For those people who are new to your music could you tell us a bit about your story?
I am an English Indie/Rock/Pop artist from Liverpool. After being in various bands, my last band being The Banshees, I established myself as a solo artist in July 2023 when I released my debut solo single ‘The Way Things Are’
I am now a one-man band and record, mix, and master all my own music along with music videos too. I produce all music and play all instruments on my tracks as well as vocals.
I originally started playing music at the age of 13 on piano, then at age 15, I ventured into the world of guitars and never looked back.
Even though I am a solo artist, many have noted similarities between my music and The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, and even The Beatles.
I have gigged with the likes of Chris Helme (The Seahorses), The Bluetones, Dodgy, Catfish and The Bottlemen, and also worked with the band Space to name a few!
Who inspired you to get on stage and perform?
No one in particular that I could ‘credit’ for making me want to perform live. If I’m honest, I never wanted to be a frontman. It was something that came out of necessity.
I think everything I’ve ever listened to, or really engaged with throughout my life, musically, has brought me to the point I’m at now. I have many influences.
I’ve always loved The Beatles. The first song I learned on the guitar was a Beatles song so I guess that was the original guitar spark, but I’ve always been naturally musical even before I played an instrument. The first live performance I gave was when I was 13 playing the keyboard all alone on a massive stage. It was terrifying but I loved it.
Are there any artists or albums that have influenced your style, your sound?
Yes of course! So, so many. Errr…The Beatles as I said. They have been with me since day one. The Strokes who I only got into about 10 years ago. 10 years too late but hey. Erm…A bit of early Bob Dylan, I like the way he rants about things on an intellectual level. Jimi Hendrix of course! I also have a soft spot for The Kinks. There are so many! Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Eagles (My guilty pleasure), Talking Heads, I love Bob Marley too but you will have to wait for my Reggae track.
Could you tell us a bit about the Syncr Music Competition Winning track “The Way Things Are”?
It is a happy upbeat song reminiscent of The Strokes ‘Someday’
It reflects on relationships and society as a whole.
Lyrically it is about you having to make your own mistakes to grow and learn!
People are scared to be themselves these days for fear of what others might think.
People are very judgmental and can inject panic into the strongest of minds.
Just carry on the way you want to!
Do you have any plans to release an EP or album?
This is an exclusive but I have 36 songs fully recorded by myself and ready to release. I will be releasing 1 track per month for the next 3 years as singles!
I will split them up into albums and EP’s afterwards probably. I’ll still be writing and recording new stuff but I have so much material all ready to go now so the release process will have to catch up with me instead of me chasing it. It feels good!
What are some of your favourite places to perform?
In Liverpool, I’ve performed everywhere tbh but Jimmy’s was a great venue and excellent sound too which was nice. Anywhere in Liverpool is a great place to perform really and that’s because of the people. We love music and appreciate it.
What’s your best moment as a musician so far?
Probably in my previous band The Banshees. Every gig was amazing! Not a single bad gig luckily but that’s because we put the time and effort into it. We practiced a LOT! And it paid off because we won a few songwriting awards and were also labeled as ‘One of the best new Indie bands to come out of Liverpool’ by the Liverpool Echo. We were featured on the likes of NME, Rolling Stone, MTV, Pitchfork, Kerrang, Guitar Player, Guitar World, Ultimate Guitar, VH1, Vice, Stereogum, Spin amongst many others. Also reaching semi-finalist status in the Nashville ‘International Songwriting Awards’ with a song called ‘Tell Me Everything’
We also drew attention from Gordon Raphael, legendary producer of The Strokes, and also featured on BT TV music and BBC Introducing.
We worked with Jagermeister and got our song ‘Point of You’ under license to the Royal Bank of Scotland. We also had a song (It’s Alright) played at Anfield (LFC)
Also excellent reviews globally.
We were like a breath of fresh air! Blew a few heads off then the pandemic hit and we kind of fizzled out, unfortunately. I began my solo project and my face melter of a guitarist Paul Holligan went on to tour with Mick Moss and the boys of Anti Matter.
Here at Artistic Echoes, we are always on the lookout for new artists do you have any to recommend?
Yes, I would recommend listening to Anti Matter. They are a very interesting band. Darker than my music and anything I would ever listen to to be fair but they are all amazing musicians with a story to tell. Which is a lot more than what most music offers these days in my own personal opinion.
I’m kinda stuck in a ‘Strokes’ stage at the moment though. Oh and with the new ‘Beatles’ track coming out, I’ve been listening back to some old Beatles albums. I always end up back with The Beatles usually. I think they are my ‘go-to’ band.
What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
The rest of the year will be mostly promoting my tracks and making and editing music videos which is very stressful for me as I have no team to help me out but tbh, I have terrible OCD so everything has to be as perfect as I can tolerate and most people just cannot meet my demanding expectations haha but recently, I have actually just collaborated with someone on a music video of mine so we will see how that turns out.
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