We were lucky to catch up with William Ax recently and have shared our conversation below.

William , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I created, produced and ran a music festival in Aveiro (city in Portugal), a city where local artists basically have nowhere to play due to the very strict conditions for live/street music. It was a 2 days festival for local artists only (either living there or who were originally from there). Even though it was an absurd amount of work to get it done, it was a great success. It presented 16 artists and different genres (rock, fado, rap, metal, pop, MPB (Brazilian Folk Music) etc).

William , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been a musician since I was 12 years old, when I got my first acoustic guitar as a gift from my father. I’m a Brazilian born guitarist and singer-songwriter. Heavily influenced by the classic rock from the 60s and 70s and acoustic guitarists like Nick Frake, Sam Beam and many others from Brazilian popular music, my compositions bring an introspective view of my own feelings and life perspectives.
With 4 singles already released and collaborations with musicians from all over the world, my first album is expected to be released still in 2024.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Pay attention to your local scene. I’m not talking necessarily about spending money on them (even though, of course, they need that!) but check what’s happening around you. Don’t rely only on Spotify/streaming services to discover new music, walk around, go to local small concerts and spread the word – the hardest thing nowaways is getting local and independent music to reach more people without having to rely on algoritms and online exposition.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Whenever a single person reaches out to me and say how they liked or relate to a song I wrote, it makes everything worth it. The ability of creating a piece of art that makes someone feel something is one of the best feelings in the world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewilliamax/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WilliamAx

Image Credits

Renato Gallotti