By Max Modell and Victoria Maria

Can you tell me a bit about your new single ÔÇ£Midnight BlueÔÇØ?

ÔÇ£Midnight BlueÔÇØ is the odd one out in the recent songs IÔÇÖve written. Usually when I write a song, I write it from start to finish in one sitting – but with this one it took about eight months from when I started the song to when I called it finished. I wrote other songs in-between, but I kept coming back to rework that one. In some ways itÔÇÖs a simple song, but at the same time a lot happened during the time I worked on it. It began as a song for someone I was missing, but by the end of it I wasnÔÇÖt missing them all that much anymore. The song reminds me of them and that period of time, it left a sour taste for a while, but now I look back with a smile on those bittersweet days.

Who would you say are your main musical influences?

Bob Dylan has always been there, since before I really understood what music was – Bob Dylan was the walls of my childhood home and IÔÇÖve been notching up my height against that wall ever since.

Tom Waits, Etta James, Muddy Waters, Leonard Cohen and plenty others are always there too.

How did you get discovered?

I have been fortunate to have supported another of my musical heroes – Joan Armatrading – I was busking in Waterloo tube station one day back in 2012 and Joan came passing by. She liked the sound of my songs and kindly offered me to support her on her upcoming tour that year. To date IÔÇÖve supported Joan at around thirty concert halls across Europe the UK and Ireland.

How does it differ making music with Nub Music to recording on your own record label?

I am used to working as a lone wolf, so it takes some adjusting to working with a team – but NUB put the artist first, which is something necessary to the way I work. I have a great team and I consider myself lucky to be working with all of them.

What is your writing process like? 

I like to sit in a cafe with a paper pad, a pen, and plenty of coffee. I sit and write until I think the lyrics are done. I usually have an idea of the vocal melody in my head as I write, then once the lyrics are done – I head home to sing with my┬águitar until the full song is finished.

ThatÔÇÖs the usual way I do it, but it can happen in other ways – often IÔÇÖll be walking along and get a tune in my head, write the lyrics as I walk or record them on my phone – that happens quite a lot too. Or during the night – sometimes I canÔÇÖt sleep and so I write instead.

My favourite song of yours is ÔÇ£Queen of SpadesÔÇØ, it is an epic fairy tale. Where did that story come from? And how do you go about writing a song that is so long?

That song was a difficult one. Because of that itÔÇÖs one of my favourites too. It was hard to write, a pain to play, and almost impossible to record. ItÔÇÖs based on a short story by the Russian writer Pushkin. As soon as I read the story, I wanted to turn it into a song. It took a lot of coffee to get that one done. When it came to recording, I printed the lyrics out on a ton of A4 and stuck them┬áin a row all down a mic stand extended 8 feet into the air. I read as I played it with my band but because the song is so long we would mess up without fail somewhere along the way. At first it was twenty five minutes long – too long I thought so I asked everyone to play twice as fast and weÔÇÖll half the running time. We were almost there on one take and I broke a string on the second last verse – I almost tore it up and let it go. But we got there in the end.

What have you been listening to recently?

This morning, Cajun music. ÔÇÿUnder the green oak treeÔÇÖ.

What are you working on at the moment?

My third album. ÔÇÿMidnight BlueÔÇÖ is the first single. The rest is coming early 2019.

Do you have any plans to come and play in Cardiff any time soon?

I am planning a tour for 2019 as we speak. If anyone has any suggestions of where I should play, please get in touch at ben-holland.co.uk