2024

Can you tell us about ‘Messages in Blood’? What inspired the music and themes behind it?  By the time of this new album I wanted to pull things back to where I’d started, just me and acoustic guitar and vocal, stripping back the excess. I’d experimented with a lot of different sounds before this, such as a band sound, electric guitars, drums etc. I’ve never been a producer, I’ve produced albums more out of practicality than choice, so with ‘Messages In Blood’ I just wanted to stick to what I was good at, simple sounding songs. I knew I wanted to get back to the songs rather than the sound or production, focusing on the lyrics, melody, and the story of the album.  How has your upbringing in North Yorkshire and the creative environment of the Steiner and Quaker schools shaped your approach to music?  I think early on, in those environments, it was a natural place, such as going to school surrounded by countryside. With the art as well, I learned a very natural honest approach, just relying on myself for self expression and a sincere, genuine exploration. Of course, as a child this was natural to me, I hadn’t lived in the world, but that was at the heart of my approach to creativity.  Your music draws from traditional balladry and social commentary. How do you balance personal storytelling with broader societal themes in your songs?  I’ve mostly always had an instinctual landscape in mind when writing and creating, such as myself, or a fictional version of myself walking through scenarios, worlds and places. To translate that, I guess a bit like Marvel’s ‘Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!’ In a way, none of my songs or my music is me, as in me as a person, it’s all a fictional version of myself – it’s just imagination, ideas. I’ve used myself, my life, myself as an artist as a story; a lot through my songs are fictional landscapes, and as time and my albums have progressed I’ve explored these different things.  Who are some of your biggest musical influences, and how have they impacted your recent work?  I had an early flourish of musical influences in my teens, which impacted my earlier albums, such as music from the 60s and 70s etc., vintage singers and bands. However, since then, as an adult and with the internet and streaming services like Spotify, I’ve just heard so many different influences these last years. It’s incalculable how much music is out there, apparently millions and millions of songs or something. I’ve mostly been listening to recommendations from friends, hearing different things, singers, artists, bands, there’s a lot of authentic people out there, amongst the noise and the technology, I find it mind blowing.  You’ve collaborated with various musicians throughout your career. Are there any new collaborations or partnerships featured on your recent projects?  My last really collaborative project was ‘The Basement Sessions’, from 2018-2019, this was a partnership with electric guitarist Chris Sutchie and drummer, guitarist and singer Phil Rhodes.  This was the last big collaborative project I did. We recorded each month, mostly late into the night for around two years. A critic could think it was all just an experimental mess, an ego driven failure, but there was some good stuff in there, there were some gems, and some of the best pieces I’ve made in a long while. It was a mini library of songs and performances, a shadow piece to my back catalogue ‘Chronology’, like a smaller ‘Chronology’, another portrait.    Read the full feature in our free digital magazine here: https://bit.ly/3WUe56j Never miss a story… Follow us on: Instagram: @Maverick.mag Twitter: @Maverick_mag Facebook: Maverick Magazine Media Contact Hannah Larvin, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

Congratulations on ‘Change of Plan’! Could you share the inspiration behind the album and what the creative process was like?   Thank you! ‘Change of Plan’ was a celebration of a collaboration of people who I met along my journey and gave me a chance to explore other genres and stories in my life.   Your EP ‘The Now’ reached #1 on iTunes. What themes or emotions were you exploring in this project?   ‘The Now’ is an EP I am very proud of, I felt serious about myself as an artist at this point and being very present in the moment with my feelings. ‘When My Beating Heart’ reached no1 in the iTunes country charts I couldn’t believe it and ever since then I have felt recognised and loved for the music I was creating. I realised I needed to make my music more about my own feelings which resonated with others a lot more.   You’ve released several albums in a short span. How do you balance creativity and productivity while maintaining quality?   A lot of my fans think I have new single release syndrome ha ha! I just love working on new songs and keeping busy releasing new material means that I don’t over think each album and get it out there for the world to hear before I change my mind. I think it’s very important to get your feelings in a song to share rather than keep them as a recording on my phone.   What was it like performing at iconic venues like The Cavern Club and The Bluebird Cafe?   The most surreal and incredible moment and in that one song at The Bluebird Cafe, I was trying to stay so present but couldn’t help but soak up the atmosphere and was imagining all the icons that have stood and will stand on that very stage! Performing at The Cavern Club was confirmation to myself that my career is going in the right direction.   What can fans expect from your next release or upcoming projects?   I am re-releasing my most popular song ‘SUNFLOWER’ as an acoustic version as part of a ‘Sunflower Now’ EP in November for its three year anniversary! I will be including one song on the EP as a bonus track from my September Songwriting challenge where I have been writing a song a day every day in September and my online community will choose their favourite, like they did with ‘SUNFLOWER’ in August 2021.  How do your experiences performing in different countries influence your songwriting and sound?   I love performing all around the world and seeing what songs are popular elsewhere etc., I love being inspired by different cultures and values and would love to explore so much more of the world. My next mission is to perform in Japan. Performing in Nashville has been amazing for me as an artist the last two years and cannot wait to get back out there too!     Read the full feature in our free digital magazine here: https://bit.ly/3WUe56j Never miss a story… Follow us on: Instagram: @Maverick.mag Twitter: @Maverick_mag Facebook: Maverick Magazine Media Contact Hannah Larvin, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com