WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO AT THE MOMENT?
I’m listening to a varied collection of artists at the moment. Artists like Lianne La Havas, Jeff Buckley, Bon Iver, Sade, Miles Davis, a vinyl of Nat King Cole’s called Love is the Thing, which I bought at St Nicolas’ Market in my first year of university and haven’t been able to stop playing. Also The National, who I’ve recently found through some close friends and flat mates of mine who are also in an amazing duo called Sleep Radio – if you like any of the artists above I’d strongly suggest listening to them. My main interest would be jazz music as I find it really makes you think about how the song is structured and the dexterity of the musicians and the skills they have when playing. It’s also a very experimental genre and there are many forms of jazz to listen to, so that keeps me interested.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT BRISTOL?
Coming from a little fishing village in Cornwall where there is only one pub and you’re playing to a room full of locals, tourists and fishermen. City living has definitely been a massive change in my lifestyle – personally and as a songwriter.
I don’t think there’s anything I don’t like here! There are endless numbers of amazing bands and songwriters to go and watch and so many creative exhibitions and art works to be inspired by. It’s been a very welcoming and friendly city to me as a songwriter and has opened my eyes to so much more creativity.
WHY SONGWRITING?
From a very young age I’ve always had a love of songwriting and of creating different sounds with the instruments and lyrical content. I chose to study songwriting because I had hit a barrier with my writing and composing around the time I was in my last year at college, and found myself in an endless cycle of using the same chords and lyrical patterns which was very frustrating. A lot of my friends at college were talking about BIMM on the last couple of days of term so I had a look at their website and found the songwriting course. I have met so many amazing lecturers, but the one who has inspired me the most as a songwriter would have to be Patrick Duff – he pushes you to be the best you can be and encourages you to be yourself, which to me is the most important part of songwriting.
Kickstart your music career at BIMM in Bristol, discover more about our BA (Hons) in Songwriting today…
