TALENTBANQ RADAR PRESENTS: JOE SLATER

Posted on January 25th, 2018 by James Gamble

Joe, Joe, Joe.

 

Where do I start with this twenty-one-year-old Scouse?

 

Self-proclaimed “rascal from Liverpool”, he gives no freakin’ friggs from the North West of England. The “giver of peace, love, harmony and egg chow mein” – says it all, really.

 

Not really arsed about his Waterloo Road acting history, he states he’s a musician through and through. ‘Tis to be expected when you’re a self-taught musician of six instruments.

 

So, it’s clear he has quite the plethora of talent. I asked him what his favourite instrument was, he said the “harmonica” …???? … I didn’t quite know if he was taking the piss or actually really loved it. Either way, he also loves playing the drums; paying homage to the Phil Collins’ Cadbury’s advert.

 

I queried his nomadic lifestyle, which is split between the Pool of Liver and Don of Lon. He seemed to shrug it off, “I’m a traveller, a musician. The train journey’s shit but apart from that it’s all good, I like it”. Well that’s ruddy good then, isn’t it? ‘Cos he’s pinging his rock n roll to all corners of the UK, from Glasgow to Chesham.

 

After asking the age-old question of his influences, he said doesn’t know why he plays music…He just does it because it feels good. It’s a natural thing to do – it’s instinct – anything and everything can inspire him, even “the carpet on the floor”. Time stops and everything happens without even thinking about it. He doesn’t find inspiration, it finds him. DEEP. But, if he did have to choose, he draws “subconscious” inspo from the likes of David Gray, Beatles, Oasis and Pink Floyd.

 

When I enquired about his deep song-writing-ness, referring to his 2016 record, Floatin’, he said “listen here, I’m fuckin’ crazy…Fuckin’ a bit eccentric’’. He’s trying to find the fine line between craziness and creativity, where if you’re on the line and don’t go over the edge, you’ll find it’s genius. We’re all a bit ‘effed up in our own ways, he says, “you need to mangle your mind and then get it all back together”. After some more chat, he proceeded to invite me to play the trombone on his next track ‘Mangle of the Mind’. How could I refuse?

 

Anyway, apparently, he can’t stand Floatin’ anymore, ‘cos he finds it boring – he was still finding his identity and voice. I beg to differ, but you can make your own mind up, listen here. Joe says in 2018 his music is more mature [insert: cheddar], he’s found his lil corner of melody, which is a world away from the top 50 trap music saturating the charts. A salmon swimming upstream, some may say.

 

FYI, Joe’s got about three album’s worth of songs to catapult at you.

Ok, so, where can you hear him play next and endure some top-quality banter? Where can you see this rockstar-in-the-making play live?

TALENTBANQ is promoting Joe’s Shoreditch Showcase on the 20th. GET YOURSELVES THERE.

Keep your eyes peeled, please, ‘cos the venue is TBA.

Posted in Fresh News, Uncategorized | Comments Off on TALENTBANQ RADAR PRESENTS: JOE SLATER