Singers, solo and acoustic artists in Leicester

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Joel Owen

Singer of the month (October 2009)

We interview singer Joel Owen.

Photo: Amy Brammell

Artsin: Were you born in Leicester?

Joel: Yes, I was born here, lived here until I was twenty, and now I float between Leicester and London

Artsin: When did you start singing?

Joel: I suppose I had always enjoyed singing but I started singing and writing as I do now probably about 5 years ago. That was the beginning of taking it seriously.

Artsin: When did you give your first public performance? What was it like?

Joel: I had been involved in Big Bands and Ensembles from a very young age so as far back as i can rember I was performing music of some kind/

Artsin: So your living in London now then?

Joel: Yeah, I'm just entering into my third year of uni, studying philosophy at London Met. I moved to London for uni but also bearing in mind the potential benefit it could have for my music

Artsin: what moves youo the most as a song writer?

Joel: Honesty in lyrics. When there is something in the performance of a song that actually enables you to feel what it means to the person singing.

Artsin: Who is you favourite singer on a national level?

Joel: Vocally, probably Ray Lamontagne

Artsin: Which other Leicester signers do you admire?

Joel: I think now seems to be an exciting time for a lot of music in Leicester. There are so many bands playing the circuit which deserve to be heard. In terms of other singer-songwriters I think Natalie Squance is the most exciting. As well as her, there's Ols Moore, David Wyatt, Charlie Jones. All of these are great.

Artsin: What's your favourite live music venue in Leicester?

Joel: The Musician, without a doubt. Its a great venue, particularly for acoustic music.

Artsin: You have released an album on "Musician Records". How did it do?

Joel: That was great, it was not long after I'd started playing and they really made it possible for me to make and put out an album, which was a fantastic opportunity.

Artsin: Tell us about your forthcoming Album release

Joel: The new album, 'Love and Music' is released on Musician Records tommorow (Oct 16th). It's gone in a slightly different direction and is played with a whole band. I've worked with some really talented musicians on it and I cant wait to put it out.

Artsin: Careerwise, where you would you like to be in say two years time?

Joel: It's difficult to say really, plans never come together so for now Im just enjoying doing what I'm doing and seeing where it takes me

Read more about Joel Owen on the BBC website