Hello. In your own words, how would you describe your sound and style?
It’s so hard to describe your own style, but if I had to pin it down I would say that a combination of country, folk and with some jazz influences underpin my sound. I have a very simple and honest approach to writing my songs, which makes them transparent and pretty exposing at times. I also find my aversion to perfectionism show up in my writing, my songs can sound quite conversational as often the finished product is pretty much how the words fell onto the page in the first instance.
I grew up playing the fiddle, and my first love was Scottish traditional music. I am indisputably still influenced by this style of music but in my teenage years I discovered Chet Baker, Laura Marling, and Nora Jones amongst others, and my own sound has developed to be mellow and understated but emotive. Texturally, I love to play around with ebbs and flows of tension and release amongst the instrumentation, and pushing and pulling the tempo.
You’ve just released your latest single “Red Bricks”. What is the story behind the song and its title? What themes and ideas influence your music and writing?
I wrote this song a couple of years ago after I had moved house a few times in a short period. I was living somewhere I didn’t know very well and quite far from my friends and family, which as a creature of comfort, I found quite uprooting. I was sitting with feeling homesick and nostalgic and this song appeared in one or two sittings. I felt guilty of the times I had took for granted with my loved ones, and time seemed to be going so slowly and fast that before I knew it I hadn’t seen them for months at a time. We were just coming out of a post-covid life and I was also coming to terms that the quiet period that we were all supposed to write our debut novel and learn a new language in was coming to a close, and I felt like I hadn’t done much with it other than become detached from people who I cared about.
Like most of my songs, this song is exploring introspective ideas about myself, the people around me and the way that time treats us all. I like delving into thoughts I have about what I observe around me, and I start the majority of my songs from automatic writing.
Do you have any plans for the year ahead that you would like to share with us? Also, what would you like to achieve in the upcoming year?
For the rest of this year and next year I have a few solo gigs coming up, but I have been working with my band to try and get our sound together which has been a special kind of lush. I’m currently playing with the band of my dreams so I’m feeling so lucky to get to play my songs in that context. I also have a few more releases coming up which I am just finishing off at the moment.
In terms of achievements, I don’t know if there’s anything specific I’m chasing, but I’d love to keep doing more gigs, I’m loving going out on my own and meeting new people.
I’m also super excited to be playing at the new venue Mosaic Tap supporting Eliza Faye on 24 November. It’s such a cool wee venue that’s really looking out for artists and I think it’ll be a really great part of the music scene here.
What advice do you have specifically for other north east artists? And what advice do you have for artists in general?
For North East artists, I would say that most of the time you already have all the contacts/people within arms reach already. It’s such a small but dense scene, there’s always someone who you will likely have mutual connections with that you can work with or learn from. If not, go out to gigs, message people on Instagram and generally just be approachable, if you’re nice then not much can go wrong!
For artists in general I would say that the most important lesson I learned was to let go of the idea of doing everything perfectly, it was holding me back from creating anything at all for many years. I realised that making music is about creating something authentic to you, and nobody can tell you you’re doing that wrong. Find your people who will support you and be your own cheerleader. And again, I think the most important thing of all is to be nice to people, music shouldn’t be scary or competitive, there truly is space for everyone to do their thing.
Lastly, what artists are on your radar that you would recommend others listen to & see live?
There are so many! I would say that locally, I love Ceitidh Mac, Lovely Assistant, Maius Mollis, Eve Simpson and Martha Hill. Further afield, I have just discovered AO Gerber who I am lucky enough to be supporting at The Cumberland this November.
Stay posted with Imogen Bose-Ward via: Facebook | Instagram
Northern Music Collective 