Interview with Willo Wonder

Interview with Willo Wonder

Welsh born, 19 year old singer Willo Wonder, who now lives in London, has been described as a 'glamorous rebel who pushes the boundaries of what society deems as acceptable' and when you listen to his music and see his unique style, it's hard to disagree.

When I was first exposed to Willo's music, it only took me a split second to know that I both wanted and needed to chat to him for my blog, simply because I knew he would stand out from the rest. Here's how it went!

"I have been singing for as long as I can remember. I was always taking part in school plays and concerts and have always been a performer. I took all my grades in classical music at school but was never allowed to do pop music until after I left. It wasn't until I attended Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts that my passion for songwriting was born. I was so inspired by the talents of the other students, that I decided that music is what I want to do for the rest of my life. So since then I have dedicated my life to creating music."

Interestingly, Willo's musical inspirations and influences are almost polar opposites and extremely broad but he believes he has found the perfect blend to create a genre specific to him.

"Well as I said, I did classical music all my life and I guess it must have rubbed off on me. I absolutely love orchestral arrangements in classical music but I had never really heard it in commercial pop music until I heard Florence & The Machine and Lana Del Rey. I wanted to create timeless music and something that also had a cinematic feel, so by looking at timeless composers and artists, I found that the music that has been popular forever, is not electronic or synth based music, but beautiful orchestral arrangements and film scores. I am so inspired and moved by orchestral music, that i wanted to mix it with pop melodies and find something truly unique. So by blending classical instruments and pop orchestration, I have found my genre of 'Orchestral Pop"

As well as taking inspiration from other music, Willo also believes that his own personal life experiences have helped him greatly in moulding him into the artist he has become.

"I have been imagining and creating my 'Willo Wonder' brand for as long as I have been able to sing. It was only at a few years ago when I realised exactly who i want to be as an artist. A big part of who is am artistically, is what i talk about in my songs. All my songs are very personal and some are very dark and discuss very tough times in my life. These experiences are the life behind my music and without them I would have nothing to write about. Every learning curve is a lesson and I have grown from these experiences and they have helped shape me into the artist you see today. So in essence, my life experiences have created 'Willo Wonder"

And the Willo Wonder that has been created is, as I said, that glamorous rebel that refuses to conform to society's expectations. As you read on, you will see that Willo's motives are extremely valid.

"I have always been a free spirit. I hate the idea of being conventional or fitting/blending in. I hope that in my music I can inspire people who are bound to social norms to live their true self. My image can be described as controversial because I am not dressing how a conventional man should. This upsets people, but i hope to bring understanding and tolerance into our society through my fearlessness and make people realise that being different can be revolutionary. I feel that my look can play to my advantage because there are thousands of people like me around the world who are to scared to be themselves and by seeing me do it, hopefully it will give them courage to be themselves."

A song that further drives home the point Willo makes above is his latest single 'Find Yourself'. I'll let Willo explain what it meant to him and how he hopes it will inspire others.

"Find Yourself' is extremely special to me as it shows exactly what kind of prejudice and intolerance i have been shown throughout my life and how I have made peace with it by accepting who I am and learning to love myself. When I was at school, people looked at me like i was an alien. They couldn't understand that a boy could dress this way or act this way. I used to cry myself to sleep at night listening to 'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera because i was so ashamed of who i was. I never had a male role model in the music industry to look up to, to let me know that being different is ok. I wrote this song as a beacon of hope for young people all around the world who are lost and need reassurance to know that fitting in is not important. If I had heard this song when I was 14, my teenage years would have turned out very differently. I really hope that this song can inspire people to know that - being 'normal' is boring. Be a freak, be a loser. Just be whoever you want to be and be happy."

Willo Wonder is certainly a name and a face you won't be forgetting any time soon. Still only 19 years old, this artist has a huge career ahead of him and as JJ Kane from StickyToffee PR put it, 'Willo Wonder is an icon in the making.' But what has he got planned for the future?

"I am releasing my second single later this year called 'Bucket List' and my EP is to follow shortly after. After this EP, I will release another one next year. I am playing the Hub Festival in Cardiff on 29th August and I hope to have many more gigs coming up before the year comes to a close, so make sure you connect with me on my social media sites to see what I have coming up."

www.willowonder.com
www.facebook.com/willowonder
www.soundcloud.com/willowonder
www.twitter.com/willo_wonder
www.instagram.com/willo_wonder

EOIN!