Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: Hi there, firstly, thank you for the interview. I come from a town in the South East of England called Crawley. It’s about 5mins away from Gatwick Airport. Initially music for me was a hobby. I started writing songs at about 15 years old. As time went on I took it more seriously. Over the years, my continuing motivation for writing was the feeling that the creative process gave me. It was like therapy. I’ve been lucky enough to hear some of my favourite songs performed live by some of my favourite artists and it’s given me an almost spiritual feeling and the aim is to write songs that have that same effect on other people.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: In recent months I’ve been listening to Holly Humberstone, The 1975, Editors, U2, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Gorillaz and Noel Gallagher
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: During the mid 90’s, when I was starting to learn the guitar and putting chords and melodies to my lyrics, my main influence would have been Oasis/Noel Gallagher. Other influences include The Beatles, U2, Radiohead and Damon Albarn.
Q: You have just released your new EP, ‘Flatline’. Is there a story behind it?
A: The story behind the title is that it’s named after the first track on the EP. Which talks about trying to revive a relationship that has gone stale. All the songs featured came along more or less around the same time and felt like they wanted to go in the same direction sonically so it made sense to put them on the same EP.
Q: What themes or messages do you explore in the songs on “Flatline”?
A: I guess the overriding theme would be the complexity of navigating relationships, whether they be romantic or platonic.
Q: How would you describe the overall sound and style of this EP compared to your previous work?
A: In the past my work has been very guitar based. Kind of soft rock/indie pop. But this EP was a bit of a departure musically. It’s very much more synth pop orientated.
Q: Did you face any challenges or obstacles while working on “Flatline”? How did you overcome them?
A: Sorry to sound boring, but I can honestly say there were no problems or obstacles that had to be overcome. The producer I was working with was very talented and efficient and each song only took two sessions to complete. The only small issue was having to record the vocals multiple times to get them right. Other than that, it was a pleasure working on this project.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: Until recently, my process would of involved sitting down with an instrument, either guitar or piano, coming up with a chord progression, ad-lib some melodies, come up with a concept, brain storm some lyrical ideas with some pen and paper and progress from there. But now, more often than not, most of my songs are developed using recording software like Logic for example. I kind of write as I record. This was certainly the case for this EP. All the songs were written in this way and I had a basic recording for each. The producer then built on what I had by adding his own layers, sound-scapes and vocal effects. The process worked out quite well.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: From a musical point of view, it may have been a confidence issue, because in the early days it took me a long time to get used to performing live. I knew it was something I had to do to promote my music. But over time, I’ve grown to enjoy it.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: Hearing my songs being played on radio for the first time was a proud moment for sure and having emerging artists record and release my songs.