London-based singer and songwriter, Josh Collins, knows what it’s like to want to escape the everyday of a busy life. Collins developed his love of singing and writing while attending university in 2012, and has continued his passion since. He was influenced in his earlier years by Jamie T and British musical icon Paul Weller, in which Collins states that “Paul Weller i s a fantastic songwriter who has never stoped writing. From The Jam to the The Style Council to his solo material they all show his fearless approach to writing music.”
With his debut EP, Porky Pies, (which is a Cockney rhyming slang for “lies), and Collins shares that the title song for the EP “was written about a close friend of mine who was involved in a toxic relationship. I played around with other album names but they all felt pretentious. I grew up in a traditional East London family so it felt natural.” BBC6 Introducing’s DJ Tom Robinson has heralded Collins as having “having lovely vocals and sharp lyrics.”
Even further, Collins’ music is inspired and drawn from raw clarity and realness, which he shares he tries be “as pure as possible with songwriting. I write about real stories as they’re much more authentic and easier to delve into. It also benefits the listener as they indulge more into the lyrics. Also, writing with real emotion helps me know if I’ve written a keeper or not. This same kind of purity is heard and seen with his new music video for his single “Hold You Back,” which takes place in the Lake District and is a national park located in northwest England. Directed by Tom Precey, Yannick Hausler and Molly Tebbutt, Collins’ shares that filming the video “was a team effort. I was involved in the direction of the project as much as everyone else. I have a lot of ideas and was bouncing different ones of the whole team. We all listened to each other and worked towards putting the vision into practice. He also explains that filming the video “was fun..it was cold and it was tiring. But overall, it was a phenomenal experience that i’ll never forget!”
Check out the video for “Hold You Back” below:
Find out several of Josh’s firsts (including concert and album), and a few of his favorites below:
Who was your first concert, and who has been your overall favorite, thus far?
Josh Collins: First concert is a toss up between The Cribs or the Maccabees. I can’t think which one came first!
Concerts are tough..but the one that sticks out for me is seeing Jamie Woon whilst I was in Beijing; was very intimate and I was shocked he was there!
What was your first album on CD and/or vinyl?
Josh: Tough to say as it was all illegal downloading through lime wire whilst i was growing up. But first physical CD may have been Chris Brown’s debut album back in 2005.
Which five artists or albums would you not want to live without?
Without naming those already mentioned I’d say..
Amy Winehouse – Frank
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Lianne La Havas (both albums)
Frank Ocean – Channel ORANGE
Paul Weller – Days Of Speed
Which Paul Weller song is your absolute favorite?
Josh: “Above The Clouds” from the Live Album Days of Speed. Unreal.
Do you have a guilty music or entertainment pleasure?
“Great British Bake Off.” Why? Because it’s just so quintessentially British.
Catch Josh on Instagram.
