For someone who can’t even keep their crush a secret, hiding one’s talent seems unimaginable. Jamie Rafferty, a singer-songwriter from Glasgow, secretly recorded his first original song. After finding the courage to share it with his closest ones, Rafferty was met with all-around support and approval.
What started at a Noel Gallagher concert, which inspired Rafferty to pick up a guitar, grew into playing shows around the village and, today, touring across the UK. After a successful run of shows in London, Manchester, and Glasgow, Jamie Rafferty is back home to open up about his debut EP, Detached Observations.
As a self-proclaimed creature of habit, Rafferty made a conscious effort to avoid set songwriting patterns and let the songs take shape naturally. Across five tracks, Detached Observations marks his introduction, focused on resilience, big choruses, and undeniable rhythm.
He tells Noctis he recorded Detached Observations over four years, during which Rafferty stepped back to take in the world around him and its travelers. On a mission to explore what makes people tick, he came to understand his place in the world.
You just wrapped up your headline tour in London, Manchester and Glasgow. How did it go?
It was an amazing experience, crazy to see people knowing my songs who I’ve never met before. My MD Elliott Blaufuss joined from Nashville to accompany me and Ian Elliot from Atlanta was opening up. There was a great little team of us all travelling together so it was a really nice atmosphere to be in that bubble for a few days. The Glasgow show was brilliant, as was expected !
What is your favourite part about performing?
It always feels like a full circle moment when you play a song live that you wrote, you always remember when the idea started so to actually play it and feel a reaction of any kind from an audience is always my favorite part.
Did you go to any memorable shows this Summer?
I’ve actually had quite a quiet year in that sense, haven’t been to a lot of shows in general this year, hoping to get to some more before the end of the year, I have my eye on a few coming to Glasgow.
You said the idea of being a professional musician seemed like an impossible dream. Initially, what was so unreachable about it?
I think being from Glasgow you already feel a disconnect from where a lot of the music business actually happens so it seems like a bit of a pipe dream anyway. I also think I was in awe of songwriters and how they could write these amazing songs, it was definitely more being a songwriter that I thought was an impossible dream and it was only special people who could do it. I still have that mindset to be honest because I haven’t written anything near what my hero’s have.
How do you reflect at that feeling now that you’re releasing music, and touring cities across the UK?
I feel extremely lucky to be able to do those things, they are all massive milestones for me and I would never have thought it would have been possible when I started writing songs. It’s given me a real drive to get out and do it again.
After recording original songs in secret, what was it like when you finally gathered the courage to reveal your talents?
It was quite daunting, I had nothing to compare it to, I jumped in at the deep end and properly recorded the first song I wrote. I think I would’ve known myself if it wasn’t any good so I probably had a little confidence and just needed reassurance to keep going.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists? What helped you keep going?
I always say to just enjoy every little experience you get, they can be few and far between but nights like the Glasgow show last week make it feel worth it. At the end of the day we play music and write songs because we love it and that’s usually enough to keep going.
Congratulations on the release of your debut EP, Detached Observations. Could you elaborate on the meaning of the title please?
It’s called Detached Observations because a lot of these songs come from stepping back and watching how people tick, in hindsight it’s probably me also just taking stock of where I am in my life and documenting the last few years and what I’ve seen around me.
What did you learn about yourself and your patterns while working on this EP?
I didn’t really know I was making an EP to be honest, the songs were recorded over the space of 4 years, I feel like half the EP was recorded during a very different time in my life to the other half. Each song came slightly differently, I tried to avoid patterns to be honest, I’m a creature of habit and that’s not always good for songs.
Would you say Detached Observation serves as a good introduction to you as an artist?
Yeah I think it shows the different things I do but in a way that feels like me if that makes sense. I like a big chorus, tried to keep that pattern maybe….
What is the main messaging behind ‘People Like Us’?
It’s about getting out and heading somewhere, pushing towards something better, not necessarily a specific place but a feeling or a promise two people make. The destination doesn’t matter, It’s about chasing something down that only people closest to you understand.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
I’ve just started on my next EP so the plan is to get out play more gigs and get this next EP ready to release.
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Words: Karolina Kramplova