Apr 02, 2017
Billy Lockett has built, demolished, and rebuilt his sound and style to nurture and reinforce the triumphantly heart-wrenching body of work in his most recent releases. As his latest single "More" goes live this week, following widely acclaimed "Burn it Down" and "Wide Eyed", the Northampton native opens up about the often calamitous journey which fostered the poignant authenticity behind his music.
Billy's early career, a series of successful tours and ever-growing popularity, was peppered with accolades on paper but fraught with Billy's self-professed affliction of crafting compositions which carried little personal meaning. It wasn't until the untimely death of his painter father that Billy found a searingly emotional rhetoric within himself.
Having been on tour at the time of his father's passing, Billy cancelled all further performance dates and holed himself up in the dilapidated Northampton mansion he had inherited. Here, he began tirelessly crafting music which, after nearly two years of relentless endeavor, finally carried the weightiness of tangible emotional substance. The tumult was a turning point for Billy, whose output, through iteration and constant refinement, transitioned into raw, ethereal music which finally mattered to him.
"More" presents itself as a cogent epitome of this powerfully transformative period in Billy's life and career. The prose is a telling narrative of Billy's often turbulent relationship with his late father, and of the sheer deficiency of words to convey the complexity and gravity of the things we feel. The result is an acutely personal, yet widely transferable exposition of emotion. Indeed, this earth-moving authenticity is particularly impactive during Billy's intimate live performances, where seated audiences gaze soundlessly as the young pianist pairs his transcendent lyricism with an impressive vocal range. On stage, Billy is vulnerable, unembellished, and hauntingly relatable as he delivers his compositions to an audience made to feel more like houseguests than fans.
"More" has now debuted on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud, and serves as a moving introduction to a musical repertoire that must be felt as well as heard.