Here we are, trying to bring back some normalcy in these trying times.
Of course we are staying inside, social distancing and doing our part to help stop the virus from spreading and we hope you are all doing the same.
It feels like we are rediscovering the joys of social media. For such a long time it felt like it was dividing us, rather than bringing us together - but in times of not seeing your friends and favourite artists, video calls and live streams have definitely come to our rescue.
In the middle of all this craziness, Josh Savage is releasing his debut album. So to celebrate brilliant music and to not lose our minds completely, we jumped on a call with Josh and caught up on all things pandemic and the album.
- Audio Interview - Josh Savage
Josh Savage is a singer/songwriter originally from Winchester, UK and is currently based in Berlin, Germany.
His sound is so versatile that you just need to file it under Alternative.
So far Josh has independently relesed two EPs; "Spaces" (2014) and "Quatre Épines" (2015), the latter showcasing Josh's French roots.
In 2015, Josh played 79 shows with Sofar Sounds - all across America and
Europe, in just 5 months. You can stream the documentary made on the
road right here.
Over the years Josh supported acts such as Kodaline, Jack Savoretti, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Razorlight and more.
His singles, "Whisper In The Snow" ft. Alice Pearl and "Ghosts" have racked up hundreds of thousands streams.
He followed up that success with "Blue Luck", a gripping and powerful song which introduced his fans to his eletronic side. Soon after, Josh started releasing the first few singles off of his debut album - and now "The Long Way Round" is out.
To celebrate the release, we caught up over a Skype call and chatted about how Josh is dealing with the social distancing, where and how he recorded the album, how his sound developed, and of course - we talked about food.
Music deals with so many emotions.
It reflects our deepest and most unique stories, it documents our feelings and sometimes it presents history.
When music is influenced by politics, not only does it connect like-minded people, it also vocalises what can be difficult to express.
We are thrilled to see more and more artists use their voices to share their opinions, whether that's on stage, on social media or through their music.
Today's SOTD is one of those songs that makes you think and stays with you for a while, so enjoy it.
- Song Of The Day - "Citizen Of The World" by Josh Savage
Josh Savage is a singer/songwriter originally from Winchester, UK and is currently based in Berlin, Germany.
His sound is so versatile that you just need to file it under Alternative.
So far Josh has independently relesed two EPs; "Spaces" (2014) and "Quatre Épines" (2015), the latter showcasing Josh's French roots.
In 2015, Josh played 79 shows with Sofar Sounds - all across America and
Europe, in just 5 months. You can stream the documentary made on the
road right here.
Over the years Josh supported artists such as Jack Savoretti, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Razorlight and more.
His singles, "Whisper In The Snow" ft. Alice Pearl and "Ghosts" have racked up hundreds of thousands streams.
He followed up that success with "Blue Luck", a gripping and powerful song which introduced his fans to his eletronic side.
And now he's here with "Citizen Of The World", a ballad which will most likely make you think and reflect.
Although the song has been kept very simple and only features Josh's voice and the piano,
the lyrics dive deeper into the emotions a lot of feel towards today's politics and movements.
The way his warm voice delivers the honest and powerful lyrics really allows you to settle into the song, to feel the emotions, to think the thoughts that led him to writing the track.
Josh told us that he wrote the song after the result of the EU referendum: "I've had the fortune of playing my music around the world and met the most wonderful people on my journey. The song is about their "kindness without borders" which rekindles my faith in humanity and gives me hope."
No matter what style or emotion Josh goes for, he always manages to send a message which allows his listeners to feel understood and represented.
I am in a very cool position where I often get to listen to music before it gets released.
I'm not saying this to brag or sound cool, but because I genuinely enjoy it and am very happy about what house in the sand has enabled me to do.
The first album I ever got to listen to before its official release was Tom Odell's "Long Way Down". From that moment on I was hooked and knew that this weird thing they call the music industry was exactly what I wanted to a be part of.
Because I tend to be the "over-excited mum" in my friend group, I usually get... well, over-excited about music. And ladies and gents, the song you get to find out more about today - that was one of those songs I couldn't wait for to be released, so that you guys would be able to hear it too.
Maybe I'm a bit biased because the artwork is a photo I took, but you just need to listen to this track. It's i n c r e d i b l e.
So please grab your headphones or speakers and let's get to know this track together.
- Behind The Song - "Blue Luck" by Josh Savage
Josh Savage is a singer/songwriter originally from Winchester, UK and is currently based in Berlin, Germany.
His sound is so versatile that you just need to file it under Alternative.
So far Josh has independently relesed two EPs; "Spaces" (2014) and "Quatre Épines" (2015), the latter showcasing Josh's French roots.
In 2015, Josh played 79 shows with Sofar Sounds - all across America and
Europe, in just 5 months. You can stream the documentary made on the
road right here.
His two previous singles, "Whisper In The Snow" ft. Alice Pearl and "Ghosts" have racked up hundreds of thousands streams.
And yesterday Josh released his new single "Blue Luck", which is the first single off of his upcoming EP, "Agon", which will be out on 8th March 2019.
(Wondering what "Agon" means? Let everybody's darling Wiki explain it: "Agon is an ancient Greek term for a struggle or contest. [...] Agon is the word-forming element in 'agony', explaining the concept of agon(y) in tragedy by its fundamental characters, the protagonist and antagonist.")
If you want to catch Josh on tour, you have the following options: 8th November - Monarch, Berlin (GER) 18th November - TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht (NL) 22nd November - Railway Inn, Winchester (UK) 23rd November - The Islington, London (UK)
Today Josh tells us how "Blue Luck" came to life:
"Behind the social media veil of my music career, I've had a tough and defining two years.
You know that feeling when life seems to be working against you?
When I moved to London on a whim, I got mugged a week later, my laptop broke the next day, my guitar gets lost on a flight to a show, etc, etc.
Most recently, my family grieve loss after loss and teetered on the brink of financial ruin.
I told my friend Steve all this bad luck was doing my head in and he told me something that will always stand by me:
"You can't hide from bad luck, just have to ride it out."
Despite all the shit, I count myself more fortunate than a lot of people.
Music is everything to me and has saved me in many ways. With music as a medium, I can let my frustration out, overcome drawbacks and get back up again.
I ride on still and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Blue Luck" was written on my first Poland tour.
I landed in Warsaw to discover the airline left my guitar at Heathrow and I was booked to play TED x Warsaw the next day. I was FUMING.
My couchsurfing host was out for the day, so I picked up their old guitar and this song just came out of me.
I recorded "Blue Luck" at Urchin Studios in London with Matt Ingram, who is an absolute joy to work with.
I had a limited budget, so all we had was a small mixing room and a vocal booth to record my EP on Matt's UA Apollo Twin Mkii.
We got a big sound by recording a choir of 3 (me, Matt and my sister Aniya) with overdubbed takes of us standing in different parts of the room.
We also may have sneaked into the main live room to add drums, claps and hammer octaves on the piano when it was free for an hour...
I ditched the acoustic guitar and I guess this is definitely my angriest song, haha."
Well, this is an interesting one to type up. Our first ever house in the sand gig happened and it probably couldn't have been any better. Not only did we have a brilliant lineup, we also got to celebrate this debut in a city that has been so important to house in the sand - Berlin.
I honestly don't know how to structure this post and how to stop myself from repeating what I have been saying ever since I got back from the show.
Hosting a house in the sand gig has been on my bucket list for many years now and I always thought I had to be in the business longer and learn more before I could even think about doing it.
But sometimes you'll meet people and you'll chat to people who ask you about your goals, and when you name them, they might actually help you to make them happen.
And that was exactly the case with this gig. I e-met the brilliant Christian Müller through the blog and when I told him about the visions I had for HITS, he helped me make it happen.
So, he told me about this brilliant venue in Berlin, that also serves vegan food (which was enough to convince me!) and after briefly checking it out online, I knew it was the one for this first show.
And then the artists came on board and I had my lineup together faster than I could've imagined.
I want to say though, that if it would've been possible, I would've wanted every one of my music friends to play.
But three acts were a decent amount for a gig and so we found a date and confirmed the gig.
I'm not gonna lie, the day before I flew to Berlin, I was just waiting for someone to cancel or for something to go horribly wrong - but that wasn't the case and this show happened.
And of course - this would've been a very lonely gig without everyone who came down.
It seriously made me so happy to see so many wonderful people at the show. You were all so attentive and just open to new music and that was the best visualisation of the house in the sand community.
But also - thank you to everyone who sent me a message on the day of the show. My phone was going nuts with all the notifications and messages from you wonderful people and with each message coming in, I felt even more empowered.
Now, enough blabbering - please enjoy our video from the gig:
I'm probably the queen of cheesy posts, so this is just my way of proving that I've still got it.
I want to thank the brilliant and super talented lineup;
that's Dylan Cassin, whom I've known for almost six years now and who has become one of the people I annoy the most. Thank you for flying in not only to play a brilliant set, but also to show your support. You're alright, I guess.
Thank you to Josh Savage who hasn't been trapped in the house in the sand gang for that long but has already been a part of some special HITS moments. Thank you for celebrating this milestone with us and for dealing with all the Golden Girls gifs I send your way.
And then there's Martin Kelly, who is part of the band that inspired me to start this blog.
The band let me steal a line from their song to make it the blog name and luckily they still haven't sued me.
For over six years both Martin and James have said yes to everything I threw their way and they've done that without hesitation.
So thank you playing the title track of the blog and for all the support.
Talk about things coming full circle!
Another huge thank you goes to Ryan McNeil who is the coolest member of Martin and James.
(Yes, I said it.)
Thank you for always helping out, always being supportive, teaching me how to babysit artists and for treating me like a pro when I was just 16 and trying to figure all of this out.
THANK YOU to Ardalan Aram at RAWCREATION for gifting us his time and talent - without Adi this video wouldn't even exist. You've been so generous and so brilliant, so thank you so so so much! I really hope I didn't butcher your work with my edit.
Also, thank you to Jack Grewe who was the sound engineer at the gig and provided us with perfect sound - which of course made the gig so enjoyable. The sound is such an important part of a gig and I'm so glad that you've nailed it. Thanks so much!
Thank you to Christian Müller - this gig wouldn't have happened without your help! Thank you for donating your wisdom and for helping me to make this happen - you've literally made the biggest HITS thing ever happen and for that I'm so thankful.
Of course - thank you to everyone at Barkett! What an iconic venue you are and you might not even know it! My vegan heart was so happy about the food and also the atmosphere. I cannot wait to be back and eat my weight in food. I hope you're ready for that.
And finally - thank you to everyone who has ever supported house in the sand - you're all brilliant and I'm so thankful.
Now that was a long post, wasn't it... Sorry about that, but I had to get it all out.
We have already talked about this gig we're hosting on all of our Social Media channels,
but this gig wouldn't even be happening if house in the sand . com didn't exist.
So we're bringing it home by sharing the news here as well.
So yeah, we're hosting a gig.
Even typing it feels insane.
If you remember, this year we didn't host our annual Birthday Countdown. And the reason for that was during the time we were supposed to organise all of it,
I (Vanessa) was already knee-deep in researching this matter.
So I was pretty much committed to this before I even knew if we could pull it off,
because that's just how we do things over here.
And I mean... we pulled it off.
Well, we're about to.
But, we've got the venue, we've got the date, the artists, we've got the crew and so now all we need is the audience. And we were kinda hoping you could help us out with that.
So - to make it official:
We would like to invite YOU to our first ever house in the sand gig. We're using this as a late birthday party since we didn't celebrate properly in February.
Date: Thursday, April 5th 2018 Venue: Barkett Address: Czeminskistraße 10 // 10829 Berlin
Tickets: You don't need a ticket. This show is a "pay what you can" show, which means that we will be asking for donations.
Schedule: We advice you to be there before 8pm (20:00 Uhr) to get comfortable. We'll be starting between 8pm and 8:30pm with the first act.
If you are a Facebook user and want to help us out,
please let us know if you're coming to the show by selecting "going" in our Facebook event.
Now, let's chat about the artists:
Dylan Cassin
He's been a part of HITS ever since his days in The Arkanes. Remember the band? I'm sure you do. We didn't stop talking about them.
Over the years, Dylan has always been involved in our activities and to have him fly in from Liverpool just to play the show means a lot to us. It also shows that we found the coolest friends in the world.
Dylan will be playing his solo music which is going to be an absolute treat. This will be his first solo show in Germany and we're damn sure it's going to be a blast!
Josh Savage
Josh made his house in the sand debut in 2015 and has not been able to escape ever since. He introduced us to living room shows and safely navigated us through London and onto boats.
Jokes aside, we're thrilled that Josh moved to Berlin and also decided to join our show.
You can expect thoughtful songs that vary from soothing, to hopeful, to heartbreaking. We'll definitely be singing along to his tracks and can't wait for you to hear his songs.
Martin Kelly
house in the sand wouldn't exist without Martin and James' track "Wrong Directions". Isn't that insane?
We think it is. And to have Martin come down and play his music for us just sums up what kind of crazy rollercoaster of opportunities this is. Most of you probably already know and love his music.
In case you don't, come down and be blown away. We'll be in there corner, crying happy tears.
To sum this up for you, we've got some of the finest musicians on board and we cannot wait to celebrate the evening in Berlin.
If you can make it, we would LOVE to see you there and have chats with you.
In case you might not be able to make it, but know somebody who would enjoy this evening, please tell them about this.
We need your support with this and hope we can count on you.
Alright, that's it for now.
I'll hopefully see you on April 5th.
Until then, thank you for letting us do this. It's the coolest.
I think I've said it before, but I just really love the fact, that I get to decide which artists I want to work with.
Running this website on my own means that I have full control over the decisions.
That also means I get to choose which artists I want to interview, and which artists I don't want to interview.
I'd like to think that leads to more enjoyable interviews for everyone; the artists, the viewers and myself.
The most recent interview I filmed, was one enjoyable adventure.
After getting stopped by security for filming at Granary Square in London,
we had to find another spot - and so Josh Savage and myself ended up on a boat, which was also a book shop.
So if you're in London - make sure to find the "Word on the Water" boat and have a little look around, they also host little gigs on there!
Alright, now that I've set the scene for you, please let me introduce you to Josh.
Josh Savage is a self-managed and independent musician, originally from Winchester, UK - now based in London.
His sound can be described as Indie-Folk with Acoustic elements in it. You'll often find beautiful string arrangements in his songs.
So far, Josh independently released three EPs; "Mountains in Hurricanes", "Spaces" and "Quatre Épines" - the last one showcasing Josh's French roots.
In 2015, Josh played 79 shows with Sofar Sounds - all across America and
Europe, in just 5 months. You can stream the documentary made on the
road on Vimeo -> "Living Room Tour".
His single "Whisper In The Snow" ft. Alice Pearl was played on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show by Jo Whiley and has been streamed over 260.000 times on Spotify.
And soon Josh will be heading off on tour again - you can find out where to in the interview.
So after we climbed onto the Word on the Water boat in London, we had a little chat about "Ghosts", writing and singing in French, dealing with set backs and a lot more.
(Stay tuned until the end for some outtakes.)
Mega thanks to Josh for being such fun to film and hang out with. And a huge thank you to James who let us film on the boat- he's possibly the coolest guy in London!
Song titles. When you really think about it, they are quite powerful.
They're the first impression you get from a song.
They allow your mind to think about what the song may be about.
They can draw vivid images in your head. They set a scene before the song gets to take the lead.
So, technically, song titles are pretty important.
And there are millions (probably billions?) out there. Some are brilliant and do their jobs, whilst others are slightly more surprising - to say the least.
To our delight, there are quite a few odd song titles out there,
which gave us the perfect excuse to challenge two of house in the sand's favourite musicians.
Before you check out the video we shot with Rhys Lewis and Josh Savage, make sure to get to know these two brilliant singer/songwriters.
Rhys Lewis is a singer/songwriter based in London, UK.
His sound is going to make every classic Soul lover's heart beat - combining Soul with elements of Folk, Rock and Blues, Rhys has quickly created a signature sound which will draw your attention to his work.
Spending most of the past year in studios in London, Nashville, Stockholm, Los Angeles and Berlin, the young musician has been writing and recording songs for his upcoming debut album.
His debut single "Waking Up Without You" hit #1 on Spotify's Viral Chart and reached 170 000 streams within two weeks.
Follow-up single "Living In The City" was just as strong and has now been streamed over 1.3 million times - a statement which probably speaks for itself.
His most recent single "I Know The Feeling" was written for a friend who was going through a tough time. The song and its music video adddress the importance of men's mental health.
Check out Rhys' latest single "I Know The Feeling" below:
Josh Savage is a self-managed and independent musician, originally from Winchester, UK - now based in London.
His sound can be described as Indie-Folk with Acoustic elements in it. You'll often find beautiful string arrangements in his songs.
So far, Josh independently released three EPs; "Mountains in Hurricanes", "Spaces" and "Quatre Épines" - the last one showcasing Josh's French roots.
In 2015, Josh played 79 shows with Sofar Sounds - all across America and
Europe, in just 5 months. You can stream the documentary made on the
road on Vimeo -> "Living Room Tour".
His single "Whisper In The Snow" ft. Alice Pearl was played on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show by Jo Whiley and has been streamed over 260.000 times on Spotify.
Earlier this month Josh released his latest single "Ghosts" and blew us all away with it.
Within the past five years, we have been able to learn a lot about this wild thing they call "the music industry".
It's one of those industries you can love and hate at the very same time.
You have to constantly evolve, be present at all times and you have to be mega passionate about what you're doing.
And whilst all of that keeps you busy enough already, this mad industry still throws enough sticks and stones your way.
So yeah, it's not easy to keep going all the time - but thankfully, there are those hard working musicians who deserve all the respect and support we can offer.
And today we want to celebrate one hard working artist who just released a new song.
Check it out!
- Release Of The Day - "Ghosts" by Josh Savage
Josh Savage is a self-managed and independent musician, originally from Winchester, UK - now based in London.
His sound can be described as Indie-Folk with Acoustic elements in it. You'll often find beautiful string arrangements in his songs.
So far, Josh independently released three EPs; "Mountains in Hurricanes", "Spaces" and "Quatre Épines" - the last one showcasing Josh's French roots.
In 2015, Josh played 79 shows with Sofar Sounds - all across America and
Europe, in just 5 months. You can stream the documentary made on the
road on Vimeo -> "Living Room Tour".
His previous single "Whisper In The Snow" ft. Alice Pearl was played on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show by Jo Whiley and has been streamed over 260.000 times on Spotify.
And on this lovely day, Josh is treating us with a new release - his single "Ghosts".
"Ghosts" takes you on a dramatic ride through emotions.
It greets you with expressive strings, which will walk you through the song.
The verses are kept rather simple, with their focus on the calm acoustic guitar and Josh's warm vocals - a fantastic pairing.
A moody build-up in the pre-chorus prepares you for the big outburst in the chorus; it's loud, it's passionate and it's dramatic - the strings couldn't have been placed better to intensify the atmosphere.
The personal and frustratingly relatable lyrics literally tie you to the song and make you feel emotions, you didn't even know you were feeling.
Leave it to Josh's clever use of subtle backing vocals to underline the dramaturgy of the song
. "Ghosts" is yet another proof that Josh Savage keeps on taking things to another level.
Listen to "Ghosts" below:
And just because we know you just fell in love with the song, here's an acoustic version we recorded last month:
Have you ever sat in your own living room whilst being at a gig?
Okay, I know I just made that sound confusing, I'm sorry.
But that's exactly what I got to do earlier this month.
I hosted a living room show in my flat and it was marvelous.
Those of you who have been reading house in the sand for a while, probably have heard of Josh Savage before. We've featured him a couple of times and have been fans of his music ever since we first heard it.
Josh is known for touring the world, one living room at a time. And just a little while back he was looking for people to host shows in their homes.
I got in touch and fast forward a couple of weeks, Josh and his support act Matt arrived in my hometown.
Below you'll find photos, you'll learn more about the musicians and you'll even get to watch a little video from the evening.
Date: 3rd June 2017 Venue: Vanessa's living room Support Act: Matt Perriment
Matt Perriment is a London based musician.
He's been making music for 7 years now and has successfully found his signature sound; Indie-Folk meets Acoustic.
His debut EP, "Everlast", was all it took for him to build a loyal fanbase.
This year he'll be playing iconic London venues such as The Lexington, St Pancras Old Church, The Islington and many more.
Next up is his first headline show in London, at Servant Jazz Quarters on the 23rd of August. Make sure to head to his social media channels in order to get tickets.
After that, Matt will be touring New Zealand.
_____________________________________________________________________ Main Act: Josh Savage
Josh Savage is a self-managed and independent musician, originally from Winchester, UK - now based in London.
His sound can be described as Indie-Folk with Acoustic elements in it. You'll often find beautiful string arrangements in his songs.
So far, Josh independently released three EPs; "Mountains in Hurricanes", "Spaces" and "Quatre Épines" - the last one showcasing Josh's French roots.
In 2015, Josh played 79 shows with Sofar Sounds - all across America and Europe, in just 5 months. You can stream the documentary made on the road on Vimeo -> "Living Room Tour".
His latest single "Whisper In The Snow" ft. Alice Pearl was played on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show by Jo Whiley and has been streamed over 260.000 times on Spotify.
His next release, "Ghosts" will be out on July 7th, so make sure you follow Josh to be the first to hear it.
Hosting this show was an absolute delight and I'm so glad it worked out.
It was fun to know that nobody in the audience had ever been to a living room show before, but thanks to that evening, they're expectations for the next one are really high.
If I had to compare this gig to a normal one, the first thing I'd point out is how relaxed and intimate the atmosphere was. There was no talking in the audience, just a lot of respect and admiration for the musicians.
I was told that the guests also enjoyed being able to chat to Matt and Josh after the show, and how they've had the CDs on repeat since.
Below is a litte video filled with clips from both sets. You'll also find a clip of the two musicians playing Matt's song "Cattle Bay" after the show.
Mega thank you to Josh and Matt for this fabulous show! Was a pleasure having you in town! (I think even Melody thought you were alright!)
Here's a wee little group selfie I stole from Josh's channel. (thanks, ha!)
And that's it! I really hope you enjoyed checking out this little multi-media impression of the gig.
In case you ever have the opportunity to host a show in your living room, please do it. You'll have a wonderful evening and you'll help supporting independent artists.
We tend to take music for granted, but it's really a very special form of art - and we need to support the artists who create music for us to enjoy.
I'm seriously tempted to use caps right now.
Because IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN.
Oops, sorry, it just happened.
I am slightly over-excited because it's finally time for another edition of our annual Birthday Countdown again.
This is the one project I'm absolutely passionate about and it always brings the HITS community together to celebrate. (Which is by far the loveliest thing!)
What is #HITSBC16?
HITSBC16 stands for house in the sand's Birthday Countdown 2016.
Throughout the entire month of February, we will be celebrating this website's fourth birthday.
One artist/band a day is going to wish us a happy birthday and then perform a song exclusively for this sweet occasion.
Who is performing today?
Josh Savage.
He is a singer/songwriter about to be based in London, UK. He's originally from Winchester, UK and has roots in Paris, France.
His bilingual upbringing led to Josh writing music in both English and French.
Josh's sound is often described as a mixture of folk and rockand his musical influences range from Gabrielle Aplin to Saint Raymond to Snow Patrol to Bombay Bicycle Club and Bonobo.
As a child who "sang before he spoke", it was obvious that Josh was going to pursue a music career.
Whilst international fan can sing along to Josh's first two EPs "Mountains In Hurricanes" and "Spaces", his latest release "Quatre Épines" showcases the beautiful language that is French.
What is special about this video?
Well, the song Josh performs for us my favourite song of his and I'm sure you'll find out why.
This performance is very intimate and very personal. The fact that Josh filmed it with a GoPro camera makes it even cooler.
So, today we get to sit down in his room (not literally, we're no creeps!) and listen to this gorgeous performance.
Without further ado, here is Josh Savage performing "Your Lips" for house in the sand!
Who do we need to thank?
With Josh being a self-managed artist, the only person I was in touch with to organize this performance was Josh himself. And he was an absolute pleasure to work with.
So Josh, thank you a million times for this marvellous performance!
What can we do now?
If you enjoyed this article, please help us reach more people by sharing it along with the hashtag #HITSBC16. Everybody who uses the hashtag on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram has the chance to win something amazing once the countdown is over.
I hope you enjoyed day 1 of our birthday party!
Day 2:
Thank you for your visit!
Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image & Performance (video): Josh Savage | Video intro (audio): Martin Kelly | Video intro (visual): Vanessa Jertschewske
I've got a question - how many of you listen to music?
No, I don't mean listen to music in the "got it playing in the background" kind of way.
I mean, how many of you sit down, put on a song and just listen to it without doing anything else?
I have to admit that I often forget that listening to music can be a single task.
You don't have to exercice whilst listening, you don't have to tidy your room, you don't have to anything whilst listening to music.
In fact, I think it's only fair to inhale a song, to notice all it's small details; from the clever riff to the tiniest percussion. It'll make you realise how much effort the artists put into their music. (in most cases)
Today I'd like to share an incredible performance with you by an artist I can't help but listen to without doing anything else.
Josh Savageis a singer/songwriter from Winchester, UK raised in Paris, France.
His sound is often described as a mixture of folk and rock and his musical influences range from Gabrielle Aplin to Saint Raymond to Snow Patrol to Bombay Bicycle Club and Bonobo.
As a child who "sang before he spoke", it was obvious that Josh was going to pursue a music career.
So far he released two EPs by himself; "Mountains In Hurricanes" and "Spaces", both of them received great critics.
His upcoming EP "Quatre Épines" is available for pre-order now, click here.
The EP is in French and was inspired by the book Le Petit Prince and it's out 7th December 2015.
I've featured Josh before (interview) and already fell for his music back then. It was recently when a good friend of mine, Jim Kroft, played a show with Josh and posted about it.
Yesterday I started listening to his songs again and couldn't get over "Your Lips", therefore I'd like to share this incredible performance with you guys today.
Whilst the studio version of this song includes a steady rhythm section and gorgeous string arrangements, Josh's live version is kept very simple.
Vocals and guitar.
The performance for Sofar Sounds Toronto highlights the fragile and vulnerable side of the song; Josh's warm vocals transport the emotions in such strong way.
He makes you listen to every word he sings, his music soaks you in and doesn't let you go easily.
The light guitar picking slowly transforms into energetic strumming, the vocals get louder - the atmosphere of the song intensifies.
Josh tells a painful story with this song and let's you connect with the song in such beautiful way.
I think a lot of you will agree with me when I say that interviews are probably some of the most interesting posts. I love interviewing musicians and learning more about their creative process, their inspiration, their background.
Today I'm happy to present you an interview with Josh Savage.
Josh Savage is a singer/songwriter from Winchester, UK raised in Paris, France.
His sound is often described as a mixture of folk and rock and his musical influences range from Gabrielle Aplin to Saint Raymond to Snow Patrol to Bombay Bicycle Club and Bonobo.
As a child who "sang before he spoke", it was obvious that Josh was going to pursue a music career.
So far he released two EPs by himself; "Mountains In Hurricanes" and "Spaces", both of them received great critics.
In the interview he talks about how starting out singing in a choir led him to being the independent artist he is nowadays, his love for Bonobo, social media, shooting guns and a lot more!
house in the sand: Hi Josh, thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Let's talk about your career: You've been performing in choirs at a very young age. Would you say those performances influenced your current music style?
Josh Savage: Hey! Yes, I guess so. The classical training really helped develop my voice and confidence on stage. I'm really into my melodies so I must have taken that from the songs I was singing in the choirs.
HITS: So far you've released several EPs on your own, you also do you own booking and press work. How do you feel about being an independent artist? Josh: It's bloody hard work but it's great when you see it pay off. I also have three part-time jobs including working at a special needs school to finance the music. I find I end up doing very little of the music side of things sometimes which can be frustrating, but at least you get the freedom to do the music you actually want to write, sing and play.
HITS: Would you say social media plays a big part in your music career? Josh: Big time. A lot of people complain how the internet is crippling the music industry but I have no idea how independent artists can get heard without it when we don't have the funds that major label companies put into PR.
HITS: I've noticed you've already done quite a few collaborations with other artists. Who else would you like to work with one day? Josh: Bonobo is one of my favourite artists, I'd absolutely love to work with him. And I'm just gonna throw this one out there - Mark Ronson. That guy is a genius.
HITS: You grew up in Winchester and Paris. Do you think those cities had an impact on your writing? Josh: Yes and I've written songs about them. 'Mountains In Hurricanes' is inspired by Winchester's St Catherine's Hill which is the hill the person I wrote the song about would run up when things got too much and 'Lost In Paris' is my back up plan if the music doesn't work out.
HITS: Talking about cities, you seem to be quite a traveller. What items do you always bring with you whilst heading towards new destinations? Josh: My Kindle, GoPro, honey and trainers - touring tends to be quite unhealthy so I go for a jog when I can.
HITS: Your newest single 'Bella' has received some great feedback. Can you tell us a bit about the writing and recording process? How long did you work on this song?
Josh: That was a song that just fell out of me. Normally I take a while to write songs but it came to me after a few days. I didn't actually think it was any good until I played it to a few friends and they said I 100% had to release it. It probably would have been one of those ones I write to get out of my system but kept hidden otherwise. I recorded it with producer Julian Simmons who's worked with Ed Sheeran in the past and we got it done in three days amongst some other songs.
HITS: Please complete the following sentence: I am Josh Savage and I... Josh: ...just shot a gun in Dallas TX.
HITS: If there is anything else you would like the house in the sand readers to know, this is your time! Josh: I'm looking to do a living room tour around Europe in Autumn, so if anyone would like to host an intimate show to their friends and family, I'm just an email away - info@joshsavagemusic.com
