We come across many talented musicians here that have the gift of songwriting. There is a magic in a person that can constantly find the inspiration to write song after song without them sounding the same or just being plain cheesy (that always seemed to be my problem, lol). A true talent can even changes genres within his songwriting without skipping a beat, This seems to be a good introduction to our latest find, J.P. Kallio.
Originally hailing from the cold somewhat hidden land of Finland, J.P. decided to relocate to the bustling city of Dublin, Ireland soon after his 21st birthday. Maybe this is where the songwriting inspiration comes from but this man is full of ideas for songs. In fact J.P. Kallio currently plays guitar and sings for the Irish modern folk band Sliotar as well as the punk rock band Boneyard Bastards. It doesn’t end there though because J.P. writes some songs that do not really suit either band and has now ventured out to record a solo project of these songs.
The album Northern Boy is scheduled for release on the 25th of March but Indie Band Guru was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of some tracks. The idea behind the album is for J.P. to record these songs soon after writing them and to not overthink the process. The first track “It Ain’t Easy” shows right away that he does not need much accompaniment and can perform with just a guitar and his voice. The song builds to a big chorus that I could picture a large crowd singing along with. On “November” J.P. Kallio slows it down a little and uses some empty space to get the point of the song across. This is a very pretty song that will put any listener in a relaxed mood ready to just sit back and block out the rest of the world for a few minutes. Take a minute and relax with it below:
The title track of the album “Northern Boy” picks up the pace with a bouncy guitar melody that will get toes tapping immediately. It has that “sitting around a campfire” kind of feel but at this campfire everyone’s jaws are dropped listening to the music that this man can produce with his guitar. A song where J.P. tries to figure himself out is “Compulsive Songwriting Disorder”. Even this song that probably started out as half a joke ends up being a very memorable song where the listener wants to live in his shoes if only for a little while. Sometimes this “disorder” ends up being a wonderful thing. We recommend that you keep up with J.P. Kallio and his music at: http://www.jpkalliomusic.com/
