Josh Savage
Winchester, England, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | SELF
Music
Press
Josh has a great musical pedigree having sung as a soloist at L'Academie Vocale in Paris. Fantastic song writing and a resonant, rich voice, Josh exhibits real skill as a musician and singer. He is currently building a following gigging and supporting high profile acts. Check out Mountains in Hurricanes which is a great example of Josh's work. - The Huffington Post
"Lyrically, it’s beautiful.... It balances poetry and meaning in a masterful – a really masterful – way".
Full review:
Your Lips
The title track, Your Lips, has been released and is making its way through the airwaves. It’s good. The opening guitar riff gives you an impression of the rest of the song, subtle and understated but original as well. A lovely violin piece starts alongside the first chorus and my favourite line: ‘And it hurt/It hurt, it stung, and it burnt…’ After this there’s a good drum bit which sounds just a bit upbeat compared to what we’d heard from the song already but not enough to detract from it. It isn't until about halfway through that the song really sets off which is a bit slow, but that’s made up for in the way it leads up to it with a simple strum of electric guitar in a Kings of Leon and slower Foo Fighters songs kind of way.
Lyrically, it’s beautiful, there’s no point in specifying more lyrics. It balances poetry and meaning in a masterful – a really masterful – way. Josh Savage is an excellent songwriter with a vast ingenuity for lyrics. No cheese, not superficial, you understand precisely what is meant, and the homemade video complements the metaphor of the songs well. I can tell he’s a big brain.
The later portion of the song is wicked instrumentally and is tinged with bits of KOL, which is good because I adore them but at the same time it has an ambience which is created by the violin and is actually inspired. This is a great bit of the song and could sound really uplifting if the voice complemented it. I don’t know how this could’ve been done, maybe singing an octave higher. He does sing higher later in the song and I can’t help thinking this could’ve done with being brought forward a bit. The end of the song gets to this and does it well and finishes it off with vigour and with vocal timbre to rival Ed Sheeran. Good song.
Lost In Paris
Lost In Paris is much more down tempo overall but starts off in the same tempo Your Lips starts with. Here, his voice is mastered differently, with a bit of an echo which works with the instrumentalism of the song perfectly. Solemn and heartfelt and ambient to no end, it’s not over the top and doesn’t stick to you when you hear it, you just absorb it. If that makes any bit of sense. Lost In Paris has less monotony than Your Lips and shows off his timbre really well in a way that doesn’t shock you.
'If all is lost/ and there’s nothing left at stake/ don’t wash the dust/ laying over your heartache...'
How wicked is that?! Over the chorus, he backs his vocals with the melody a touch higher which makes it very moving. I spoke to my housemate once about how, often, an uncrafted, imperfect voice can be more impactful and infinitely more filled with feeling than a controlled, soul voice. There is little vibrato – the ripples in the voice when singing longer notes – in the song and instead are crisp and pure higher notes and un-tampered with, quiet lower notes. There is nothing but string instruments in this song, a true acoustic and it matches with his voice perfectly – this kind of music is impeccably suited to Savage. I really like this song, simple and quite beautiful. It’s my favourite one from the selection, vocally.
Horoscopes
In Horoscopes, the music is much more up-tempo and is great, really exciting and well played. It’s really something to bob your head to and has an excellent constancy to it. Savage’s voice is really well suited to this tempo, too. Really remnant of folk rock and sounds a bit Latin American, too. The violin and double bass bits definitely reflect his French heritage and sound really sing-songy and melodic.
The chorus is sung in a really cleverly thought through way, it quickens and the words are sung in a really inventive and well-timed way. This is my favourite song musically. The monotony from Your Lips comes back here, though and it contrasts with the upbeat instrumental. It just felt as if it could be more dynamic, vocally to match with the music maybe with some grumble or falsetto to give it a range to help out the rest of the song. Otherwise, a class song that’d definitely be well received when played in front of a crowd!
Mountains In Hurricanes
The best till last. Mountains In Hurricanes is brilliant! Starting quiet and slow and taking a really well orchestrated progression adding in more and more different instruments playing louder while Savage’s voice holds off until the perfect point when he sings out louder and the music plays at full vigour. This song is about triumph and having faith and that sort of theme only works with a big orchestral, highly musical song. It’s great, the lyrics are as impressive as expected – ‘You can take on Mountains and Hurricanes/ and if you fall/ I’ll give you my bones to break cuz I have faith.’ What a lovely sentiment! I’m having a bit of a fan boy moment. The string samples work with different drum samples in a really epic Coldplay’s Viva La Vida album way. Just everything fits intricately despite having what sounds like everything, musically and vocally, in it. Great song. It doesn’t really warrant a massive individual review because I can’t seem to find anything bad to say about it. Fave tune. Definitely in my head.
Overall, a brilliant EP. A supreme showcase of work to see a debut album as his next project. An original timbre-some voice, sublime songwriting and excellently orchestrated. Job's good. I look forward to much, much more! - Arts Award Voice
This is an intensely personal posting for me since I met Josh at a living room performance where he performed the song Your Lips and many others and he blew me away with the beauty of his voice and the lyrics of his songs. He has a wonderful ability and his humble nature and sense of humor have made him one of my favorite artists. However one of the most inspiring things that anyone has ever said to me was “If this music thing doesn’t work for me than I will just get lost in Paris.” Optimism and fearlessness of the future is something I admire greatly. If you liked the Your lips song, than there are more at his website Joshsavagemusic.com. - Perspective Daily
“His music is beautiful" just before introducing 'Mountains In Hurricanes'. - James Walker
"Josh Savage is going to become a household name; if he doesn’t, I will willingly eat my laptop."
"Beautiful, sparse guitar picking overlaid with soaring string sections lend a sense of scale and majesty to his singing"
"Lyrically, Josh continues to demonstrate not only his ability to deliver engaging words that catch the imagination, but a vocal style that differs from so many young artists in the respect he offers his listeners."
"To have produced a work of this quality under any circumstances would be justification for him to feel proud; to have done so as the result of a self-released work without the support of a record label is nothing short of outstanding."
"there is little doubt in my mind that we are witnessing the rapid ascension of ‘the next big thing’." - Social Assassin
'Quatre Épines' est déjà formidable... Loving 'Quatre Épines'” - Tom Robinson. - Tom Robinson
"The more I listen to music from ‘emerging artists’, the faster I seem to notice artists that stand out, and Josh Savage does exactly that primarily through his songwriting." - Redwood Photography
"His vocal timbre is really warm, it’s on point… The string arrangement is beautiful.” - Ian Sillett - Brighton Institute of Modern Music
Discography
Bella - self-released 2 February 2015.
1. Bella
2. The Boatmaker
Spaces EP - self-released 7 April 2014.
1. Your Lips
2. Lost In Paris
3. Horoscopes
4. Mountains In Hurricanes
5. Your Lips (live at BBC Introducing)
Mountains In Hurricanes EP - self-released 12 March 2013
1. Mountains In Hurricanes
2. Figure You
3. Take Off Your Shackle
Photos
Bio
Josh Savage sang before he spoke, lulling himself to sleep in his Paris cot. Born in England and relocated to France after his father borrowed a tie and went for an interview on the way back from the Italia 90 World Cup, Josh inherited that ‘Let’s see what happens if we try this’ attitude.
This same approach to life led him to being selected at the age of 8 as a treble soloist for l’Académie Vocale de Paris. He astounded many when, at the age of 11, he stepped in with only 1 week’s notice, learning the solo treble part in Hebrew in the 3rd Chichester Psalm by Leonard Bernstein to perform with the adult choir at the American Cathedral in Paris. Returning to live in Winchester, Josh was immediately selected to join the National Children’s Choir as a soloist, touring Australia and New Zealand.
He has now so far supported acts as diverse as Razorlight, Rizzle Kicks, Reverend and the Makers, Roll Deep and even some acts with names that don’t begin with ‘R’ such as Benjamin Francis Leftwich, John Hiatt and Catfish & The Bottlemen- although of course he couldn’t resist performing in front of Royalty in Dubai.
From emulating the music his parents played as a baby, Josh still soothes, excites, and engages his audience, with Huffington Post naming him in ‘Ten Artists to Watch’ and saying “Fantastic song writing and a resonant, rich voice, Josh exhibits real skill as a musician and singer”. Josh was acclaimed 'BEST OF 2014' by BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson who also praised the lead track of Josh’s French EP; "'Quatre Épines' est déjà formidable... Loving 'Quatre Épines'”. His self-released EP 'Spaces' charted #28 in the iTunes Singer/Songwriter charts.
Josh did a music degree at the University of York and his band Taming The Savage was named by York Vision as “Best band on campus”. He featured regularly on BBC Introducing and was a trumpeter for Soultana. Josh has gigged extensively across the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, and the Middle East whilst constantly striving to learn and improve- or at least ‘Try again and fail better’ as he sings on Lost In Paris.
Josh has gigged extensively across the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, and the Middle East whilst constantly striving to learn and improve- or at least ‘Try again and fail better’ as he sings on Lost In Paris. In February 2015, Josh flung himself out to the America with only three shows in the diary, he came back having played 33 shows across 15 states including an official showcase at SXSW.
Josh has self-released two EPs; ‘Mountains In Hurricanes’ and ‘Spaces’. His track Mountains In Hurricanes has been a regular feature on BBC Introducing and received critical acclaim from the radio panel. Reviewing the song on the BBC, Ian Sillett of the Brighton Institute of Modern Music said “His vocal timbre is really warm, it’s on point… The string arrangement is beautiful”. Mountains In Hurricanes has taken off across the world and was remixed by Austrian DJs Wild Culture. Josh was particularly delighted to hear a university friend report that they had heard it being played in a pizza café in Istanbul. On his most recent EP 'Spaces' the track Lost In Paris was produced by Julian Simmons, whose credits include Ed Sheeran and The Guillemots amongst others.
His performances vary from playing solo, with a string trio, or sometimes with a full band. Josh writes all his own material and string arrangements, organises his own gigs, record production, and promotion- although he gratefully acknowledges the support from those around him, including his boss from Josh’s job working in a special needs school, who volunteered to help out as Tour Manager during the busy festival season.
This is just the beginning of Josh’s career and he looks set to rise and rise given the response he gets; just rewards for beautifully written lyrics, catchy melodies, and an ability to get all ages and tastes involved in a sing-along.
Band Members
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