Zo commercieel als shit, en toch wil ik even deze jonge countryster in wording onder aandacht brengen. De jongeman van Mexicaanse afkomst behoort tot de 'red dirt' stroming, een genre binnen country dat misschien nog het meest bij indie rock aanleunt. Daarnaast sijpelen invloeden uit country, blues, folk, rock, blues, bluegrass, western swing en honky tonk door. Wyatt Flores laat inderdaad de gitaren stevig rocken en weet hoe je een catchy song moet schrijven die net voldoende ballen heeft en lichtjes de clichés weet te ontwijken. Iemand die ik in het korte de grote plas zie oversteken om doorheen het V.K. en de EU een succesvolle clubtour op te zetten.
Welcome To The Plains verschijnt op 18 October 2024 via Island Records.
Luister ook naar: Before I Do (met Jake Kohn) Milwaukee
Lees
“I was always surrounded by music. My dad was a drummer and my uncle was a guitar player and they were in plenty of bands together,” tells the singer-songwriter. “My entire family is just submerged in music constantly. There was always music playing inside the house.”
Flores recalls being exposed to many different genres of music that influence his musical preferences today.
“That’s why my taste is so different. My dad loved blues and classic rock, and my mom loved 90s country and Alan Jackson and George Strait. My sister was all over the place with rap and pop, and red dirt.” The singer also took a like to Sturgill Simpson. “I love his voice and I love his entire idea of what music is. It’s not about genre, it’s about creating good music.”
Upon graduating high school, Flores headed to college, but found himself still fixated on music. “One thing led to another, and then the next thing I know, I’m playing in bars Then I quit school, because I was way too focused on music at that point, and I just went for it.”
In June of 2022, the entertainer headed to Music City to hone in on his craft. “When I moved to Nashville, I didn’t have too many strings in Nashville because I didn’t go out to network like many people do in Nashville. I moved there to get away from my hometown and remove any distractions,” he shared. Adding, “I just sat in my apartment with my now manager and my guitar player. We shared one room on air mattresses, and every single night, we’d either be making content or writing more songs or we’d be learning new music, just to study. That’s all I did. It was honestly a school for music.”
Throughout that first year in town, Flores focused on building his music catalog, writing more than he ever had in his life. “I was just trying to hone in on my craft and get better at songwriting,” he shared. “I had only written maybe 15 songs at most before I moved there.”
(Bron: Countryswag.com)
