aaamusic | On 06, Nov 2013

AAAmusic: Who are you and where are you from?

I’m George Barnett and I’m from Rugby, though I live in Herefordshire now. I started as a drummer – up until I was about 16 that’s all I wanted to do was drum and then I thought I’d try to write some songs. Because I lived in a really remote place there was no one to be in band with so I learned the instruments and started playing and recording. Then after a couple of years my band came along and they’ve been with me ever since.

AAAmusic: What inspired you to get into music?

I was inspired at a really early age. I went to a nursery that my mum ran and there was always a lot of music there. One of my early memories is when I was about three and this lady came and played piano for us – she was really good and I was interested in music from that day. After that I asked for a drum kit – and I got a kid’s kit when I was four and from that moment I was into drumming. I get inspired from all different genres of music which is probably why it’s quite hard to say what my genre is. I tend to really like artists like Prince, David Bowie, Kanye because of their identities as artists and the way they manage to not be influenced by what everyone else is doing.

AAAmusic: What have you done?

Well I’ve made a couple of EPs and I recorded an album when I was seventeen called 17 Days. I think you have to be proud of everything you do at the time you do it. At the moment I am most proud of The Red Tape which is a mix tape I put out recently and my new EP Animal Keeper which is released November 10 because they’re new so I am excited about them.

AAAmusic: What are you like live?

I try to make it as energetic as possible – energy is important. And I just try to bring people into my slightly mad world.

AAAmusic: What makes you different?

I think everyone is unique in their own way. I suppose for me it’s because I write and record everything myself its 100% me. It’s a complete replication of what’s going on in my head.

AAAmusic: Physical vs Downloading vs Streaming…How do you listen to music?

I mostly listen to music on my iPod when I’m walking the dog. I don’t stream often – although I do listen to stuff on YouTube a lot – but mainly iPod for me. I don’t use Spotify but some of my friends do and I know they think it’s a great way to find new artists.

AAAmusic: What have you been listening to?

I’ve been listening to James Blake – Overgrown, which I think is an amazing album. I have been listening to Outkast – Speaker Boxx  for a while now and I’m still really liking that; it’s so unpolished and that’s what’s so good about it. And recently I’ve discovered Pusha T – My Name Is My Name.

AAAmusic: What are your aspirations for the future?

I just want to be able to do what I want to do and to be able to do it for as long as I can.

Questions answered by: George Barnett…