Our Play Irish Artist of the Week on Beat Breakfast with IASCA is Josh Gray and his new single 'Without You'.
The 21 year old Wicklow native begins his 2019 on solid legs after an explosive 2018 that saw Gray triumph on the back of his debut release We Should Run (rocketing to the top of the iTunes Charts upon release), and soar after releasing the follow up track Cut Loose (dominating Irish radio and currently sitting on over 600,000 streams on Spotify). At home, Josh was selected to perform First Music Contact’s prestigious Hard Working Class Heroes, and overseas, Josh went on to support Rita Ora at the Coca Cola Music Experience in Madrid to a whopping 16,000 people at the WiZink Arena.
As Cut Loose delved into the subject of a destructive relationship, Without You seems like a narrative progression as the protagonist now sings of the need to get out of a toxic relationship and doing what’s best for them. The chorus literally spells this out, with the protagonist attesting “I think I’m better without you…”. The lyrics are juxtaposed against an incredibly upbeat melody and dancelike rhythm that makes the entire track somewhat of a feel-good high energy pop anthem, the kind of which might not seem out of place on a Bieber or Timberlake album today.
Josh says that that feel-good summer vibe was intentional, and that he hopes that listeners share that feeling when the chorus hits in. He cites his influences as the likes of James Hersey, Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5 and with his own falsetto often flexed in his tracks, these influences aren’t at all surprising.
Currently, Josh is working out of his home studio writing and producing tracks for the coming year. He has put together a touring band and he’s set to hit the festival scene running in 2019, having already showcased at Output Belfast, showcasing at Music Cork, and having just been announced for both Indiependence and Sea Sessions. Josh is also set to play his debut headline Irish show at Whelan’s on Thursday, April 25th (tickets below).
