Josh Vine has been fluttering around the scene for a minute now, presenting us with vocals that can be both haunting and poignant at the same time.
Following on from his impactful stage winners ‘Ghost‘, ‘The Water‘ and ‘Tired‘, he continues to dangle a criminally underrated portfolio of music that any musician would love to own. It isn’t long before Josh drops his debut album filled with poetic memorandums and acoustic grandeur starting with its lead single ‘Billboard Lights‘ (see below). With a guitar in tow and a penchant for songwriting, it’s time we get to know more about the extraordinary music that is about to drop.
SL: How is preparation going for the new album?
JV: Going well cheers man. We’ve basically finished apart from a couple of things here and there.
SL: Can you tell us a little more about it?
JV: I don’t wanna give away too much just yet but it’s certainly a move forward in terms of instrumentation and writing. There’s some incredibly personal stuff on there and also some silly jokey stuff too which is refreshing.
SL: Billboard Lights is the lead single, what is it about?
JV: ‘Billboard’ is about not wanting to turn up for the same old pressures we have to put up with every day. Though my life is a piece of piss compared to some, so who knows how other people get up and out there every day.
SL: You published a tweet saying you recorded it in your flat. What was that like?
JV: Yeah, my mate/housemate Billy is producing the record so it has been a fun experience so far. It has been a bit of a walk in the dark but we’ve found our rhythm now and things have clicked into place.
SL: What was your earliest exposure to music?
JV: Probably the usual ways, listening to music in the car, in the living room and at your mate’s 5th birthday party during musical chairs. I remember listening to Uptown Girl by Billy Joel at a mate’s birthday party when I was maybe about 7 and thinking it was a banger.
SL: What was life for Josh before you took up music?
JV: Well, I was just at college as a 17-year-old, to be honest. I left my home town to come to London to pursue music when I was 18 and that’s all I’ve really focused on. Hopefully, my persistence will pay off because I’m 26 now and I’ve been knocking on the door of making something more out of music for a while, but we’ll see. This album feels good so I’ve got hope and drive still.
SL: And when did you realise you wanted to pursue it?
JV: Probably when I was about 16-17. I wrote one good script at A level that the teacher was impressed with, and flirted with the idea of doing scriptwriting in Edinburgh which would have been cool but in hindsight, I would have been s**t. So music it was.
SL: Everything about your work is fluid and instrumentally in tandem. Is there a specific process involved to ensure you get it right?
JV: The process is to write the song on guitar, demo a quick full band version in a day and then bring that to billy and we pick and choose what we like and flesh things out. I think initially it’s really important to catch the ‘magic’ of a tune in that first demo day and come back to it with Bill in a more considered way later on.
SL: Your sound has a distinct feel to it and could be described as Indie. How would you consider it?
JV: Yeah, I guess you’d call it indie/rock. Though I think this record has a more singer/songwriter feel to it at points. They’re both pretty wide spectrums though haha. Really it’s just music that probably moans about shit too much haha
SL: The lyrical content of your work doesn’t feel forced in any way shape or form and is rather poetic. What drives the way you write?
JV: Thanks, man appreciate it! A myriad of things to be honest. From reading about the mad shit that goes on in the world to my own personal experiences. Everything seems to find its way in. Also, I love a good moody atmospheric landscape haha, that is always inspiring.
SL: Do you find that a particular location/time of day helps?
JV: No, to be honest, that moment when a song falls out of the sky for you is pretty much all over the place for me. I just have to make sure I’m writing a lot to make sure I catch those moments.
SL: It’s fair to say that your sound has evolved from your previous projects. What do you feel motivated the change?
JV: A couple of years ago I was stuck in a rut creatively and not really writing anything that was any good. I was putting way too much pressure on myself to write great songs and so they all came out trash. One day after having a few beers and listening to a bunch of songs with my mate Billy (who’s now producing the record) I was like ‘right, I’ve had enough of this I want to write stuff that I actually like’. That spurred a whole bunch of new songs on and I was trying stuff out and some of these are what has become the album.
SL: How can listeners maximise their support for your new album?
JV: Just keep sharing, saving and listening to the singles over the next few months! Please.
Stanisland Magazine 