Harry Miller is a 1st-year Creative Artist student at ACM Guildford.
Guest interview by Music Business student Catherine Zita.
Hi Harry, thank you for joining me today. Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
Thanks for having me! Absolutely, I’m 19 years old and I’ve lived in Bath my whole life and moved up to Guildford in September to join ACM! I’m the front man of The Harry Miller Band, bassist of Soda Cat and a producer.
How did you get into music? Who inspired you to aim towards a career in the music industry?
I started playing guitar and singing when my dad and I used to go on camping holidays and we’d play Irish folk songs around the camp fire. After many years of playing, my voice broke and I actually went off singing for a bit because I wasn’t used to my new low voice as it was quite the contrast but I gradually began to embrace it and develop my new soulful style alongside the guitar.
I grew up listening to a great mix of music such as Marvin Gaye, Tracy Chapman, Dave Brubeck, Led Zeppelin and Tame Impala but it wasn’t until I started intently listening to the stunning songwriting and lyrical skills of Jack Johnson and Fink that I realised that I wanted to perform and create music.
I met James and Toby at Bath College and we formed The Harry Miller Band and we started to get quite a lot of traction in the Bath music scene so we started to consider it as a serious option as a career path.
What makes you a unique artist in the industry?
This is always a bit of a tricky one to answer because I find it quite hard to look at my songs and the band objectively!! But the journey and atmosphere of the song is very important to me and I think that space and performance is sometimes an underestimated element of songwriting so I think that makes the band and I stand out!
What is your usual writing and recording process?
There’s no set formula that I’ve found for my songwriting, ideas can come at any moment so I always carry around my phone with voice memos and a pen and paper! All my songs come from a very personal place so I start off writing alone then bring it to the band and we jam out new ideas until we find something that works.
For me, I love performing live and I can find it hard to translate that same energy into a vocal booth so we are still developing and refining our recording methods but our debut EP, the band and I recorded and produced entirely ourselves so the next release will be a step up in production and quality if everything goes to plan!
What would you say has been your biggest achievement to date?
It’s gotta be our EP launch at The Nest in Bath last year. We packed out the venue and had a lovely, respectful audience which is all you can ask for! It was super rewarding to see our hard work and organisation pay off!
Have you got any upcoming gigs? How do you prepare for them?
I’ve got a busy few weeks ahead I must say! The band are playing at Harry Baker’s album launch on the 19th May and we are supporting This Rose alongside UHURU on the 22nd – both at The Boileroom. We’ve then got a couple of slots at The Royal Bath & West Show on the 31st May then the 2nd of June. Then we’ve got a homecoming gig back in Bath at the Old Theatre Royal supporting Joe Probert.
In terms of preparation, I’ve had some issues with my vocal cords in the past due to straining so I take time before the set to warm up my voice!
How do you feel that ACM has helped shaped your creative artistry?
I think the best thing about ACM are the opportunities and the people that you meet! I’ve had the opportunity to play at events such as Tileyard Studio’s Networking Event to over 1500 people and at The Star through ACM. I’m currently working with Horizon Music Management company who have set me up with some cool gigs and have got The Harry Miller Band involved in the Discovery and Development scheme. Also, I’ve been able to expand the band by getting my housemates Jordan and Nana to play guitar and piano at our gigs too which really enhances our sound.
I’ve also been playing bass in my other band, Soda Cat that will be gigging soon!
What advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue a career in the music industry?
I would say to just say yes to literally every opportunity you can! It’s been a fairly recent thing that I’ve learnt to do this, I must say, but it’s really opened doors for new opportunities and gigs! Really good for building confidence too.
Thank you for your time! Any last words?
Pleasure! Just keep an eye out on social media and posters around ACM for new releases and gigs! Thanks.
Connect with Harry Miller on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, Twitter.
If you’d like to be a student at ACM to kickstart your career in the music industry like Harry Miller, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
