NEW SINGLE: “YOURS TODAY” OUT TODAY.
Images: Jay Fuller
Instagram: georgebonemusic
1.Who is ‘ George Bone ’
George Bone is a 25-year-old singer, songwriter, producer & arranger based in London & Essex! I started singing quires and as a soloist from the age of five, and started accompanying myself on the piano both because 1. If I had no one else supporting me musically, then that person might as well be me, and 2. because my hands hurt profusely after I started playing the guitar, and I pussyfooted out of learning more past the first two lessons!
2. What is your process for preparing to perform live? Do you have any Diva demands?
I sadly do not have any Diva demands, albeit you may have inspired me now to have some! A good 15 minute warmup, loads of warm water, and a space where I can warm up in that I don’t feel stupid for bursting out “Mummy made me mash my M&Ms” all I ask for.
3. What inspired you as and artist, & where do you feel you fit into the music landscape?
I am the answer to the eternal question “what if sad boy musicians suddenly learned how to use parallelism properly?”. I grew up listening to a lot of country music when I was younger, and so I’ve been heavily inspired by people like Dan + Shay, Chris Stapleton, and Darius Rucker. When I moved up to uni, both my studies and my focus was jazz oriented, and so listened to a lot of Sean Martin and Kraftwerk, and since Covid have taken a more introspective look in my artist inspiration list, fuelled by artist such as Bon Iver and Lizzie McAlpine.
4: What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?
I grew up influenced by so many different artists and genres; to give you an example, my dad’s personal playlist on his iPod nano can dart anywhere from Miley Cyrus, to Iron Maiden, to Jamiroquai! I think this acts as a massive strength to both myself as a person and myself as an artist; listening to multiple different influences from multiple different countries functioned as a quasi-Grand Tour, but without the travelling-round-Europe part of it all! There is no real genre that I particularly hate, though. And even if there are particular artists or styles that I myself find weight, it does not mean that people do not get enjoyment out of them, and cannot love them in the same way that I do for my favourite artists. In that sense I’d probably also describe this is my strength: not necessarily and understanding of other genres, but a mutual respect for them and the place is mostly where they sit.
5. What would you say is your greatest weakness as an artist?
I am a yes man through and through. I could collaborate with everyone in the world on at least one project, and still I would not be satisfied. If my calendar is full, then I feel fulfilled (in a way!). This helps in making new connections with people, but does not help me when planning my own life, or even planning out a single release of my own!
6. What can fans expect from your new single ‘ Yours Today ’ ?
‘Yours Today’ paints a perfect picture of an instant head-over-heels romance; a once-in-a-lifetime blink-and-you’ll-miss-it crush that comes round when you least expect it, and proceeds to floor you regardless. With a soundscape pioneered by producers such as Conor Albert, no fancy words are needed to describe how good that first feeling of love truly is. And although this fling may not last forever, you’re “not scared of heartbreak, ‘cause [they’re] Yours Today”.
7. What music artist would you say have influenced your work & Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?
Bruno Major is the only artist that I would ever want on a bucket list of artists to collaborate with. With so little he speaks so much, and that is a gift that I would like to cherish in my own music too. I went to Bruno Major show on the 23rd of November 2023 (at 02 Forum Kentish Town); this happens to be a day before my first single “Valencia” released. Having the stars align like that reinforced me that this is still the Wright industry that I would like to go into, and that I have thrived in so far.
8. What was your worst performance?
Three weeks ago, I was performing at an industry event alongside five other incredible artists. I had heaped so much pressure on myself to do well, that it came through and not only my audience interaction and my stage presence, but also in my performance. I will always feel like I got congratulated more for bringing me along the keys so that’s other people could succeed, rather than being a standout act in my own right. Having this worst performance in the lead up to THIS VERY single coming out did not do my confidence any good whatsoever. You learn quickly in this industry that you have to be duff before you can be great.
9: What was the most difficult obstacle you have ever faced and how did you overcome it?
Rejection is a beautiful thing; it can either make or break musicians, in this case. In the last year I have had to face more rejection than in the last five years combined (and that saying something especially given Covid!). I had the head of a recruitment agency say of me that I was “full on, intense, overwhelming… And that’s why no one wants to work with me “, something which is both not true and – even if it was true – does not detract from other people’s experiences of both myself, my music, and my drive to succeed. Facing rejection and the pitfalls that it creates has been an obstacle that not only have I overcome but that I needed to overcome to get to where I am now. If I can give some sort of allegorical message to people, in saying this, is the rejection is the way the people say you can’t do something YET, not that you can’t do something at all.
10: What is your creative process when making music. Do you work with others or is there just you?
When I am writing music intrinsically for myself, I prefer to write by myself. Such introspective commentary of my own life deserves my perspective, and my perspective alone; if this does not happen, then sometimes it doesn’t make me sound like myself. That said, a lot of my songs that function for radio candy are usually written with other people, for – ironically – the exact opposite reason! I sometimes feel like I am too introspective in my own lyrics, I need a good kick up the arse by another songwriter to tell me “Don’t be silly, just write it like this”.
11: Where do you see your musical career in 10 years?
I have goals to both play at the Great escape festival and the Glastonbury emerging artists stage in around four years time. Where the next 10 years will go is beyond me, however. Only my ambition, and whatever deity is above or below me, knows that for certain. But what I do know is that I want to keep performing more and more shows to bigger and bigger crowds every year, and as long as I am making myself happy that that is the main point.
12: The UK seems to have gone in to melt down regarding the Oasis Reunion, are bothered by It?
Absolutely not! Was I swept up in the “Dude, we’re getting the band back together” mentality of it all? Of course I was. Would I rather spend the money that I would have spent on Oasis tickets on British artists that truly needed the money? OF COURSE I WOULD!
