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Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with unsigned UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with unsigned London based singer Damien Jones to find out more…

Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
From Melbourne Australia but living in London for many years. I first started to play the guitar as a child but was more interested in singing into the hairbrush to Madonna and any other pop diva of the time. I abandoned the idea of singing for many years until I joined a theatre group in London and found myself around many musicians, singers, actors and creatives. This ignited something deep within me so I started to do covers online and eventually formed an acoustic duo with a female guitarist which was over before it even began. I never had the intention to write my own music, but only 2 years ago, my vocal coach in East London planted the songwriting seed and suggested I give it a go. So give it a go I did. I wrote my first song called Life Jacket, about my grandma.

Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
Madonna then and now. Michael Jackson and Motown. A huge fan of late 80s UK pop and electro like Erasure and Stock Aitken and Waterman. While these artists and genres still inspire me, I am now inspired by some of the modern greats like Taylor Swift, Ben Rector, Ed Sheeran and JP Saxe.

How would you describe your sound?
Radio ready! But my music might make you dance, cry and you might want to send it to a friend to cheer them up. I would say everything I do links back to pop in some way with my use of repetition, memorable melodies and direct lyrics.

What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My debut release called Hold Me has just come out on 17.6. It felt amazing to release a song. In fact, I still can’t believe it really. It was influenced by early Ed Sheeran and I think this is obvious in parts, however I was inspired by some 90s club tracks with some syncopated synths in the chorus. The song started with one line which was “Hold Me like you own me”, the idea that you’re not getting love from a partner, that you want them to show passion, a reaction, a response. You want them to hold you even control you, just to show they want you.

What’s your local music scene like?
Living in Central London means I am spoilt for choice and there are so many places to see live music obviously. Some gigs can be expensive, but there’s always music somewhere and the Open Mic scene is reopening across London too.

What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
To keep releasing more singles. I have an 80s inspired remix of Hold Me coming out on 22/7 followed by a summer bop called Why Do It Alone.

Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
Taylor Swift.

Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
Nothing I can think of at the moment.

What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
My one belief is that I want to live my life with a variety of colours. I want to experiment. I want to create just to create. That just because I release one type of song, doesn’t mean that song is the whole sum of me, only a part of me. I’m strong but I’m weak, funny but serious, distant but approachable – all rolled into one and this is reflected my music.

You can find out more about Damien via Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify, TikTok, Twitter or YouTube.