One of the most overused clichés in music journalism (which is saying something!) is that artists are formed based on the music they listened to growing up. It has, I suppose a foundation in truth, but the reality is so much more.
The artist we’re bringing to your attention today is a case in point. Tarq Bowen may have fallen in love with music when listening to his parent’s record collection. The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Neil Young were all features of his musical education, but whilst there may be an influence on his music (and you show me a young man with a guitar whose music doesn’t show Dylan’s influence to at least a small degree). Tarq’s sound is so much more than a mix of these. In fact, they owe more to his childhood love of writing short stories and poems. As much as Tarq Bowen is a songwriter, he’s also a storyteller. Mixing harmonica and stompbox blues with softly spun folk, Bowen has an eclecticism closer to the likes of Jim Morrison than the influences above.
I first discovered Tarq entirely by accident. I was taking part in a panel on BBC Introducing:The South and Tarq was the live lounge artist. As I walked down the street toward the studio there were people in the street listening through the window to his songs. I knew I had stumbled on something good and the rest of his set impressed me hugely. As he was interviewed by the host of the show he acknowledged that as a young man he’d had dealings with the ‘industry’ side of music, I dropped him an email to find out more. “It’s made me realise I really need a manager! I was 19 when Sony ATV came knocking but I never got a pitch licensed and used in the end, I didn’t know what I was really looking at, some figures, percentages and a ‘who’s looking’ list sent to me monthly. It had artists from Jason Donvan to Madonna, all with the same description ‘looking for hits’ – a big turn off for anyone who’d like to release a folk and blues album. I was told at this point folk would never be big again, how wrong they were…!”
“I guess I saw the wrong side of the industry and it made me cynical,” Tarq continues, describing the effect the experience had on him. “ It’s that dark place where you think they don’t want originality, just a ball of clay they can mould into the next Ed Sheeran. There’s some great indie labels such as XL, Rough Trade, Domino that have put out some great artists, and they’ll never use the word ‘risk’, They are the future but still, no one can promote and publish an artist the way a major does, not yet anyway. It’s suit on suit in the music industry and even the guys who start out as musicians/small producers can turn into the ignorant zombie sharks. Looking back at what I’m saying I think I should approach the indusrty with caution! – The best advice I got was to meet anyone and everyone on an even level, let them come to you or you’ll be forever chasing!”
It’s a chastening story, but one with a happy ending as Tarq has channelled the experience and far from putting him off it has made him the more determined to release music on his own terms. He’s already put together an impressive EP (which you can listen to below) and, in the very near future will release his first album. From what we’ve heard already this will be one to look out for, but for now check out the tunes below (We love The Madness Found You!).
Tarq Bowen will be appearing tomorrow night (Wednesday 19th September) at The Cellars at Eastney alongside Gavin Driver, Ben Pinwill, Ross Ingram and Velvetine. Tickets are £4 on the door.
Great article! Suffice it to say that the one thing Tarq Bowen has in common with Jim/Neil/Bob etc is that his music, like theirs, is continually unfolding and re-creating itself… Since the release of the EP featured below, Tarq has performed so many live gigs, that he has literally unzipped his creativity – his style has more of early Bruce Springsteen, Lightening John/Muddy Waters thrown into the pot… If you’re at all musically curious (!) – check out his SOUNDCLOUD uploads, or better still, see him live!