Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I’m a musician from Liverpool. I’ve played guitar and bass since my late-teens and have been fortunate enough to play on some fantastic albums. Considering I’ve written songs for as long as I can remember, I had yet to actually release something I’d written myself. The desire to do so was always there, so I began to write and record some demos at home. The more I recorded, the more encouraged I felt to keep going and eventually had enough material for an album – which will be released at the end of this year.
My childhood heavily impacted my musical direction. My Dad is a producer/engineer and often played music he was working on around the house whilst I was growing up. Years later, many of these records not only influenced me, but are still some of my favourites to this day.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
Each song carries its own theme, but ultimately, it’s a message of positivity that I hope transpires. My main goal is to continue to write, record and release music and media, whilst striving to keep things fresh and interesting.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners
A: Psychedelicfolkhop.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, ‘Play It Cool’?
A: The message is to stay grounded, appreciate what’s important, and be true to yourself.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording ‘Play It Cool’?
A: I recorded all the guitars at home. When trying to re-record them in the studio I could never get them to gel as well as those on the demo. This was because the effects were very particular, and therefore not straightforward to re-create, so we decided to just keep all of the demo guitars and beef them up.
Q: Who is one of your favourite artists of recent years?
A: Katy J Pearson is one of the best contemporary artists around for me in recent years. She creates catchy electronic-folk-pop that has a feel of the past whilst also sounding fresh and modern. After listening to her music for months on end, I was fortunate to catch her headline WIMiN Festival in Bootle recently. We made a family day out of it and brought along my four-year-old daughter – who managed to stay awake and captivated for the entire show, which speaks volumes as it was a late one for her! Katy and her band were great, they sounded as good live as they do on record!
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: Damon Albarn would be great – he’s the master of collaboration! I am inspired by how he has no boundaries with blending genres, and continually brings in rising artists to work with. Between Blur, Gorillaz, Africa Express and The Good, the Bad & the Queen, there is so much variety! My favourite drummer, Tony Allen also featured in some of these projects – which was great!
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: I’m far from an expert, but for someone looking to get started: put in the work, gain as much experience as possible, and give yourself the time and space to be as fiercely creative as you can.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: More music, less partying. Rock and roll, I know!!
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