Massad hits the stage with his unique sound

AMY MCGILLIVRAY

It will be just him and his guitar when a young musician takes to the stage at the Smokefree Rockquest Auckland central regional finals.

Massad Barakat-Devine, 16, is one of two solo artists performing in tomorrow's competition.

The Sacred Heart College student, who was up against 50 acts in the heats, did not have high hopes of being selected as one of the 14 regional finalists.

"I was pretty surprised to get through."

Massad was introduced to music at a young age by his mother, a piano teacher.

He plays the guitar, piano, double bass, saxophone, violin and sings. And if that isn't enough, he wants to learn a brass instrument too.

Massad started writing songs only two years ago when he entered the Play it Strange competition. He has already created his first album.

Long Story Short was released in December and is based on the experiences of him and his friends.

"It literally was a long story short. It's about my past year," he says.

The teenager avoids writing songs about relationships while keeping it relevant to listeners his own age.

His song, Help Me to Help You, is about bullying.

He describes his first album as experimental but is narrowing down his style.

"It's my spin on pop I guess."

Massad attributes his unique sound to an eclectic mix of influences ranging from Kate Miller-Heidke to Muse.

The Epsom resident has no doubt his future lies in music.

"I really want to do film composition and write big scores," he says.

This year he plans to make another album and release a few new singles.

But above all it is the buzz of performing that drives the young artist.

As a Sacred Heart College student, Massad has some big shoes to fill.

Kiwi icons Tim and Neil Finn, Dave Dobbyn and Peter Urlich are just some of the musicians who got their start at the school.

"It's definitely something to live up to. We haven't had any big names for 30 years now," Massad says.

- © Fairfax NZ News