Musical Inspiration

One of my favourite singer/songwriters is Ed Sheeran who writes from pop to R&B and even raps.
"A country boy from Suffolk  he looked like a toy - small, cute and cuddle and cartoonish. His music was bedsit folk-pop with some decidedly white rapping throw in." (Timde, 2014).

This description albeit can be seen as a bit patronising, is mostly true and is why I see Sheeran as such an inspiration. He's not from a background with money, he's worked his way to where he is now, moving to London and playing at open mic nights. Something that takes dedication which is inspiration on how anyone can make it, not just someone who was born with a music studio in their bedroom.

"On the up-tempo Bloodstream and the Dylan-esque stream of consciousness You Don't Need Me I Don't Need You, the frenzied crowd participation went to the back row of the front tier" (Aizelwood, 2014)

He performs at gigs with just a microphone, guitar and loop pedal, which I also think is inspiring and something to look up to. At many big festivals such as Glastonbury and Radio One's Big Weekend, he is alone on stage with his guitar and loop to thousands of fans which would give anyone a rush.
"He's a polyglot, raised on folk, R&B, hip-hop and rock in equal measure and comfortable, incorporating each of these genres in his compositions." (Cox, 2014)

In an interview with Access Hollywood, he stated that he's influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Eminem and when presented with the statement that they're all different, he replied with "They're all good lyricists". (Access Hollywood)
Also in this interview, he stated that he always write lyrics first, which is what I started to do and found it easier to write a tune for words as opposed to words for a song.

An article in the Evening Standard stated that "Small Bump showcased Sheeran's ability to package a weighty lyric about a miscarriage into a palatable three-minute pop song" (Pearson, 2014). This way of describing one of Sheeran's songs is something that I want to get across when I write a song. Lyrics that mean something as opposed to being meaningless and unoriginal that exist in todays music charts is something I strive for