In our latest Music Spotlight, we chat to singer-songwriter Harrison Rimmer about coping with depression, writer’s block and more.
W] Talk to us about your music, and what inspires you creatively?
HR] So I’d like to describe my music as a wall of sound with some artsy graffiti murals on it. It’s rough around the edges but it tries to be delicate in subtle ways, for me lyrics and rhythm is my main focus.
I don’t do overly clever lyrics or anything too deep, I want my lyrics to be like a loud kick drum. I want the listener to feel something, not get stuck thinking, just feel it. I want them to groove to it and have a good time. I usually think, how would this sound live? What would my band do in this section here? When I see a guitar, I see a drum kit. The thicker strings are the drums and the thinner strings the cymbals.
What inspires me creatively is people and their stories. I usually at any show or in everyday life get chatting to people about their lives or something random. As well as listening to music that is not always rock. Such as Emdee, Roe Green, Keith Urban, Gabriel Faure, Mulholland, Elizabeth Pickering, Jack Penate, We Are All Fossils, Damien Rice, Lightspeed Lover, Kid Conventional, Boss Caine, and more. Another big factor for me is accepting stuff I have done and released in the past and developing from it, both musically and personally.
W] What would you say the biggest challenges you have faced as an artist?
HR] I’d say being accepted. I started off playing in the Garstang music scene whilst singing in Choirs, playing around the Lancashire scene and it wasn’t working for me, until I came to York. I started to feel something clicking. It could have been making new friends both in and outside of university, meeting like minded people, I don’t know, I don’t know what it was but want to get to deep about it, but I am so grateful to those who’ve helped me on my never ending journey, you know who you are and you’re not just in Yorkshire!
To go from all that stuff to finding fans around the UK, Germany, Thailand, The Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, America, New Zealand, Australia, it just blows my mind. I always love the challenge, because it keeps it fresh for me. It shows me that all the hours I spent playing in random bars, slaving over computer screens, being late for work because of gigs over running, all the driving, the broken strings, the heartache, it still mean something to me.
I’ll never be fully accepted, because that’s just people and I don’t want total acceptance, cause that’s boring. After a while my challenge goes from being accepted by others to accepting myself and trying to be the best musician, artist, friend, brother, son, person I could be. Plus I can go from jumping on an old bar stool screaming in people’s faces (or in one case, climb into the roof of a 15th Century Bar in Bonn) to a soft gentle ballad in a matter of moments.
Another for me, is writer’s block and keeping the motivation to do this! I documented this in my song ‘Veins’. If you’re struggling with it, don’t worry about it. Just lose yourself for a while, go be stupid for a bit, travel around, see an old friend, dance around naked, occupy yourself and don’t over think. I am incredibly guilty of the over thinking part!
W] How do you raise awareness of mental health in your work?
HR] I do it subtly. There are some days where my own black dog gets off its leash and I don’t really want to talk about it because I’ve got an outlet, music. I take time to listen to people at my shows, if I see someone who is not comfortable or struggling I make that extra effort for them. Whether I’m dancing like an idiot, give them a broken string from my guitar or even a pick, if they want to hug, go for it. Other ways I like to support is working with charities, both big and small. I’ll just say this, when a person opens up to, take the time to listen to them.
W] Do you have any coping mechanisms that work for you?
HR] I do! My family and friends is a huge network for me. Sometimes there is stuff I don’t want to share with them for fear of upsetting them or thinking that I’ll be bringing them down, so I go for my drums, if that doesn’t work my guitar, sometimes I’ll paint and other times I’ll go for a run. If that doesn’t work, my family and friends are only a phone call away.
W] What advice would you give to other emerging artists in music who have faced the same struggles?
HR] Keep on going! You got a bad review? Who cares, fuck them. It’s your art, you’ve created something and put it out there, see that as a chance to grow. Sometimes you need shit on the garden to get the most beautiful Roses to grow.
Someone doesn’t like your show? Good! It’s a chance to grow, if they can’t be constructive don’t waste your time on being upset about a destructive person.
You don’t feel accepted in a scene? That’s absolutely fine! Just keep digging, keep searching, learn to be comfortable in yourself and keep on being you.
You get writer’s block? You’re not alone, everyone has been there, spend time with your friends, go travel, make some memories and experience more and it’ll come back in time.
W] What has been a career highlight for you?
HR] I don’t want to bore your readers with a Napoleonic self-satisfying ego trip. So I’ll say this. Every step of the journey so far has been a mix of huge highs and crushing lows. For me I’d say there are two moments that really stand out at this point. The first is the day my Dad encouraged me to give up my dreams of being a Pokemon master, and picking up the guitar.
The second is the night I supported Gaz Brookfield, one of my favourite singer-songwriters (huge thank you again to One For The Road, Craig if you’re reading this, thanks for everything mate) and to have my friend Vinnie Whitehead stop me from quitting music.
If wasn’t for that moment I never would have accepted that text from Scorpio Promotions to tour Germany and The Netherlands with Joscha David Mohs. I’d never be travelling around Australia currently playing to people who’ve no clue who I am, I wouldn’t have released ‘I am On Fire’, ‘Veins’, ‘Berlin’ or anything like that. The realisation that someone you look up to believes in you that much, that, that for me is huge.
W] What are your goals for the rest of the year?
HR] My goal is to keep on going. I’m cooking up something incredibly special. Which I’ll be revealing more about as the year goes on.
I’m currently touring around Australia playing anywhere that will have me. It’s just like the early days of my career, only more Kangaroos, Camels, Emus, Crocodiles, Snakes, Koalas and the drives between places are a lot longer. My goal at the moment is to play to as many people as humanly possible and spread my music and the music of people I meet along the way.
I want to keep things fresh for myself, and those who’ve supported me this far and those who are new to the party, make it feel as though they’ve always been there, they’re just casually late. New music, new areas, new challenges both creatively and personally. Lets see how this all goes. Plus, I don’t want to get seriously sunburnt.