Rich Lown is a singer/songwriter from the south coast of England. Fusing folk and rock with his unique voice Rich Lown is bringing freshness and honesty to music. Much of his music is a moment of catharsis caught in song through an intuitive process of song writing. It’s natural, catchy and comes from within, proving that songs can be popular and still be soulful.

Introduce yourself and your talent!

Hello! I’m Rich and I’m a singer/songwriter from the south coast of England. My music tends to be a fusion of pop folk & soft rock. I like to think I have a rather unique voice and bring a level of freshness & honesty to music. Much of my music is a moment of catharsis caught in song through an intuitive process of song writing. It’s natural, catchy & comes from within, proving that songs can be popular & still be soulful.

I’ve received an increasing number of music accolades over the years with various festivals under my belt, UK tours with MBE Brit Award nominee Joan Armatrading, finishing in the top 10 in the UK for the biggest unsigned talent search ‘Open Mic UK‘, various talent crowns including ‘Rock The House’ (a competition held by MP’s at the houses of parliament), TV & film features, a national song writing finalist, support slots with Boyzone & an ‘Unsigned Music Awards’ nomination for ‘Best Solo Male’ in the country’s first televised unsigned music awards. Most recently, I have been championed by some big artists such as Gavin Rossdale (Bush) & Hanson after releasing covers of their songs during lockdown. Hanson actually loved my cover so much, they private messaged me on Instagram and shared my version of ‘A Song to Sing’ across their social channels. I’ve proud to have just released two versions of a brand new single which I feel shows off my versatility in some of my strongest work yet.

To anyone new to your music, name 3 words that best describe your sound.

People often describe my music as emotive, calming and relatable. I think one of the most important aspects of my own songwriting is to make my songs as relatable for others as possible. If people can take comfort from my words and create their own narrative to them, then that’s the biggest reward for me. I have had a lot of messages from people over the years that have said how important a song of mine is to them and how it’s helped them through difficult times or helped them relax. It’s moments like those that make me realise why I do what I do and it pushes me to keep going. I have a very calming nature about my personality and I’ve always been very laid back. I think this side of me certainly filters into my music!

What’s your writing process like? Do you write the music or lyrics first?

Having never had any music lessons in guitar, piano or songwriting, I have always used a very intuitive process with my songwriting. I will sit at the piano or pick up my guitar, often at random and without the intention of writing anything, then literally start playing and discovering chords. If I start playing something that I’m particularly feeling or enjoying, I will immediately press record on my phone’s voice notes to capture the process as it’s during this stage that I tend to come up with the best bits. After I have started to write the music, I will start singing gobbledygook to simply find a vocal melody and some lyrics. Once I feel like I have found a ‘hook’ line of lyrics, I will then start to build a song around it and write my words properly and start my storytelling. It’s a really hard process to explain, as sometimes even I don’t know where these words or melodies come from, but my songs essentially evolve completely naturally. In short, I have always written music first!

Do you prefer performing live or recording, and why?

Both offer a very different rewarding feeling for me but if I had to choose doing one for the rest of my life then it would have to be the studio. Being in the studio is my ultimate happy place. When you have finished writing an incredibly personal song and worked hard on something, to then start to see it come to life in the studio, it really is the best feeling in the world. Having said that, some of my best memories have been performing on stage and thriving off huge applauses from crowds. I have performed many times to some of the warmest of audience’s on tour with Joan Armatrading to crowds of 2,000 people and over 3,000 on tour with Boyzone.

Oh man, I’ve changed my mind and I can’t choose! Haha

Tell MoggBlog viewers about your latest release! What’s the inspiration behind that?

I’m so proud of my new single. When I first wrote this song, I had written it on the guitar and intended on making it a really upbeat song and a collaboration with my long-term lead guitarist Robin Hirschfeld. But I then sat at the piano to see if I could work out some chords for the studio and found myself playing the whole song in a completely different way. I really couldn’t choose out of which version to record so I ended up doing both!

Having recently moved my life to Bournemouth from Hastings for a fresh start, the lyrics were
written about the feelings and emotions that come with facing such a challenge and how all anyone wants in life is to feel at home. I think everyone at some point has to or chooses to reshape their lives in some way, especially recently due to the pandemic. So this song is for anyone who has been through the same experiences!

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