Filipe Almeida

Who is Filipe?

Who am I? So, I’m just a normal guy. I was born in Faro, and around the age of 13 I started to play music, focusing especially on the guitar. So, then I started to play in bands and do YouTube covers and all of that fun stuff on my old channel. I used to upload a lot of content and my channel did pretty well. I got some subscribers. All that good stuff.

So then, when I was about 21, I decided to take the music production side a bit more serious. I went to London, where I did a university course in music production. So I’ve been there for 3 years, studying at BIMM London, which is part of the University of West London. After finishing the course in London, I decided to come back to Portugal because there was too much competition in London and also because there I wasn’t doing what I liked. I had to work in really annoying jobs that I didn’t enjoy. I didn’t have any time to do the things that I liked and to make it work financially, so I decided to come back here, to Faro.

I think here is way less competition because it’s a smaller city and because of that, I can stand out. Yeah, it’s been a really interesting journey and, so far, everything is going pretty well. Funny thing about my business’ name, Goodjohn Productions, is that the name is basically a translation of the area where I live, ‘Bom João’, to English. And since my awesome productions are made by a guy called João (me of course), I simply used both facts into my business name haha.

So, I started to work with local artists first, and then, last year I decided to expand my business and started to sell beats online, which is what I’m doing at the moment. I’m actually putting way more focus on that side right now than the side of working with local artists because I can sell beats to anyone in the world and I can make way more money, which is what’s happening. I pretty much have sales every day. Also, it’s the perfect job to have during a pandemic because I have my own studio at home and all the sales happen online.

I’m a pretty lucky guy. For a lot of producers is not that easy actually. Some producers spend maybe years trying to make a couple of sales and with me it was almost instantly. I started getting sales after 1 or 2 months. Currently, I’m having really good sales results on a daily basis, which is really cool. Of course all my experience I accumulated in the past years helped me be where I am today. Getting here required a lot of knowledge and experience. You have to actually know how to make the beats sound good, and also have to be good with all the marketing side.

Of course I have my own style and niche, which is also helping me a lot. Most producers are doing the usual rap beats and I don’t really focus on that. What I do is I kind of mix the rap side with the rock side and that’s what’s making my stuff unique and stand out. It’s a pretty good business if you know what you’re doing and how to do it.

What would you like to do when you grow up?

My dad is also a musician. He is a piano teacher and maestro. But although he always showed support by letting me do my business here at home and all that, he’s never been the main influence as far as what I’m doing right now, cause we’re in two completely different worlds when it comes to music genres.

He is more classical and old fashioned and I am very modern and into commercial heavier music. So, everything I did was 100% my initiative. He never tried at any point of my life to force me into music choices or anything. Whatever I chose to do in the past, he always gave me full support, whether doing music or any other unrelated crazy stuff. Our relationship has always been good and 100% peaceful.

So, my very first dream when I was a kid was actually to play in a big band, having gigs around the world and playing in front of big crowds. As I told you, it’s still my dream, I didn’t give up on it. But, since I started to get into the music production side, that dream got a bit postponed by my new dream, the one I’m living right now. Probably not in a small place like this, because at the end of the day this is still my house and it’s a bedroom studio. Although it looks good and professional, it’s not like a proper studio where people go to and I would have an office and people working for me. It’s still a bedroom studio now, but I want it to become like an official studio. My actual business.

What is the first thing on your mind when you think about Faro?

Home. Comfort. Friends. Happiness. All the good things. Basically, that’s why I love Faro so much.

What would be the soundtrack of your life story?

Probably some rock band that I like. I can’t say one specific song because I like so many. But yeah, it would probably be a rock song from one of the bands that I really like. If I’d have to pick one song, it would be “Feel Invincible” from Skillet. It’s not necessarily my favourite band, but the message, the energy, it’s all me.

What is the place in Faro you are most connected to? Why?

Probably ARCM. That’s where I met most of the people that I know in Faro who are making music. That’s the place where we’re all getting together.