Summer Of George

It's a common sentiment in music that, if you want to make it big overseas, write plenty of songs about cities and countries. George Ezra has no issue with doing that – the young jet-setter he is, there’s even a favourable mention of Oz in the rollicking Cassy O’ – but there’s more to his music than a few choice name-drops.

“I’m in Prague at the moment. It’s actually one of the most beautiful places I’ve been, I think,” Ezra says, calling during his huge European tour. “That’s one of the most exciting parts about travelling, I think, when you find a city that’s just beautiful, that has all this amazing architecture, and you can just sort of get lost in it. It’s a very moving experience.”

He’s been described as a young Woody Guthrie and has been compared to an “Alabama shrimp boat captain” thanks to his deep, soulful voice, which belies his 21 years. Wanted On Voyage, his first album, is a collection of quaint, thoughtfully-written tracks that span the gamut from the thrill of travel to an ode to an alarm clock. But it’s Ezra’s laissez-faire attitude that most likely adds the X-factor.

“I started writing music when I was 15, just to see if it was something I could do,” Ezra admits. “I didn’t know if you could just write a song, or you had to be given permission by somebody or what. I didn’t know how it worked. I was in a few bands when I was 16, 17, so I had experience writing with other people before I started writing by myself. It feels like it’s all been part of the kind of music I’m writing now.”

2014 has been described as “the year of George Ezra,” the Bristolian gaining huge momentum throughout the UK and Europe. Austria and the Czech Republic both loved Wanted On Voyage so much, it reached #1 in their respective charts. Tracks from Wanted On Voyage had appeared on Ezra’s previous EPs, but it was with major label support he was able to reach a larger audience. It’s led to three releases in the space of about six months.

“You know, having all this music is one thing, but getting it out there is another. Once I had that support, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. You know, they always knew what they were doing, and what I had to do… ‘Keep writing, keep writing, keep writing…’” Ezra says in his best manic music executive voice. “Really, the EPs… when I got into the studio with Cam [Blackwood, producer behind London Grammar and Florence & The Machine among others], I’d realised I’d written about 25 songs. So instead of cutting a bunch, I was just like, ‘Hey, why don’t we just make another EP?’ I think that was a good move, because when you do release an album, it kinda means it’s not just your mum buying it,” he laughs.