Interview: James Owen Fender
3 min read
At the youthful age of 24, James Owen Fender has had a remarkable career to date. With his fair share of successes, losses and lessons learned, the Leeds born songsmith is now set to release his debut single The Cloud and we got to catch up with the musician to find out a little about this hidden gem of pop and to discuss the single and his journey so far. Here’s what he had to say.
Brendon Veevers: How are you doing?
James Owen Fender: I am very well, thank you.
BV: You are about to release your debut single The Cloud on October 4th, can you tell us about the track?
JOF: The track is taken from my debut album WooF, which will be release in February 2011. It is 2 minutes 45 seconds in length and has been likened to New Order.
Unfortunately, the reviewer who made this comparison has cauliflower ears as the track sounds nothing like New Order.
BV: For anyone who hasn’t heard of you, how would you describe your sound?
JOF: Guitar led surf pop but British and northern…. And nothing like New Order.
BV: Growing up, who was it that inspired you?
JOF: New Order.
[youtube id=”ZJ3Oq60l6jk” width=”620″ height=”360″]
BV: It’s been a long journey for you up to this point of your career, from the death of your producer, Jerry Finn, to a variety of record label issues. Can you tell us a little about this journey?
JOF: I boarded the plane to major label city but unfortunately, both wings fell off the plane on take off and I crash-landed into my lawyers office (LUCKY). I then proceeded to sue Island Records.
It was a lengthy, expensive and laborious process but I finally got away and set up Plumpton Presents.
BV: With all of this going on, what was your motivation to keep at it?
JOF: I kept at it because I quite like music and I also have a passion to avoid the dole queue.
BV: After the tragic death of Jerry Finn you returned to Leeds and set up a club night called Plumpton Presents. What is Plumpton Presents?
JOF: Plumpton Presents is a club night and record label that promotes new music talent in Leeds. Thus far, we’ve had Dinosaur Pile Up, Spectrals, Holy State and many others play the night, and we’ve put out a compilation E.P on the label. Our next release is my debut single, The Cloud.
BV: Is there a James Owen Fender album in the pipeline?
JOF: Yep… my debut album WooF will be out in February 2011.
BV: You are a bit of a jack of all trades – producer, writer, singer, musician. What’s the most rewarding part of the job for you?
JOF: Meeting D list celebrities such as Andy Crane and Kevin “King Kev” Campbell.
BV: Are you planning any performances to promote the record?
JOF: I’m playing the single launch for The Cloud at Royal Park Cellars in Leeds on Friday 1st October and I hope to be touring the UK in November. The MySpace page has all upcoming live dates.
BV: So whats next for James Owen Fender?
JOF: Sunday lunch. A quorn roast followed by homemade sticky toffee pudding. My girlfriend bakes the best cake/puddings ever… I’m a very lucky chap.
BV: Thanks James
::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
Over the years he has been lucky enough to review thousands of music releases and concerts and interview artists ranging from top selling superstars like 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss, Boyz II Men, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Loeb and iconic Eagles front man/songwriter, Glenn Frey through to more recent successes including Newton Faulkner, Janelle Monae and Caro Emerald.
Brendon manages and coordinates the amazing team of writers on RenownedForSound.com who are based in the UK, the U.S and Australia.
