Why John Mayer Inspires Josh Needs Endlessly

13 March 2017 | 12:37 pm | Brynn Davies

"I'd never recorded anything like this before. So I went home and practiced the shit out of it until it was right!"

Josh Needs was inspired by John Mayer on his VECTOR EP — "I really love the way that John Mayer always delivers a great product, whether it's his early albums or his recent Wave EP. The musicality and production of his songs certainly inspired the way we recorded and revisited the songs aiming for the quality sound and guitar tones," he extols.

The young singer-songwriter has collaborated with Diesel, Russell Morris, Jon Stevens, Tommy & Phil Emmanuel and Kevin Borich, as well as playing Woodford Folk Festival, Blues On Broadbeach, Airlie Beach Festival, Tamworth Country Music Festival and at the Sydney Opera House. While he loves all of the tracks on his record, "I would say my favourite song is 17. It was a song I was really proud of after I'd written it, and to be able to recreate it how I imagined it to be in the studio was awesome."

Working with Sydney producer Nathan Sheehy at A Sharp Studios, "For the time allocated [to record] we had to work efficiently and not go overboard or spend too much time on one particular section. Also, recording backing vocals [was a challenge], as I'd never recorded anything like this before. So I went home and practiced the shit out of it until it was right!"