Talking To: Harry Brazier

Hailing from Sheffield, Harry Brazier is an incredible musician. A singer, songwriter who also plays the guitar, he is down-to-earth and a lot of fun to speak to!

We caught up with him, a few weeks before his live gig night on our Instagram as part of The Everyday Gig Nights series, to discuss how living in Bristol influenced his music taste, why he prefers being in a band and what influences his songwriting.

Can you tell us a bit about who you are and what you do at the moment? Where did you grow up?

I’m from Sheffield and moved to Bristol for university where I studied chemistry. I did a year in Cambridge working as part of the industry during my second year and worked for a pharmaceutical company and was like this isn’t really for me. I just couldn’t see myself in a lab for forty years, it was an amazing job but just wasn’t for me.

After finishing university I got a job at a school as science technician for year then I moved to London and lockdown hit so I wasn’t working for a while. I got a job which I started in September, so it’s all been a bit mad!

Where and when did you start getting into music? I know you play guitar, how did that come about?

I play the guitar and sing; I guess when we were at school and people were like choose an instrument to play, I was like guitar’s cool, maybe I’ll do that. But, like a lot of kids, I didn’t really care because it was our school guitar. So I didn’t really get into until I was like 13 or 14 when in Sheffield I got into a band with some mates from school and started playing Artic Monkeys covers and classic rock covers like Sunshine of Your Love by Queen, played Another Brick Wall by Pink Floyd… all that old stuff which was the singer’s favourite, he had a love of classic rock.

I grew up listening to Indie music like Artic Monkeys, The Kooks, Kasabian and Britpop as well like Oasis and Blur. You go who did Oasis use to listen to and it was Stone Roses so you kind of go from there.

So I was an Indie boy then got into classic and prog rock. I was in this band until I move to Bristol to go to uni. In first year I did bit a of song writing but in the previous band I hadn’t really done any singing, just playing the guitar, so it was kind of new to me. I’d always sung around the house and in the shower but never had any lessons until about a year or so ago and then I got more serious with the solo stuff.

I was briefly a lead singer in my second band back in 2016 during my second year which went really well, that was more prog rock, and then I went to Cambridge for year to do a year in industry and from then it’s just been me, myself and I.

I really want to start a band and get that going but obviously COVID is not ideal.

Do you prefer being in a band?

Yeah, I kind of miss that. I’m not really that diva type and there’s camaraderie in being with a group of like-minded people.

Do you like to sing and play guitar while in a band?

I’d probably prefer to just sing; it sometimes feels like I’m doing neither well when I’m concentrating on both so I’d probably prefer just to sing. I’ve gotten really into song writing over the past two or three years so I feel like singing would be more what I want to do.

What was your band called in Sheffield?

Um, it was called Rust… I didn’t chose the name, just pointing that out! The reason behind it is because we used to cover classic rock songs, forty years after they were made, so it was a bit rusty and degraded. Not like we were playing badly! But more to do with the transition.

Have you always written your own songs?

I didn’t write that much before coming to Bristol, it’s only in the last year or two that I really have gotten into it.

Before in the band, I’d write a guitar riff because I was just a guitarist and so I’d show it to the band and then like a month later the lead singer would be like I’ve written the lyrics now, this one is done! So that was our process before so I never got into lyrics.

When I moved to Bristol, when it was just me, I started writing some songs on the guitar and the lyrics to go with them. It was more to do with circumstance than anything.

It’s quite difficult to compare how much the Bristol music scene influenced me because I wasn’t writing a lot before I came.

What influences your song writing?

A lot of things… politics definitely and then my feelings on personal relationships as well.

It’s really whatever I’m feeling about current situations whether that’s personal and individual or a more widespread situation. I’ve tried not to write anything about lockdown because in a few years it’s going to be so depressing. I wrote one song in April and I listened back to it and I was like that is so depressing, we’re still in this mess! I thought we’d be well out of it by now! I was definitely way too optimistic about it.

What kind of genre would you define yourself as being?

That’s a difficult question… you’d probably just describe it as singer, songwriter, which I always thought was a weird description. I’d say maybe Indie singer, songwriter.

What are you doing at the moment? Are you still writing, recording?

So I record a song in September which was alright, I was like that sounds sick and then I looked at a few months later and I was like is that as good as I thought…

I’ve been writing a lot since September and looking to start a band and fill out my band.

There’s a studio called Yellow Arch in Sheffield which is where I record, I’ve done two recording sessions there but they’re still kind of demo standard.

The songs I recorded in September were good but I think since then I’ve written better songs so any new music depends on when I can raise some funds and go to a recording studio!

What’s your take on Bristol’s music scene?

It definitely influenced the music I was listening to; I was into old school Bristol 90’s stuff like Massive Attack and Portishead before coming to Bristol.

When I arrived in Bristol if someone said do you like drum and bass, I would have been what is that? But Bristol definitely got me into different genres like house and drum and bass.

It’s not specific bands but more the genre.

There are a few punk bands like IDLES and Shame but there’s not massively different from Indie. Also, more jazz and hip hop so I definitely expanded my musical knowledge.

It definitely helped me appreciate music beyond what I listened to in my teenage years!

When you’re not writing and creating music, what else interests you?

I guess climate activism, which kind of relates to the job I’m in at the moment because I’m in renewable energy, and that’s what I’d like to go into. In the summer I was volunteering with Extinction Rebellion which was a lot of fun.

I’m into cycling, particualrly in the Peak Districts because it’s so close to Sheffield.

I’ve just finished the Night Manager [by John le Carre] which was such a good book, so much better than the TV show. I’ve also been getting into classic films recently, like Casablanca and Some Like it Hot, they’re all on the BBC so I’ve been catching on some of them.

What do you prefer; Sheffield, London or Bristol? Don’t feel obligated to say Bristol!

It’s hard to choose because they are all quite different and I’ve not really experienced proper London. It wasn’t long after I moved that lockdown hit so I haven’t really experienced the clubs or nightlife.

I do really miss Bristol quite a lot and I feel like I’d appreciate it more now I’m not a student. As a student, you’re so caught up with the student world and you don’t have that much disposable income or time. I was always really busy with work, especially on weekends, so I feel like now I’d proper enjoy it.

I’m also from Sheffield so I can’t say it’s a shitehole!

You can listen to Harry Brazier on Soundcloud now: https://soundcloud.com/user-142913412

And don’t miss his live performance on our Instagram at 8pm on 22nd January!