Hi! You recently released ‘Pretty’ and it’s brilliant. For anyone who’s yet to hear it, how would you describe the track?
Thank you very much! I keep getting told it’s ‘Pop-Rock’ so that’s what I slap on the tin, haha! But if you wanted my honest description then I wrote it to be a life-affirming, empowering, uplifting, singalong anthem. That’s what I wanted it to be from the get-go and I hope I achieved some of those things.I wrote this song the day after ‘Lighters To The Sky’ (the last single that came out in April) and I was really happy with the authenticity of that message… with Pretty I wanted it to really, genuinely apply to everyone.
Where did you record it?
The demo was written in my bedroom (I have a little studio) and then I was really lucky to completely click with a Bristol producer by the name of Aaron. He put a message up on a local music network group and that’s how I found him. He heard the demo and loved the energy. We had a chat about what we wanted to achieve and we were just on the exact same wavelength so it was a no-brainer that I would go and re-record it at his studio just outside of Bristol (UK). I actually completely re-wrote all the verse lyrics too, once I’d had a chance to really let the demo settle. The original lyrics were still a similar message but I just felt that they were a bit too whiny. They were a little bit too ‘self-absorbed, oh boo-hoo to me and my problems’ so I tweaked them because I want my music to be celebratory and uplifting. I’m really happy with the final lyrics and I don’t think I would change any of them.
Are you planning to make it part of a larger release, such as an EP or album?
Absolutely. I grew up with a love of albums that tell a story or take you on a journey. R.E.M.’s Automatic For The People was the explosion in my teens that blew my mind and set the bar. I desperately want to create a full album and share that journey with people and each single I write has that arc already planned out in my head. But right now I’m really enjoying sharing my music one song at a time and revealing more and more of who I’m about. The time for the album will come and I can’t wait for that.
I’m very interested in how you started your adventure with music, and did you know from the beginning that this is what you wanted to do?
I often get asked this and every time I tell the story it sounds more and more bizarre to me! I really had ambition to be a songwriter or front man at any point growing up. I was a fairly quiet kid… not much confidence. I was going to be a vet. I played loads of instruments at school and sang in the choir but I think a lot of people do that. Then one day I travelled about 6 hours on a coach with my friend Graham to see R.E.M. play at Milton Keynes Bowl on their Monster World Tour. That night changed my life. From then on all I wanted to be was a frontman in a band. The connection that Michael Stipe had with each and every one of those 65,000 people was beyond awe-inspiring. It all-at-once created a new persona inside me and when I woke up the next day we started playing guitars and writing songs.
Your music interweaves so many different styles and sounds. If you could collaborate with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
It would be a pop songwriter 100%. I’m not shy in admitting that my music is pop music that just happens to be laden with guitars. Sure, I was essentially created by Michael Stipe and in my musical formation year I was heavily inspired by the likes of Britpop (Mansun, Elastica, Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, Muse, Suede etc) but I love any music that has a great, singalong melody. I think someone like Marina Diamandis is massively under-rated… she is a really talented, clever, witty songwriter with an extraordinarily unique voice and I’d love to write something with her.
What’s been your favorite musical experience to date?
I played at an intimate festival this Summer called JesFest. It was utterly magical. I recently saw Miley Cyrus talking about not wanting to play all these crazy huge shows because the intimacy has gone and that’s exactly how I feel. Sure, it’s easy for someone who’s made millions and has done it all to say they don’t want to do it anymore but the crux of it is that the intimate gigs, where you can see and hear each member of the audience, are the reason why I do it. JesFest was only 200 people but every person was there to listen and enjoy… nobody was filming on their phone and it was just a magical set.
Where are you based? Can you tell us how the music scene there has inspired your sound at all?
I am now based near Bristol and this city has a mighty history. Portishead and Tricky just to name a few. But to be honest with you I moved around a lot as a kid and adult. I lived in London, Kuala Lumpur, Bournemouth, Watford… I would say my sound is just from living in many different places, experiencing different cultures and piecing together music that contains all of my favourite things.
If you could perform at any venue in the world, where would it be and why?
I’m going to be a bit of a hypocrite now and say Glastonbury. Yes, I know, I know but I would just love to headline Glastonbury just once. I’ve been so many times and watched my favourite bands play there (or watched them on TV) and I sit-stand there and think “I could do this… and do it really well”. That aside I would just like to keep it small… I’d be happy playing venues like KoKo… 500-1,000 people who are only there because they know and love your music, and are there to have a good time. You can see them, hear them, smell them… makes me tingle just thinking about it.
And what was the first album you remember owning?
I mean… it would be something hideous like a Now That’s What I Call Music compilation and it would probably have something like NKOTB ‘Cover Girl’ as song #1. But, you know, as bad as that sounds, those melodies led to me writing these songs so…
Finally, have you got anything to share regarding upcoming gigs, and what have you got planned for the rest of 2023?
I’m mega excited about the next single, which is called Smile. It sits in a lovely little trilogy of songs with Lighters To The Sky and Pretty and it’s another one of those ‘life-affirming, empowering, uplifting, singalong anthems’. Haha, well, I hope that’s what people think anyway. It’s about how all too often we feel like we have to curb a smile or a laugh and actually, if we all gave less of a damn, we would ALL be much happier! Smile is (hopefully) coming out at the start of November.
