Artist/Band: Ed Balloon
Website: www.facebook.com/edballoon
Hometown: Boston
Latest Album/Release: “Yellow 20-Somethings”
Influences: Prince, MJ, Fela, and many more
TrunkSpace: How would you describe your music?
Balloon: I want it to be a journey. Always want the listener and me to feel something in the beginning, find that climax and see its ending for what it is.
TrunkSpace: Your songs are so eclectic from one track to the next. What is your approach to songwriting? Do you purposely try to distance yourself sonically from what you’ve already accomplished?
Balloon: Yeah. I always want to do something new. From vocals to topics and from topics to structure, I want to see change, growth and I want to challenge myself. I hate being basic or, better yet, feeling that way.
TrunkSpace: Some of your songs seem suited for a packed club while others are intimate and raw. You seem impossible to pigeonholed, which is a great thing for an artist. Where do you see your sound taking you in the future?
Balloon: In all those places. I am someone who loves to feel the music. If you know me very well, you know all I need is good music to have a good time. But I want my music to not see limits. People try to limit my sound a lot. Blessed God has given me something that seems to be a little different every time I put something out. That matters a lot to me. But yeah, see my sound taking me everywhere.
TrunkSpace: There are times when your lyrics hit the ears like poetry. Do they ever start in that form?
Balloon: Uhh. I think so. I am opened when it come to my art. I see something or feel something and I try to morph it in a lyric with a melody that makes sense to me.
TrunkSpace: Where do you find your lyrical inspiration? Your writing attaches to the listener in a way that makes them think. Is that a goal or are you asking questions and proposing ideas that you yourself are caught up in?
Balloon: Bruh, it is both. Hell, some songs, I don’t even know the answer, I just know I feel some way and that is all I got. However, my goal is to always have a message. That is a vow I made with myself and God when I decided to pursue music.
TrunkSpace: Your music seems to have taken a lot of people by surprise. Reviews of your debut album snuck up on people and grabbed hold of them. Has the reaction to your music been a 
surprise?
Balloon: Always a surprise, cause I do work hard, so it is amazing to see people really delve into my music and appreciate not only its groove but my message in it.
TrunkSpace: How important is it to you to translate that critical success into mainstream success?
Balloon: I would love to make my music translate to mainstream success. The point is to have my music reach the masses. Can’t keep these messages to myself now.
TrunkSpace: Your vocals stand on a pedestal of their own. We can’t recall anyone who sounds like you and who isn’t afraid to bring it up and drop it down anywhere in a song… which is so refreshing. Vocally, how did you come to that artistic approach?
Balloon: Practice!!!! Man, your voice is an instrument. I have had many vocal problems to know it can be badly affected easily, so you really have to care for it. I see my awesome voice coach as much as possible. In addition, my songs, so if there an influx how I would say something while I am speaking on a regular day why in the hell will I not display that in a song that is supposed to be capturing the same feeling?
TrunkSpace: Again, you’re such a unique artist, but does that singular sound make it difficult when it comes to booking? Do club owners know where to put you on a bill? Have you found yourself booked alongside of some completely mismatched artists?
Balloon: It is very hard. I have always been different. And people have always tried to put me in their box and I have tried to put myself in their boxes. It never works when you do that. I guess I just got to wait for everyone to catch on. Slowly they are, I just need more to be awaken by my sound yo.
TrunkSpace: You also have some really interesting album and promo art. How important is the visual aspect of what you’re doing with your music?
Balloon: I love when the art is able to capture the mood of my music. That is what I look for. Also, I like to display things that capture who I am. Period. Art is always expressive. People forget that.
TrunkSpace: What can fans expect from Ed Balloon in 2017?
Balloon: Well, Trump is president and I am trying to hustle through his presidency as well as find a girl down to handle my crazy ass. So all that! (Laughter) But in short, just a guy who has gone through more things since 2016.
