Jamie Sloan

(Genesis) I am Jamie Sloan a Singer/Songwriter from Northern Ireland. Born in the famous town of Bushmills, County Antrim. In 1996 my family moved from my hometown of Bushmills to Hampshire South England escaping the religious conflicts that were going on at the time. After growing up in England I returned to my roots in Northern Ireland this time settling in the small seaside town of Portstewart in the summer of 2006.  In 2008 I began teaching myself guitar, learning from old chord books and YouTube. Later that year I got my first taste of live music when I joined a local music community project where I discovered my voice after being told I could sing and was therefor placed in a makeshift band for a live performance at The Riverside Theatre in County Londonderry. After that show it became clear what I wanted to do with my life.  After falling in and out of bands I decided to go it alone and concentrate my efforts on being a solo artist, playing every gig I could and to anyone who would listen. In 2012 I digitally released my debut EP entitled, Another Way.  A 3 track EP about the trials and tribulations a teenager goes through. I wrote many of the songs from personal experiences of heartbreak and teenage angst. With growing interest for the EP I submitted my work to Fersk Management who approached me to do a short tour of London in February 2013 with help from IAA Touring, where I went on to play a host of well renowned venues including The Dublin Castle in Camden. I parted ways with the company later that year.  In 2013/14 I spent an extended amount of time frequently gigging around Newcastle and Sunderland, where I finished writing my second EP K.T. another 3 track EP that is a ‘love story gone wrong’ and a timeline of a relationship. So that’s my brief (maybe boring) musical history. (About Me) Music was something I just kind of fell into. Some might say it was destiny and some people might say I just wanted to be cool (still trying btw). I grew up with a passion for music but never had any drive to play it, in fact I had a guitar when I was about 8 or 9 and I never looked at it, it just stayed under my bed collecting dust. Until 2008 something sparked in me and I decided this is what I want.  I write songs in hope that one of them will touch someone’s life and because I love it. Putting your emotions and thoughts into a song for me is in some kind of weird way therapeutic and if someone listens to one of my songs and thinks “I’ve been there before” or “that’s exactly how I feel right now” in my book that’s a win.  (Influences) I grew up with a musical grandfather who was always playing music either himself or putting on old country records and when he wasn’t around my mum was playing me everything from Guns ‘n’ Roses to ABBA. When I finally could buy my own music I chose...Slipknot? (it was a phase lol) but I continued to listen to metal until the game changed and I was now listening to Jimi Hendrix, Clapton, Ray Charles, Dr Hook, Ottis Redding, S.R.V. and John Mayer. Really where my heart truly lays in music is Blues and Soul, The music really carries a message in the words and how its played. Following on from this my songwriter side came out and I began listening to Ray Lamontagne, Ben Howard, Damien Rice, Joshua Radin I often have people say to me my music has a likeness to people such as these which is always a bonus ☺ Thanks for Reading! Jamie