That 80’s Soft Rock Ambient Vibe is Back! Singer Songwriter Sharon West leads the way in this retro Vibe with here latest HIT song Blindsided, her vocal prowess resonates the tone of Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks with the emotion of Alison Moyet. Sharon takes the sound of singer/songwriter and pop/rocker smooths out all the edges ,belting out vocal prowess that ring out powerfully! The rustic ambient sound of 80’s Soft Rock is here to stay.
Hailing from Yorkshire in the UK , Sharon started working professionally as a singer when she was 20, performing with a number of bands on the cabaret circuit and then moving onto working with original bands in more recent years. Sharon has played at a wide range of live music venues and music festivals over the years-and has always had a huge passion for music which has inspired her creativity. During this period of performing, Sharon developed her love of song writing and after being encouraged by a friend and fellow songwriter who recognised her writing ability she began to record her own music. Sharon says that her writing style comes from having very eclectic musical tastes and a love of a wide range of genres, although she admits is an 80s girl at heart. She was hugely influenced by the 80’smusic scene and counts George Michael, Alison Moyet and the electronic sounds of the decade as some of her real musical loves. Her music is based on her own personal experiences and those of the people around her and feels that this is very much reflected in the songs that she writes. Love, life and loss are featured very heavily in her writing and she feels this helps her audience to relate to her on both a personal musical level. Her first single Breathe was released on the 24th July 2017 and has been hugely successful. Check out Blindsided below!
We managed to catch up with Sharon as she talks about her latest single and more!
So how has the release of Blindsided gone down so far?
I’m really thrilled with the response Blindsided has had. I have had the most amazing feedback from my followers on social media and the downloads and streams have been really impressive. The online radio community have been so amazing in promoting the track and I have gained so many new fans and followers through their promotion. I feel very lucky that people like the song enough to share it with so many other people
Can you tell us something about the song, no one else knows?
It was written about how I met my husband, I don’t think many people know that
How is this different to your last single Breathe?
I think Breathe was a very pop oriented track and that Blindsided took a slightly different direction. It seems to have a little bit of a country feel to it. When I write songs I don’t really think in terms of musical genre and just write what I feel so to be honest things could go any way. Breathe was about how I saw another person cope with love and loss and come out of the other side, Blindsided was about finding love where you least expect it, which is totally what happened to me so I think there’s more of me in this track.
Will you be releasing an EP/Album at all this year?
Yes I’m really excited about my album, Its currently a work in progress, it’s around half way there. It was originally timed for release in the Spring but then I had to have a rethink as I was being a little unrealistic about timescales as I have a day job and have to work studio time around that. I’m hoping if all goes to plan I will be releasing the album in September. Its looking likely that I will release another single before the album to maintain some momentum. I don’t want people to forget about me do I ??Lol.
If you could work with any band or artist in the world on a new song, who would it be and why?
There are so many people I would love to have the opportunity to collaborate with but it would depend on the song and the feeling I was hoping to create on who would be the right fit for each project. I do have a song I have written that Id love to work on with Ed Sheeran. Its very personal and relates to a really sensitive topic and as he has written some amazing songs with sensitivity around some real issues I think he would give the right feel to the song and send the right message to listeners without being cliche.
What’s the alternative scene like in Yorkshire at the moment?
There is a real buzz for indie artistes in Yorkshire and lots of venues where you can get to see live music. Most of my musician friends write, record and perform their own material so there are some great opportunities for gaining local exposure. There are also lots of fantastic local music festivals where independent music is a real feature. We are real music lovers here and do everything we can to support each other.
What do you get up to in your spare time while not working on music?
I am a bit of a social butterfly to be honest haha. I have so many amazing friends and wonderful family so my spare time is centred around spending time with them. I do love the cinema too and go whenever I get the chance, although balancing work, writing, recording, performing means that at the moment its sadly on the bottom of my list of priorities.
