I have recently shared news from singer-songwriter Connor Adams at the blog, and I’m happy to share my recent interview with Connor! Fresh from the release of his EP Traffic Lights, we chatted about his musical journey so far, his current release and future plans. He has also given us an exclusive news drop about his upcoming live performances! Read on to learn more about Connor.
Please share your musical journey from the very beginning.
I started learning guitar at the age of 7. My cousins are in a band called the darkness and I got to see their shows when they were releasing music and I got massively inspired to be a musician. I formed a band with my friends from my rugby team and then stopped playing at the age of 13/14 to pursue a rugby career and I took a really bad injury so picked up the guitar again and then I became a full-time musician from 19 years old. I’ve always written my own stuff and that’s how it started!
I have enjoyed listening to the tracks from your forthcoming EP Traffic Lights. I noticed the tracks seem to be centered around driving and I was wondering if this was intentional? And, if it was, please share the story behind this EP.
Yeah, Traffic Lights really seemed to sum up the theme of this record, you know, life just can’t get going at times. You know, I just couldn’t get the gigs that I wanted to get, or release the music I wanted to release, and then sometimes I felt like I was just stuck in limbo waiting for contracts etc and then life just felt like it was going too fast at times and I was spinning too many plates, so I felt like Traffic Lights was the perfect name for the record.
Slam the Brakes is your latest release from the EP. Can you tell us the story and intention behind the track?
Slam the Brakes is about wanting to slow down. In 2024 I played the Isle of Wight festival, Truck Festival, Victoria Festival and a load of independent UK festivals in between that just seemed to be the way I missed all of my friends birthdays, my partners birthday, and apart from those events I was very lucky to be playing those festivals, it’s exactly what I wanted to do but at that time I just felt a bit burnt out and just wrote Slam the Brakes (from the experience of it all)!
How would you describe your overall sound of music?
I would describe my overall sound of music as an Indie rock singer-songwriter. You know, first and foremost it’s me, the guitar and then I love going to watch bands play and I feel quite lucky that around me now, I have a few musicians that want to play with me.
Which other music artists have influenced you the most (and generally are your favourite artists)?
I’d say the artists that have influenced me the most recently are like Sam Fender, absolutely love Sam Fender, love cmat, they’re massive inspirations. I love Harry Styles’ music and older bands like the Foo Fighters and Fleetwood Mac and Shania Twain but I guess I’ve got to give a massive shout out to the local hero, which is Ed Sheeran. When I first started performing it was just on my own because I watched him play and thought oh maybe I can do this on my own and now I have a band around me but yeah, Ed is definitely a massive influence on me.
You have already done a lot of live performances at various venues over the years. Which ones have been your favourite and why?
Probably the Isle of Wight, obviously as it’s one of the biggest music festivals in the UK, if not the world! And it felt like a big deal and it was just a great gig and a great celebration afterwards. But I love playing in smaller venues as well. I recently played in Soho, for my EP launch party, and this was having 70 people in the room compared to thousands at Isle of Wight festival and it’s lovely that I can still get the same buzz from smaller crowds.
Do you have any upcoming live performances?
*exclusive* I guess now it’s Festival season for me and I am going to be doing a UK tour at the end of summer which will be announced very soon!
Any teasers on your forthcoming projects?
I mean, I have absolutely loved releasing a body of work in this Traffic Lights EP, as opposed to singles and this is what I want to release. I think throughout the rest of the year, there probably will be a few singles here and there, a few collaborations, but next year, I would love for a debut album and that is definitely something I am working towards.
Thanks so much Connor for your time and for sharing your thoughts with me. You can listen to Connor’s EP Traffic Lights which is available on all streaming platforms.
Jem Girl at the Piano 