Meet Dorset, UK-born UK Open Mic performer Ralph Bishop:

Hi Ralph Bishop, thanks for joining us! Let’s get into it:

Do you play solo only, or also in a group?

Solo

How old are you?

18

Where were you born?

Dorset, UK

Where did you grow up?

Dorset, UK

How did that place influence your music? (if at all!)

I grew up as only child in the most remote circumstances, a distance from any town or even village. My Dad is a landscape painter and my mum is multilingual and well read, so I have always been surrounded by the vistas of nature and culturally immersed: surrounded by art, music and antiques from a bygone age. This unusual upbringing has since manifested itself in my music as a mixture of experimental, psychedelic and progressive rock, ballads, jazz and classical, as I seek to find cultural parity with my upbringing.

Where are you based now, and why?

I have come to London to hone my skills as a musician, as I am studying jazz guitar at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. However, I also want to expand my profile as a songwriter and musician in the London area, which I see as one of the global cultural centres for music.

What got you into making music in the first place?

Music has always been a big presence in my life. I was named after the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and was exposed to such music from a very early age. I remember the rotating apple logo on The Beatle’s Let It Be album spinning on the turntable, as well as the sounds of an eclectic range of music: Tony Newly, David Bowie, The, The Kinks, as well as Bach (which I was told that I used to hum along to). However the first album I truly ever loved was The Zombies seminal Odyssey and Oracle, which I listened to one Summer when I was four on a trip to Snowdonia in Wales. I even called one of the songs called Changes the ‘snow song’, the distinctive mellotron part conjuring images of snow. I was not far wrong, for the song depicted different women as a metaphor for different seasons.

My first ever experience of playing music, however was when I picked up the guitar at the age of seven. Within a year, people began to notice my abilities as a performer when I played guitar and sung in front of my whole entire school. Fast forward a few years and I had been in multiple bands and experienced the politics (good and bad) that comes with it. Nevertheless, I had been honing my skills as a guitarist, attempting to learn the solo for Sweet Child of Mine at the age of ten. Within a few years, I had branched out yet more musically, trawling through guitar books and learning jazz guitar lines, advancing my piano skills and crucially, beginning to write and record my own music.

I emerged from lockdown with new songs, ideas and enhanced skills, beginning to perform many of my songs live with my band, Reddle amongst the various Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin cover songs. After a stream of gig over a couple of years, I decided to chance my luck on an under 18s original music showcase, hosted by Hangover Hill Records. From this, I not only got my studio time, but gained a slot at a sold out gig at Poole Lighthouse (the biggest arts centre in the UK outside London) with Reddle supporting touring band The Now from Wales. This would be recorded live and a year later, released as a live album ‘Live at The Lighthouse’, which included many songs I had written in that crucial creative phase I had over the first lockdown and prior.

My new association with Hangover Hill led to me recording my debut album as a solo artist, an amalgamation of songs recorded over the last two years using anything, from a home, DIY setup to a full studio. Since I had a bit of, what I considered, an unproductive year, I felt exhausted and depressed yet equally frustrated that I had not been able to share the songs that I had kept to myself for some time with the rest of the world. But a year later, here I am, from humble beginnings in Dorset, now in the heart of London, ready to share my songs with the world.

What instrument/s do you play?

Singing
Piano
Piano
Guitar

Who would be in your top 10 musical influences, and why?

The Beatles (1966 and onwards) – The Beatles would be a staple on many peoples’ list, yet what I admire about them most of all is their ambition when it came to exploring a wide range of genres, while still creating brilliant songs, that were by no means middle of the road, of course guided by George Martin’s exceptional musicianship.

The Zombies – just as The Beatles were recording Sergeant Pepper’s*, The Zombies were another psychedelic rock band from the time, recording the seminal album, Odyssey and Oracle. This album has an eeriness to it, which has stuck with me ever since early childhood. At the heart of this album was the song-writing partnership between Chris White (the bass player) and Rod Argent (a classically trained pianist) which helped to produce an album which was as complex as it was interesting, which is a mantra that I often apply to my songs.

David Bowie – David Bowie is such a versatile figure in music who has constantly gone about changing his image and sound, from Ziggy Stardust, Alladin Sane to the Thin White Duke. It’s no such much the act of changing constantly in itself that I admire, but rather the quality of the music and characters in themselves that came about from his desire to change.

Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, Beethoven, Queen, Pat Metheny, Miles Davis, Joe Pass

Do you write your own songs?

Yes

How many years have you been writing songs for?

5

What process, or processes, do you often find yourself using when you write songs?

I have spent a lot of time trying to get a strong grasp of my instruments and music theory, including harmony etc, so for me, it’s the music that comes first. I then write the lyrics in a way that reflects how the music makes me feel, by sitting down at the piano or guitar and meditating on the chords and seeing which words come out and going from there. I don’t have the hit-factory/Max Martins approach to song-writing, so the speed at which I write songs varies; I may get the body of the song down in a matter of hours, but it may take months or years to develop to its fullest extent.

How long have you been playing open mic nights?

5

Why did you get into playing them in the first place?

I wanted to share my music with the world and build a community of musicians through which we can share ideas and grow.

If it’s not already, are you hoping to make music your full-time career?

Yes

Where is the main place should people go to find out more about you?

https://linktr.ee/ralphbishop_music

What other sites/profiles should people go to to find out more about you?

https://linktr.ee/ralphbishop_music
www.instagram.com/ralphbishop_music/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.instagram.com/ralphbishop_music/
www.tiktok.com/@ralphbishop_music" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.tiktok.com/@ralphbishop_music
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094257310480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094257310480
https://www.threads.net/@ralphbishop_music?xmt=AQGzBAi60NXP1oEJ-Vxf44_GAGF80HGmHZczZDVCqjnVjpI
www.youtube.com/channel/UCDiNFyWLCBy0UBvHORETxFg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.youtube.com/channel/UCDiNFyWLCBy0UBvHORETxFg

We’re done! Anything else you want to share before we go?

No thanks!