Jacob Reddy, is a 17 year old indie pop singer songwriter from Lancashire, and he was released his fifth single, ‘Nothing Is Impossible'. This track was definitely the highlight of Jacob's ‘All 51 Cities In 22 Consecutive Days’ recent busking tour of England, which generated a lot of very positive media attention. It was featured on ITV News, (where he played live for the presenters), GMTV and several BBC Radio shows. Jacob Reddy was also featured on various online chat shows and TV channels.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
What first got you into music?
I’ve loved music pretty much since as soon as I could speak (or more accurately, sing). I remember being 5 and belting out Queen tunes in the kitchen! However, I was first inspired to start playing music when I was six at my uncle and aunty's wedding. There was an awesome rock band called the Indie Killers playing fantastic music throughout the night and I remember staying up, listening to the whole set. After that getting a guitar was straight at the top of my Christmas list, and after my first guitar lesson on my 7th birthday I haven’t stopped playing since!
What is your creative process like?
In terms of writing songs, its always changing. Most of the time I could be doing something completely random and an idea, whether its a little melody or a rhyme, could just pop into my head. From there, I guess I just try my best to fit a song around that idea. I usually find that once I get started on a new song the whole process happens fairly quickly.
Your latest song is 'Nothing Is Impossible'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
The making of 'Nothing Is Impossible' has definitely been different to any previous songwriting process , mainly because its quite different to what I’ve done in the past. Most of my songs involve acoustic, electric and bass guitars, drums and percussion, but I knew straight away, as soon as I'd written the melody, that I wanted this song to be synth driven. I remember spending so long looking through different synth settings to try and find that one sound that worked! It was really fun trying this style out and definitely something I look to do again.
What was the most difficult challenge you faced?
I think with this song the whole thing was a challenge! It was basically the theme song for my summer 2021 charity busking tour of all 51 Cities in England, which I completed in 22 consecutive days. The tour eventually raised over £10K for Derian House Children's Hospice in Lancashire. I wrote the song before I set off, but as I toured so many people commented that the lyrics seemed to perfectly reflect the challenge that I was doing. I always try to write uplifting, acoustic songs, but it soon became clear that this song needed somewthing a little different. It took far longer to produce and mix than any of my previous tracks, as I wanted to add plenty of synths but still stay true to my indie guitar roots. The main challenge now will be trying to replicate the synth sound when I perform it live!
What is the biggest mistake you have made within your career to this point?
I think that my biggest mistake came with my first single release, 'Kings'. I'd never had any experience of releasing music before, and didn't understand the importance of radio edits and professional mastering. As a result, I put out Kings unmastered and nearly 5 and a half minutes long! I love this song, and it always gets a great response when I play it live, so I'm intending to re-record and release a 'Reloaded' version of Kings very soon!
How do you know when a work is finished?
For me, I guess its when a song almost gets to a point where I would like to listen to it if it popped on a playlist (although I don't know know if I'd ever like listening to my own vocals!) There can always be room for changes, though, but luckily I've got a fantastic production team who guide and support me with any other ways in which the song can be improved.
What are your long term goals?
My long term goals are probably to carry on releasing music and hopefully have a long career in the business. Obviously I'd love it if I became a succesful musican but realistically, as long as I’m able to be involved with music in some forn or other then I’ll be happy.
Do you have a mentor or coach?
For me, I’d say my biggest mentors are Imogen and James who run the studio where I record my music (Esche Haus Audio in Blackburn). They have always gone above and beyond to help me out with my music and have taught me so so much along the way, which I’ll always be so grateful for.
What memorable responses have you had to your work?
By far the most special moment of possibly even my life was when I went to watch my hero, Frank Turner in concert, on the actual evening that I finished my busking tour. Frank gave me a shoutout on stage at the 02 Apollo in Manchester., telling the audience of 3500 people all about my 51 Cities Challenge. Then, the next thing to happen was the entirecrowd started chanting my name which, even now, I have no words to explain! Frank has since watched the music video for Nothing Is Impossible and sent me a really lovely message saying how much he enjoyed the track.
What are your plans for the future?
I guess my plans for the future are almost the same now as they were when I started and its simply just to be able to play music in any way, shape or form for the rest of my life. As I said before, music has always held a special place in my heart and it's my dream to keep playing, singing, recording and performing for as long as I possibly can!