Having already found himself played on Jon Kennedy’s Radio X show and landed on Louder Than War’s end of month round up in recent times, emerging singer-songwriter Joe Russell Brown is back once again to showcase his single ‘Nausea/Fatigue.
Lifted from Three Minute Heroes album Vol.2 - a mental health/music initiative from this Hull based youth project, ‘Nausea/Fatigue’ makes for a wonderfully bright and uplifting offering from the frontman. Mixing soft and wilting vocals with a driven indie-rock aesthetic showcases him as a firm talent on the new music landscape.
So with the new compilation album out soon, we sat down with him to find out more about the new project and what else he has in store for us soon.
Words by Chris Bound
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Photocred: Christoper Brew
Chris) Hi Joe, how are you today?
Joe) Very well thank you!
Who would you say have been your biggest influences so far?
My biggest influences always come back to the same things, certain artists, certain films. Bob Dylan’s a constant cornerstone for me in terms of writing.
You have just released your new single ‘Nausea/Fatigue’ as part of the Three Minute Heroes mental health and music initiative. Can you tell us the inspiration behind the song and how you recorded it?
I guess the obvious inspiration behind the track would be the piece written by the young person, which was deconstructed and put back together to become the lyrics of the song. Musically, when writing the song I wanted it to sound like ‘Coney Island Baby’ By Lou Reed. Didn’t turn out that way, but I’m still very happy with the result. The song was recorded with Pat Pretorius at AOO Studios, which was a great, easy experience.
And are you pleased with how it turned out?
Very pleased and the radio stations seem to like it too which always helps. Radio X DJ John Kennedy was the first to play it on the day it came which was a buzz for sure!
The single is on the new Three Minute Heroes Vol 2 album. Can you tell us about Three Minute Heroes and what we can expect to hear on the album?
The album’s great! So much amazing work by amazing people. The Three Minute Heroes project has been building momentum in recent years and it’s great to be involved in something that truly helps young people find the confidence to express themselves, as well as drawing attention to the adults who need to hear this stuff.
And what about your plans for the rest of the year?
My plans at the minute are very much up in the air with everything that’s going on. I’ve had an EP ready for release since February, but no time has felt right to release it as of yet. But I would love to be able to release these songs in the next coming few months. I’m very proud of them.
And finally, what would be your dream ambition as an artist?
My dream ambition as an artist I think would be sustainability, I couldn’t ask for more than that. Whether that’s to be able to solely create for an income or to maintain a level of creativity and work alongside my other commitments as I have been doing for a few years now.