The Sit Down with Ian Harrison
Fresh off his recent trip to this side of the Atlantic for a run of shows with Cooper Alan, Ohio native Ian Harrison is set to release his debut EP “Jealous” later this month on May 22nd. With a sound rooted in authentic country and folk influences combined with a dedicated social media following, it came as no surprise how well he was received over here and we recently caught up with him over Zoom to talk about his recent UK tour and the new project that is on the way.
What do you think you gained most from that first trip coming over here? What would you say your biggest wins were from the trip?
“I feel like one of our biggest wins was just how well we came across. I don't think I was expecting to be as accepted as I was. All these comments that I've been getting on TikTok, Instagram and social media from people saying that they saw me in Manchester, they saw me in Bristol, they saw me in Birmingham or they saw me in London where they loved it and they've been listening to my music ever since. That was something that I wasn't fully expecting and I feel like was the whole point of the trip anyways, so it worked and that's super great.”
The timing worked out great too as like you say, you've gained all these new fans, people who didn't know who Ian Harrison was, checked you out for the first time when they came to see Cooper Alan and then straight off the back of it we've got a new EP coming really soon after.
“Yeah, I feel like that was a great idea from my team. You know, they were like, oh, you're going on this tour so we're gonna drop an EP right after, it’s perfect.”
“Jealous” is obviously the title track of the EP, why did you decide that was going to be the song to build the whole project around?
“I feel like “Jealous” really just describes the point of life that I was in when I was writing a lot of these songs and I'm in my low to mid-twenties, where not only just me, but a lot of people around me and a lot of our friends are getting married or having babies and a lot of us still haven't figured it out yet. I feel like that feeling of feeling like you're behind or you're missing out on something is very common and it really just put the whole project into perspective and put that whole timestamp on it, which felt good.”
When people listen to it all the way through, what are you really hoping is the message that they take away from it about who you are and what you want to say?
“I hope they hear a little bit of the honesty that I put into these songs and that comes with confessing all the sins and wrongs that I've done, but also all the hope and the joy that's behind them as well. I hope just people know that I'm not shy of sharing who I am.”
What do you think you gained most from that first trip coming over here? What would you say your biggest wins were from the trip?
“I feel like one of our biggest wins was just how well we came across. I don't think I was expecting to be as accepted as I was. All these comments that I've been getting on TikTok, Instagram and social media from people saying that they saw me in Manchester, they saw me in Bristol, they saw me in Birmingham or they saw me in London where they loved it and they've been listening to my music ever since. That was something that I wasn't fully expecting and I feel like was the whole point of the trip anyways, so it worked and that's super great.”
The timing worked out great too as like you say, you've gained all these new fans, people who didn't know who Ian Harrison was, checked you out for the first time when they came to see Cooper Alan and then straight off the back of it we've got a new EP coming really soon after.
“Yeah, I feel like that was a great idea from my team. You know, they were like, oh, you're going on this tour so we're gonna drop an EP right after, it’s perfect.”
“Jealous” is obviously the title track of the EP, why did you decide that was going to be the song to build the whole project around?
“I feel like “Jealous” really just describes the point of life that I was in when I was writing a lot of these songs and I'm in my low to mid-twenties, where not only just me, but a lot of people around me and a lot of our friends are getting married or having babies and a lot of us still haven't figured it out yet. I feel like that feeling of feeling like you're behind or you're missing out on something is very common and it really just put the whole project into perspective and put that whole timestamp on it, which felt good.”
When people listen to it all the way through, what are you really hoping is the message that they take away from it about who you are and what you want to say?
“I hope they hear a little bit of the honesty that I put into these songs and that comes with confessing all the sins and wrongs that I've done, but also all the hope and the joy that's behind them as well. I hope just people know that I'm not shy of sharing who I am.”
Talking about those seven songs together, were they all songs that you'd written in the same pocket of time, or are some of them older songs that you just felt fitted really nicely with the others?
“I had expected to choose some songs that I had written before we were working on this project but honestly, all these songs were written pretty close together, probably within five to six months of each other. It’s pretty close, because you don't change phases that much and I think the songs we put out in between the last EP and this EP before we started getting there, it was just a lot of me figuring out the direction we wanted to go, where I was and what excited me about music. Eventually I do think we found it and I think that was around October that we started putting this project together and all these songs started fitting.”
Looking at the credits on the three that you've put out, you've worked with different people, both in terms of production and co-writers across those songs. How important is it as you're kind of trying to find your feet to be bouncing off ideas with as many people as possible?
“It is super important and one thing that we did on this project is there's seven songs with seven different producers. I don't recommend that. It's a lot of admin work when you get there but it’s super fun. I also think at a certain point though, I do want to find my core where I can write with the same six people and get the songs every week, you know?”
Hopefully, the other goal and one in terms of looking at things over here is you want to come back and that's something on the cards a little bit further down as something that you really want to do.
“I really hope we get to make it back there. I think I've told everyone, I would go back in a heartbeat, in an instant. It was so much fun and I'm really counting on being back sometime soon.”
Going right back, one of the things before you moved to Nashville was that you went on The Voice, what do you think you learned and took away most from that process that has helped you with things going forward?
“I think in that time, I was still in college, I was twenty years old and I feel like that show mostly just gave me the confidence to actually go out to pursue music for the first time. It just gave me a validation that I didn't know I needed. You know, I was writing music and singing on my own, but I wasn't doing it a tonne for people and I wasn't trying to make it a career so, I really think that that was the turning point for me where I was like, oh, wait, I can actually do this and so I did.”
Then in hindsight, if you had a magical time machine and you were able to go back to before you started with it, are there things you wish you would have known and wish you could have told yourself before you went into it?
“You know? I don't have any regrets about that process. I was so new and so fresh, it went just the way I needed it to go. There is nothing that I would do differently. There's nothing that I would change apart from I would probably just have moved to Nashville sooner after I got off.”
“I had expected to choose some songs that I had written before we were working on this project but honestly, all these songs were written pretty close together, probably within five to six months of each other. It’s pretty close, because you don't change phases that much and I think the songs we put out in between the last EP and this EP before we started getting there, it was just a lot of me figuring out the direction we wanted to go, where I was and what excited me about music. Eventually I do think we found it and I think that was around October that we started putting this project together and all these songs started fitting.”
Looking at the credits on the three that you've put out, you've worked with different people, both in terms of production and co-writers across those songs. How important is it as you're kind of trying to find your feet to be bouncing off ideas with as many people as possible?
“It is super important and one thing that we did on this project is there's seven songs with seven different producers. I don't recommend that. It's a lot of admin work when you get there but it’s super fun. I also think at a certain point though, I do want to find my core where I can write with the same six people and get the songs every week, you know?”
Hopefully, the other goal and one in terms of looking at things over here is you want to come back and that's something on the cards a little bit further down as something that you really want to do.
“I really hope we get to make it back there. I think I've told everyone, I would go back in a heartbeat, in an instant. It was so much fun and I'm really counting on being back sometime soon.”
Going right back, one of the things before you moved to Nashville was that you went on The Voice, what do you think you learned and took away most from that process that has helped you with things going forward?
“I think in that time, I was still in college, I was twenty years old and I feel like that show mostly just gave me the confidence to actually go out to pursue music for the first time. It just gave me a validation that I didn't know I needed. You know, I was writing music and singing on my own, but I wasn't doing it a tonne for people and I wasn't trying to make it a career so, I really think that that was the turning point for me where I was like, oh, wait, I can actually do this and so I did.”
Then in hindsight, if you had a magical time machine and you were able to go back to before you started with it, are there things you wish you would have known and wish you could have told yourself before you went into it?
“You know? I don't have any regrets about that process. I was so new and so fresh, it went just the way I needed it to go. There is nothing that I would do differently. There's nothing that I would change apart from I would probably just have moved to Nashville sooner after I got off.”
So, you've definitely decided that Nashville's home now, you're happy and settled, then hopefully quite a busy summer in terms of trying to get out on the road more, push this EP and play some festivals.
“Yeah, we're doing everything we can and Nashville has become home. I've been here for about two and a half years now and it’s been more than kind of me.”
From what we saw, we came to the first night at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London and we really liked what we heard. It’s a great venue, such a fun place and it was great to see how many people came down early for you, so it’s great to hear this translated in terms of the messages that people were sending to you after.
“Seriously, that show was amazing and that venue is so pretty. I like the way that it is stacked too and I can see everybody right in front of me. Oh my gosh, I love it.”
I really hope you enjoyed the time over here, it's been a blast chatting, I really appreciate the EP and fingers crossed, it's not too far away for you to come back and see us with some boys on stage with you.
“I really hope it's not. I hope I can make it back ASAP.”
Jealous Track Listing:
1. Jealous
2. Not Yours
3. What Happens Next
4. Cigarette
5. Nobody Else
6. Games
7. Feeling Nothing
The new EP “Jealous” from Ian Harrison will be released on May 22nd and is available to pre-save HERE. You can find details of all of his upcoming US shows on his WEBSITE and keep in touch with all that Ian is up to socially on INSTAGRAM & TIKTOK.
“Yeah, we're doing everything we can and Nashville has become home. I've been here for about two and a half years now and it’s been more than kind of me.”
From what we saw, we came to the first night at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London and we really liked what we heard. It’s a great venue, such a fun place and it was great to see how many people came down early for you, so it’s great to hear this translated in terms of the messages that people were sending to you after.
“Seriously, that show was amazing and that venue is so pretty. I like the way that it is stacked too and I can see everybody right in front of me. Oh my gosh, I love it.”
I really hope you enjoyed the time over here, it's been a blast chatting, I really appreciate the EP and fingers crossed, it's not too far away for you to come back and see us with some boys on stage with you.
“I really hope it's not. I hope I can make it back ASAP.”
Jealous Track Listing:
1. Jealous
2. Not Yours
3. What Happens Next
4. Cigarette
5. Nobody Else
6. Games
7. Feeling Nothing
The new EP “Jealous” from Ian Harrison will be released on May 22nd and is available to pre-save HERE. You can find details of all of his upcoming US shows on his WEBSITE and keep in touch with all that Ian is up to socially on INSTAGRAM & TIKTOK.