Last week I took to the keyboard between festivities to have a natter with Joe Wilkinson, an acoustic singer/songwriter/guitarist from Bournemouth, UK.
Stating one of his main influences as Ed Sheeran, Wilkinson describes having been blown away by his songs and showmanship whilst attending a gig at his university whilst Sheeran was still relatively unknown. He also found himself inspired by Sheeran’s ability to not only be a fantastic musician, but also to maintain a down-to-earth personality – a quality that he hopes to emulate himself.
Without people to appreciate your music, you are nothing and I think it’s really important to give back.
With the upcoming release of his latest EP ‘Songs Before You Knew Me’ in February and his recent success in the Beat100 World Music Video Chart with ’13 Songs 6 Minutes’, it seemed ample time for a good old-fashioned Q&A.
Hello, Joe! Happy new year!
Hi Athena, Happy new year to you too!
We love getting to know the smaller musicians here at Cultured Vultures. What are your aims for 2015? Did you make any resolutions?
I have many aims for 2015. Firstly, I have my first official release which will be out in the first few weeks of February. It is a 5 track EP entitled – Songs Before You Knew Me. I’m very excited to finally have a finished piece of work that I can share with my fans. The social media side of things has really grown in the past month and I intend to continue to develop that.
Recently you ranked 2nd in the Beat100 World Music Video Chart, congratulations! Prior to this, what would you consider to have been the highlights of your career so far?
I would say the recording and release of my upcoming record is definitely a highlight for me as it represents a big step forward to actually have a body of work that will be available for people to buy. In addition, I really enjoyed the summer months where I was playing 4 or 5 gigs a week on the Costa Blanca in Spain, I met so many lovely people who were really receptive to my music.
I see that you’re enjoying gigging abroad at the moment, do you have any plans to return to the UK?
I’m currently in Germany playing my music and will be until April. I am then moving back to the UK to play all over the place, so it promises to be a very exciting and busy year for me!
I understand that you have been gigging and performing for many years with various small groups and projects, how are things different now that you’re launching yourself as a solo artist?
While it’s always great to play with others I really feel that I have found myself as a solo artist. You have so much more creative control and freedom to take things in the direction that you want them and that is what it is all about for me. I wouldn’t rule out playing with others in the future but my solo material will always be my main focus.
If you could choose any artist, alive or deceased, who would you most like to collaborate with?
I’m not sure I can whittle it down to just one so I will give you one deceased and one who is still with us. Firstly, John Lennon as I believe that so much of today’s music in terms of song construction originated with the Beatles, it would be great to spend some time understanding how the mind of such a unique talent for his time worked. As for a current musician it would have to be Ed Sheeran.
Finally, which track(s) of yours should we all be listening to and why?
I have literally just finished a brand new video for a track called ‘Deadline’ which will be available on my Facebook page and for free download on SoundCloud. The song is all about being stuck doing something that you don’t want to do in life and I hope it is a track that people will connect with. Everyone says that life is too short and I really think that applies even more so if you end up doing something that you hate with your life, which unfortunately, so many of us do. It’s also the last original that I’ll be releasing before the EP.
Deadline – Joe Wilkinson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cDF_E14hqE
Facebook.com/JoeWilkinsonMusic
Soundcloud.com/Joe-Wilkinson-Music
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