Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Harrison Jay
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My parents have always been huge music fans too. We always had the record player playing from as early as I can remember. I was exposed to 80’s, 90’s and 00’s hits from a very young age. A prominent early memory of mine is being obsessed with ‘Hung Up’ by Madonna when it was first released. I was just 4 years old but I was infatuated
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Before I started making my own music, I was a radio show host for 2+ years from 2017-19. This involved planning and hosting my show ‘Recent Releases’ weekly and booking and interviewing guests, promoting the show on social media, and being involved in community activities promoting the radio station. The show was about new music. I would review new music on air. I already loved music before I started, but by doing this, I became next-level attached to music, so much so that it inspired me to make and release music of my own. It helped me decide as an artist what kinds of artistic directions I want to explore. I also took a BTEC Music Tech course (2018-20) which I got a Distinction * Grade, in addition to my A levels. Then I continued my studies in University with a degree in Media Production (graduated 2023). By incorporating my passion for music and media creation in my education, this helped me learn useful industry knowledge.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
My music takes on many themes and vibes. I am a versatile artist who wants to innovate. I constantly get melodies in my head and I love to songwrite, which is something I’ve done from a very young age. I’d say there’s a common theme of heartbreak within many of my songs, many lyrics of mine are written about personal love
life experiences. This is very apparent in my next release planned for release on New Year’s Day 2026 titled ‘I wish we could just hang out’. I find it therapeutic and healing to write about my pain. However, most of my songs are upbeat and catchy regardless of how sad the lyrics can be,
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I am mostly pop-leaning with my music, with some songs having more rock styles and others having more R&B/hip-hop styles. I have always been on the hunt for unique and interesting music as a music listener and this reflects in my musical output. The only expectation I want from listeners is that I will deliver greatness, but the sound and style I like to switch things up and keep it unpredictable. I think there aren’t enough male pop musicians who are trying to make ‘outside the box’ music. I try to be specific with the
theme of my songs, and I’m a huge fan of unique titles, such as my song ‘Rubatosis’, which is a real word that means the sensation of when you’re aware that your heart is beating. There are many feelings and moods for different songs I’ve made, whether it be happy vibes, such as in my song ‘Your Vertigo’, or sad vibes, such as in my song ‘Time Kills’. I’m also a huge fan of double entendres. In songs such as ‘Cherry Blossom’ and ‘Mount Kilimanjaro’ I use themes of nature to explore more promiscuous themes.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music? Along the way I’ve definitely learnt the value of collaboration. As someone who tends to do
the entire creative process (producing, writing, recording, mixing, mastering, marketing etc.) solo, by making connections online I have opened the door for collaborations and am keen to do more. Having different perspectives and ideas on the table and trusting other’s contributions with their unique talents. I have other collabs in the works at the moment that I hope get published in 2026 and I want to say thank you to Marcus Daniel and Shreyansh Janagal, the two artists I have collaborated with publicly so far.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process? I have used various tools and softwares over the years to create music. The primary
DAWs I have used for music creation are Logic Pro X, FL Studio, Soundtrap. I am trying to get better at Ableton bc I think Ableton is the rising star of DAWs at the moment. I play piano and guitar and that has helped me greatly learn interesting chords and it helps me with song structure a lot.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I am constantly on the hunt for new bands and artists to fall in love with. There are so many indie artists I am very inspired by. Some notable ones include indie bands such as the K’s, CRUZ, The Lathams, I am also inspired some mainstream artists such as Sam Fender, who also grew up in Northern England and consistently perfected his craft and sound, creating incredible conceptual albums with deep meaning. He also has creative control, which is also very important to me. I have only dropped EPs or singles so far, but I intend to release concept albums and share many life stories through my music.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision? Particularly in my lyrics, personal experiences have definitely influenced my music.
There are recurring themes of heartbreak within many of my songs, which is definitely based on unfortunately having my heart broken more than once. Similarly, there are recurring themes of intimacy which are reflective of the happier and sensual moments I’ve had in relationships.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work? I hope that listeners feel my authenticity with my music. These are all songs from the
heart, even the more ‘light-hearted’ ones. All of my songs are songs that I wish existed in this world and I hope people really sense the sincerity. I don’t care about the money or attention it could bring, I just simply want these songs to get out of my head and exist publicly.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That no one is coming to save me or help with my music career. In order to achieve the success I dream of, I have to be in executive control over every aspect. There’s so many dodgy deals or managers in the industry that I don’t even want a manager anymore. I am proud to be in creative control and it’s very important to me that I am always the one in charge when it comes to my music journey.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I used to have various answers for this but now my answer is there is no specific venue or festival that I yearn to play for. There’s the obvious major music festivals (in the UK where I live such as Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds etc.) which would be life changing and a huge career milestone, but I think festivals are constantly changing and evolving. I have become more disillusioned and pessimistic when it comes to music festivals as of lately, due to capitalist greed. As long as there’s people who want to see me perform, I don’t care where it is or how many people, I just want to share songs I love with people who’d love to hear it.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why? There are so many answers for this and it’s very hard to narrow it down. My answer is
Jeff Buckley. The late Jeff Buckley inspires me greatly and I can’t think of a white guy in music who has his level of sensuality when it comes to music. I try to capture similar seductive vibes in songs of mine like ‘Cherry Blossom’. I think that we have vocal delivery similarities, smooth and soft but powerful and emotive.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links) Personal website – harrisonjay.com
All music platforms, artist name Harrison Jay
Social media:
Instagram.com/harrisonjaymusic
Tiktok.com/itsharrisonjay
youtube.com/@harrison_jay
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I would love to release my debut album in 2026. However, I have seen how results are more effective in terms of engagement by releasing singles sporadically with a ‘waterfall’ strategy. I also like releasing singles because I absolutely love every single song that I release, so it’s nice to give each one my full attention. But I also love longer projects that have cohesion and tell a story, that’s definitely a goal of mine to have many conceptual projects! Right now I am still experimenting with many genres and if I release an album this year, I want it to be focused and cohesive.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way? I hope listeners discover that I am not afraid to be daring with my music and outside the
box. I like the idea of my music being considered avant garde. It may be unconventional but it is still powerful. I am as authentic as possible with my music and will always be in creative control. I hope listeners discover that I am also the one in charge of all visual aspects too such as cover art and music videos!
