Brits and Pieces is back! Adam Barnes, Oxford’s very own answer to America’s fantastic folk singers such as Bon Iver and Ray Lamontagne, took some time out to talk Brits and Pieces columnist Alexa Jade. At the humble age of 19, with songs and a beard way beyond his time, it’s easy to see him going far.

How long have you been playing music? Have you always wanted to be singer/songwriter?
I’ve been playing and writing music steadily since the age of 14 and performing it since I was 16. I think I always wanted to be a singer/songwriter, I seem to remember trying to write songs when I was 7 or 8 but I couldn’t play anything so I always forgot what I’d written. At the same time, I wanted to be Michael Flatly as well as a Formula One race car driver, so it kind of grew from nowhere. My love of music and songwriting really stemmed from a love of singing I had from a very young age which has always stuck with me.

Who are your biggest inspirations?
Some big typical folk inspirations come from Dallas Green, Bon Iver, Damien Rice and Ray Lamontagne; there are good reasons why these guys are as big as they are, and it’s amazing what they’ve done with the genre. I’m really also into smaller acts such as William Fitzsimmons, Chris Ayer, Danny Malone and The Tallest Man On Earth. I really enjoy a variety of music, from Bayside which I used to listen to a good few years back, to more epic based rock such as Barcelona and Weaver At The Loom. Bands that influence my music strongly at the moment included Relient K, Manchester Orchestra, Death Cab For Cutie and Frank Turner, who are all great artists. I also should mention people that are a lot more local to me like Spring Offensive, Richard Walters and A Silent Film, who are also great influences.

What are your plans for this year music wise? 
We’ve just managed to get signed to a management company, which is really exciting. We (my new band and I) are rebranding the music under a new band named, Atelier, and will be releasing some of our old songs with brand new songs on an EP, which we’re hoping to get some great national coverage for. We’ll also be releasing singles and music videos from it. We’re looking to gig constantly this year and have set out to play on at least one gig a week. We want to drum up a good reputation at shows, as well as earning the chance to play to bigger audiences. We’re really going to work hard this year to make an impression on people. 

If you found out a celebrity had your music on their ipod, which celebrity would you most like it to be?
For a strange reason I would love it to be someone that I really didn’t appreciate much as a musician but are insanely huge in the business, like Lady Gaga or Cheryl Cole. Just so I could brag that someone like that listened to my music. I would love it to be R Kelly or Dallas Green though. A member of the Backstreet Boys would also be incredible!

If you could only listen to one album on repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I get bored of albums quite quickly so it’s hard… I can’t spend too much time listening to the same songs or it loses all the charisma of when you first listened to it. A great album was William Fitzsimmons’ The Sparrow and The Crow, or maybe the first self-titled album I bought by Bayside, but it would probly be either Kevin Devine’s Brothers Blood or Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago. It’s so hard to choose, artists are just consistantly bringing out bigger and better albums. I can’t wait for a few to come out this summer already! 

Which bands should we look out for this year? 
Francesqa, who are a local band to me. They inspired me to start playing in a band when we were playing in youth clubs around the age of 16. Such nice guys and it’s great to see them get this kind of exposure so quickly! Another would be Spring Offensive, another local band that we play a lot of gigs with. They are probably one of the smartest bands that British music has to offer, which you can hear from their music - one of those bands that are incredibly talented and insanely nice. You just can’t fault them. And lastly, Tellison. They are bringing out their second album this summer which I’m really excited for. They’ve been a band I’ve listened to for a good few years now and I would love for them to really rocket up into the bigger venues. This album is going to be incredible, I can just feel it.

And lastly, describe your music in 3 words.
Honestly Depressing Folk-Pop. 

You can check out Adam’s tumblr here.