Introducing The Multidimensional Blanco White
Blanco White is an artist that beautifully blends the indie and Latin genres to create fantastic music for listeners everywhere. Hailing from London, the singer-songwriter Josh Edwards started his musical journey learning the guitar in Cadiz, Spain. He continued to grow his craft by traveling to Bolivia to learn the charango.
In the following years, Blanco White has released three EPs – The Wind Rose EP, Colder Heavens EP and Nocturne EP – each showcasing his unique sound and voice. Now with his new single and video ‘Deseret Days’ making the rounds and his upcoming debut album On The Other Side set for an April release, there is nothing stopping his continued upward trajectory!
We got the chance to chat with the Blanco White about everything from his music journey, debut album and more!
Papillon is such a soothing track, what inspired you during the writing process of the record?
It’s a song inspired by Henri Charrière’s book of the same name that was a favourite of a friend of mine. It’s an amazing story that left a big mark on me, and I wanted to write about it in a song in memory of my friend.
The imagery for the video is stunning. What was the intended message for the visual?
The video was directed and shot by Javier Lara in Spain, someone I have loved collaborating with. We talked a lot about the song and his instincts and reaction towards it when he heard it. Most of the story in the book takes place surrounded by water with the characters imprisoned by it, and so I wanted the music to feel as though it shimmered or rippled in some way. I think Javier was drawn to that aspect of the song most, and so wanted to focus the location around water with a sole character seemingly trapped by it. He was the architect behind everything in the video, and I was really blown away by what he created.
You’ve traveled to Cádiz, Spain, and Sucre, Bolivia to study guitar and charango respectively. What were those two experiences like for you?
Both experiences were very different, but equally special for me. I continue to visit Cádiz as much as I can, but distance has stopped me returning to Bolivia in last few years. Both Cádiz and Sucre are very beautiful cities; I love architecture, and for that reason alone both places are inspiring. Musically it was Flamenco in Cádiz that became an obsession for me. Watching it live never fails to give me goosebumps. And in South America I fell in love with Andean folk music. I found wonderful music teachers in both places who helped me to start exploring the rhythms and styles of playing from those traditions.
How would you describe your sound?
I find it quite hard to describe my sound in any unifying way as it feels like the influences behind it are often changing and come from lots of different genres. Perhaps it’s for the listener to decide! I’ve definitely always wanted the music to feel atmospheric in some way, so perhaps that’s a good starting place.
You recently announced the release date for your debut album On the Other Side, can you go into the creative process for the record?
It’s a collection of songs written in a few different locations (Spain, south Wales and London), and I found myself experimenting a little more at the start of each track, often beginning songs on an instrument I wouldn’t usually turn to first. The bass guitar was perhaps the biggest change there. I found starting with bass lines a really fun process that I hadn’t tried before, and I think that definitely helped me to begin writing in a more varied way.
How does this album differ from your previous EPs?
For me there’s much more of a focus on rhythm in the songs for this album. I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from flamenco rhythms, and Andean rhythms, but also African rhythms from both sides of the Sahara. Discovering Somalian music from the 70s and 80s has been huge for me in the past year, and I’ve always loved the rhythms and textures used by West African bands like Tinariwen. There’s just a different swing and feel to the music in all these places that I really love, and it’s that that’s really inspired me to be more adventurous with rhythm in my own songs.
What do you find the most challenging part of self-producing?
You can definitely lose perspective after working on a song for a while, and then end up making bad decisions because of that. You forget the things that drew you to a song in the first place, and often those moments are hard to rediscover in the final recording. I’ve still got a lot to learn and am working out my own process, so I’m just trying to treat all that stuff as part of the journey.
Do you have any upcoming performances?
We are currently on tour at the moment, coming towards the end of our US run. We’ll be back in Europe soon, visiting some new places we’ve never been to which is exciting. I’m really enjoying being back on the road, playing some new tracks.
Make sure to check out Blanco White’s video for his new single Desert Days below!
