With a brand new EP, ‘Ghosts’ on the horizon, the addictive sound of Nottingham native Callum Burrows, better known as Saint Raymond is spreading like wildfire.
Fortitude caught up with Saint Raymond at his Dublin show in The Academy 2.
The name Saint Raymond sounds more like a bands name rather than a solo artist, is this something you consciously decided to do?
I think so yeah, for me it was more when I was starting out I was playing a lot of open mic nights and pubs and I think it’s very easy to fall into a category of just another singer-songwriter or, you know, this guy is trying to be “so and so” ’cause he has got a guitar. So I think for me I just wanted to steer away from that a little bit, cause I always wanted to be more than just an acoustic guitar, so I think I kind of stepped away from it, and I just kind of liked to have something like a name, and I just stuck with it from early doors really.
It appears as if you are on the way to having great success having been Zane Lowe’s hottest track twice now and having supported Haim on their tour, did you see any of this coming? And coming so fast as well?
No definitely not. I genuinely didn’t expect it to come this fast. Or at all really, ’cause there are so many artists and it’s always like, such big bands are on that show (Zane Lowe) and they are always getting the hottest record and it’s always a bit crazy when you are backed by the likes of Zane, cause he is someone I admire massively as a dj so yeah it’s really crazy.
Did you learn anything from supporting Haim on tour?
Just how to tour and how to perform really. General tips like that. Those girls just rock out every night. It’s super crazy ’cause they would be really shy backstage, they are super sweet and talkative but they would be kind of shy sometimes, like Danielle would be very quiet and shy, but then she would get on stage and she rocks it out. To do that every night is impressive.
Do you feel it is an advantage getting this level of success under your belt at a young age?
I think so yeah, obviously there is the cons to it as well with people being a bit undermining and they would say “oh you are only nineteen”, but it’s been great man. I think for me age has been a bit of a weird one cause it has just kind of happened. I haven’t really thought about it in terms of age or anything. Yeah, it has just kind of been a crazy transition period over the past few years really.
Your music has quite a festival sound to it, is this something you think about when writing?
Yeah massively! As soon as I started going to festivals I just wanted to write festival music, like it is so good when you go to a festival and a band get the crowd moving and everyone is drunk and throwing piss at each other or whatever! It’s just like that craziness and the unity of people at a festival is something i admire, so yeah definitely.
Is there any artist out there who you would love to collaborate with and why?
My dream collaboration would probably be with Justin Vernon, Bon Ivor. I just think he is insane. I saw him live a couple years ago and he just blew my mind away. Definitely him.
You are releasing your third EP, ‘Ghosts’ on May 12th, are you excited about releasing it for the public to hear?
I am super excited to get it out. It is kind of been the case, especially with the last EP, because everything has been so busy I haven’t really had the chance to grasp how the public take it on board really. And for me it is kind of a strange one ’cause it’s getting to that stage where because I have had a couple of EPs, and it is a stepping stone to a full length one. It is a special one for me because I have redone ‘Everything She Wants’ and there is always those hardcore fans that will be a bit disappointed.
‘Cause they hate the new version…
Yeah, and I’ve done it with bands, because when I love a band and I grasp them early and then if they start to get a bit of success and they do a version of a song and you are like no, but in fact it is probably a better version, but it is just that thing. But it is cool man, I am excited to get it out man, I am really excited.
With the reworked version of ‘Everything She Wants’ can we expect any of the older songs to appear on the album?
Yeah I think so, I think a lot of it will be. I think you just have to embrace the fact that people are going to be “why did you do it?” You know, I want to put out something that I have really worked towards, where as a lot of those early songs where literally being recorded as I was writing them. It is nice from a personal point of view to go and give them a bit of a push.
Where do you get your inspiration from to write music?
I am a real mixture man. Sometimes it would be something I’ve watched, read. I am a real mixed bag and I tend to just write the tune and write the music or whatever and kind of just blend it together. I am fascinated by a lot of strange things and crazy films, just anything really yeah.
I know you are a big footy fan; Notts County is your team, where do you think they will end up this season being only just out of the relegation zone?
Yeah, you know what, I thought last week we where seven points off safety and I was like we are done and then we have won our last three games in a row and are out of the relegation zone, but we play second in the league tomorrow. I just don’t know though. It is going to be interesting man. Hopefully though! I would hate to have to go back down to league two. That league sucks so much!
At least if you do go down you will most likely come back up though!
Yeah that’s the thing, although saying that there is a club that did it last year and that went down and they are struggling as well! We will be alright, we will be alright!
And lastly what does the rest of 2014 hold for Saint Raymond?
For me it is releasing ‘Ghosts’, getting the album done, and then go to play some festivals, have some fun and drop the album. That is the plan for me, yeah!
Thanks very much for the interview.
No worries man, no worries.
Check out the official video for ‘Young Blood’ below.