Day 1: Josh Savage | #HITSBC16

Hey guys!

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 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.

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!

Where can we find Josh Savage online?
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube | Instagram

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 

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Performance Of The Day: "Your Lips" by Josh Savage

Hey guys!

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 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.

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.

Have a listen yourself!

Josh Savage online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube




Thank you for reading!

Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image & Video: Josh Savage

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