We chat to the wonderful artist James Millier, who has just released his brand new single – sure to tug on your heart strings – ‘What If This Heart Is Empty?’
- So this is a song that really pulls on your heartstrings – is it written from personal experience?
100% yes! Last year a family tragedy happened when a wonderful woman passed away. I wrote this song with the help of Travis Rue (The Satellite Station). The song was born from that moment because I couldn’t help but reflect on how my relative’s husband must have felt to lose his partner of over 60 years. The guilt he must have felt trying to let go of a life with someone he deeply loved even though there comes a time to move forward.
- Who are your musical idols, James?
I have to confess that a lot of names come into my mind, though they are not huge global music artists! Instantly, The Satellite Station is one of them because he inspired me and brought out the best in me when writing this song plus his music is awesome! Another artist who never fails to deliver wonderful songs is Wesley Attew and I was lucky enough to have him as my co-writer for my next single “Life Raft”. I feel like I should mention some unsung heroes who deserve recognition like Sam Hinds who is a great country singer/songwriter who has written and produced Airwaves with me. Another artist who should be mentioned is Rich Lown who is a seriously great singer/songwriter. I also must mention Joe Wilkinson because he’s an extremely talented musician and he is absolutely cool on Instagram. Finally, three music artists I’m definitely in awe of are Elyse Aeryn, Maddisun and Michael Parma who I had the honour to be featured on with a Christmas charity single called “Christmas of Hope” back in 2020. Personally, I think all of them are outstanding and deserve acknowledgment for their music.
- We heard you’re planning a songwriting retreat – that sounds exciting. Tell us a little bit more!
I can say it has been given the green light however it is still in its early stages because we have yet to build the website and have pictures taken of the retreat etc. I can say it will happen during the months of September, October and November. We plan to have packages that include having one-on-one songwriting time with a songwriter of choice from our songwriter roster who are all professional and have plenty of experience as songwriters. You also get accommodation included, you can walk away with either one, two or three demos of the songs you have written at the retreat and there is even a private chef there. The chef is actually me believe it or not, because before I got into music, I trained as a chef and gained sixteen years experience in the catering industry! We are not just focusing on music artists either, because we have plans to feature a wedding package where couples who are engaged can write a song one on one with a songwriter on our roster and have some pictures taken at The Songwriting Retreat which we will be put into photo album to remind them of their special time. They can take away a recording of the song, and who knows the couple might use it as their first dance at the reception!
- Where’s your hometown and are you still there now?
I actually grew up in a little quaint village called Shenstone in the West Midland which I believe has a population of over 2,000 people. After that I moved to Birmingham and then lived in Swansea in Wales for 9 years, since 2015. Ever since then I have based most of my time where I live now in Barton on Sea.
- What’s your favourite part about songwriting?
I would definitely say what I love about songwriting is how expressive you can be when you are writing the story of the song and letting the lyrics flow from your mind to create that story. Most of the time my songs are full of emotion and hopefully anyone who listens to them will be able to feel a connection to the story.
- When did you start singing?
There is a simple answer to this question which is that I received a singing lessons voucher to be taught by a fantastic teacher called Sian Pearce from my parents on Christmas Day in 2008 when I was living in Swansea. From that point on I have always kept going to her to this day even though we live a very large distance away. I have singing lessons with her online on a regular basis. She is absolutely marvellous and I wouldn’t be the music artist I am today without her. So many things I can praise Sian about like the way she has taught me on learning the singing techniques I need to know, how to keep my vocals safe and overall Sian has kept me getting better as a vocalist. For anyone who needs a singing teacher then I would definitely recommend Sian Pearce!
Make sure to check out the track ‘What If This Heart Is Empty?’ and it’s stunning video right here…
Follow James Millier HERE
