that’s when I’m creating my best work.
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
Honestly, it’s probably some of the unreleased ones I have prepared for this year, the whole energy of what I’m doing and actually saying on the tracks is different. Still fly, still very fun, yet esoteric at the same time. But I think for what’s out already I would definitely say my EP ‘fidel crashtro’.
What inspired you to make that song?
I know it’s not one song but the project was crafted when I went back home to Dominica for a month with my close friend and DJ, Payman in 2023. Despite being British born and raised, my roots are there, I’ve been there many times before but this was my first time going there as an adult at 22. Also it was carnival season which is always a very special time for me, but over there it was so different than in the UK. The whole experience caused a massive shift in my mindset and person, it’s like I reconnected to the source! And the songs I made out there that eventually made up the tape reflect that newfound perspective and sense of self in my personal life as well as my musical journey.
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
Damn, to be honest, I’d probably say when I made this one song ‘jokes on me’ it was made on the back end of a breakup. I don’t usually do the whole “heartbreak songs” thing but it was the only way I could quantify what I thought and felt about the whole ordeal, the mad ting is it still lowkey resonates with failed situations and relationships I’ve been in after that one ended; maybe I’ve just got terrible taste in women [laughs].
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
Best experience was the show I put on for my 21st birthday. I had my friends/family there and curated a lineup with artists who I deeply respected and loved, the night was just full of love and support, while I was surrounded by a room full of people there to share in that moment, seeing their favourite artists and hearing good music! I couldn’t ask for anything better.
Worst experience was this one show I did at Old Blue Last, side note but if you haven’t performed or been there, you can’t chat to me about UK underground!! [Laughs] what a venue! But yeah it was my ‘friend’ at the time’s event. I won’t mention names but honestly the organisation was CHEEKS, I’d been helping him out with set up before the night, liaising with an artist and their manager who I had good working relationships with. I feel like the way he handled the situation ruined those relationships for me as he conducted himself and spoke to them very poorly. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! For a bit of context, this ‘friend’ also made music, I even had some songs with him and on the actual night during my set I’d planned for us to do two of those songs before I finished the set with my last few songs. When it came to our songs he was literally nowhere to be found; he was like that the whole night to be honest and the show was running behind schedule as a result. But yeah, I got to our songs and played it off getting the crowd to chant his name saying maybe he’d appear if we were loud enough. Eventually he turned up at the last minute just as I was about to move on and we did one of our songs, then just before we went into the next one he says to me quietly, “lemme do my ting and then you can continue after.” I was mad confused… like what? it’s the middle of my set? But that was bro at the time and I thought he would just do one song then let me carry on, so I brushed it off and let him – prime example of how people take your kindness for weakness. After he’s done his song, he goes to the DJ, “yeah play the next one” as in HIS NEXT SONG, like this guy started his set in the middle of my one so at that point I was like, “bro what’re you doing? It’s my set!” This is when he tried to draw me out on stage, stopped the whole show refusing to let me finish my set and made a big scene of it, talking into the microphone the whole time, even going as far as asking the crowd “who wants to hear [redacted]” no one made any noise expect for like his one bredrin in the crowd, then he goes “who wants to hear Pablomari” the whole room filled with roars, chants and cheers – which must’ve been embarrassing for him, especially given it was his own event [laughs] – but yeah after that he ended up leaving the stage. It was so bad that at one point someone in the audience came to the front of the stage and said to him, “bro what’re are you doing no one wants to see this, we came here for the music let him (me) perform” shout out Kieran from Dotwav, I later found out it was him who did that, infinite ratings. But yeah that whole situation was so crazy and deeply sad for me given the respect I held for that individual at the time. Never again though, it was a lesson learned.
What is your favourite song to perform?
My favourite song to perform is ‘wingz’, the song is just a pure vibe and honestly plays really well. When the bass hits, it makes you wanna dance and get groovy! But what I love most about it is I can have a proper sing along with the crowd, which is so much fun.
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
This question is TOO loaded I’ll be so real. There’s too many artists to mention, but the album that made me want to make music was ‘The Life Of Pablo’ by Kanye West.
What’s the meaning behind your name?
Like I said, ‘TLOP’ deeply resonated with me when it came out. There’s one song on it ‘No More Parties In LA’ and theres a line that goes “I feel like Pablo when I’m working on my shoes, I feel like Pablo when I see me on the news, I feel like Pablo when I’m working on my house.” And 15 year old me was like “yeah, I feel like Pablo too!” [Laughs] So that’s essentially where it came from and I went by Pablo for a while but there were too many songs from Spanish artists called Pablo coming up on my Spotify and I definitely do NOT speak Spanish. So after a conversation about changing my name with a mentor to me at the time – shout out to Breastman – he suggested I stick with Pablo but evolve it to include some of my actual name, so it stays true to its origins but is also based in who I actually am. So I merged Pablo with my middle name Omari and that lead to Pablomari. Has a nice ring to it init?
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
Probably a sport of some sort, I used to run track for my local athletics club competing in 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. I even went as far as running at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – which is now West Ham FC’s Stadium – during the 2017 Club Connect 4x100m relay races as a part of the Müller games. Essentially it’s an event where the top 8 fastest relay teams in the country for each age group – under 13 to under 17 – get a chance to compete against each other in the opening event of the games. It was televised and all, you can probably still find the footage on YouTube. But I had a falling out with the club over a situation, which eventually led me to focus on my music career. I think that was divine intervention forcing me to choose my path on this timeline but I’d probably be doing a sport of some sort. It seems to be a reoccurring theme for me as I even currently do martial arts, training in kickboxing, Muay Thai and karate.
What’s success to you?
Success to me is being happy, healthy, with a roof over my head, money in the bank, a great relationship with God, my family/friends, the universe and also being able to break generational curses and build generational wealth for my future family. Freedom from this mortal folly.
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
Like I’d mentioned before, I think it was the schism between myself and my former athletics club. It forced me to pick a path to continue down, art or athletics. At the time I was at a music college in Guildford but the back and forth between there and my hometown of Reading was causing dissonance for me in terms of keeping up with training and advancing my passion for music. Especially given the circumstances around the situation that happened with the club. So yeah, eventually I had to pick a side.
Where can people keep in touch with you?
You can find me on all socials @pabznotmally but Instagram is the best place to stay locked in with me and the adventures i’m on!
