Introducing… Ian Roland
“What a crazy world it is. We are all sharing the pain and confusion and heartache and loss and destruction...and the criminality of it. In some ways we are sustaining each other. Music does that. It sustains us. ”
This stirring quote eloquently captures all of the things that Ian Roland stands for. A dedicated, talented, sincere, hardworking singer songwriter, Ian Roland writes original roots-pop music. He is known for finger picking on the 12 string guitar and classy orchestral sounds. His hard-hitting lyrics inspire hope, whilst provoking a sense of urgency about our relationship with nature and our survival.
Ian has played a wide variety of gigs and festivals and brushed shoulders with the rich and famous throughout his music career. Despite this, he has remained unwaveringly grounded, and confident in what he believes in.
His critically acclaimed album the Wood Wide Web was aptly described as “a lucid love letter to the wilderness” (Lucia Crown, RGM Magazine). His first single Living in Sound is depicted as “a heartfelt gorgeously produced sound” (Obscure Sound) that is “impossible not to love” (Plastic Magazine).
Ian Roland
“Keeps on happening, keeps drowning us out. That promise of better, as time’s running out”
These are powerful lyrics. What is ‘Living In Sound’ about?
Music and the Arts are important. They question and challenge the status quo. We are all ‘Living In Sound’, wanting the chance to not only just exist but to live equally valued lives, in tune with our environment.
Living in Sound’ was my first single release of 2024. It is about still having “the strength to believe”. It is about singing in chorus with our natural environment and each other and in so doing, forming a new reality.
“We are all ‘Living In Sound’, wanting the chance to not only just exist but to live equally valued lives, in tune with our environment. ”
With evermore grassroots music venues closing due to the current economic crisis for small businesses, and yet more stadium music concerts generating huge revenues, this song speaks for a re-distribution of profits so that the UK music industry becomes sustainable and has a future. Music creates communities and lifts us above the grind and toil. A general re-evaluation of what is truly valuable and sustaining for the world, would be good too.
There were more than a few people with tears in their eyes when you sang at The Neptune Inn earlier this year. You are good at emotionally connecting with people…
We have had a few tears in the audience at times! Graham Gouldman, who I supported last year, once said, as a songwriter, if you can make people cry, you are on your way to cracking it, because you have touched people with your art.
I think music unifies us. Going to live music events, you can find a community and shared values. We all have that drive for connection and music allows us to do that.
Who were your biggest musical influences?
I grew up with two sisters who were quite a bit older. They played the Beatles, the Kinks, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young. These were my earliest influences.
The Waterboys were another big influence in the 80’s. I saw Mike Scott supporting U2 at the Milton Keynes Bowl, and thought that was the kind of sound I wanted to achieve. It was brilliant. It’s not really what I do now, but the influence was there!
How did your music career begin?
I had a Saturday job in a local fruit and veg shop, and I saved up to buy my first guitar when I was 14. I had lessons from a school friend and then traded in my classical guitar for a Hondo II electric guitar. I joined bands with school and college mates, had some more guitar lessons and then I started to play the mandolin when I was about 18.
I found I really liked the two sounds of both the guitar and mandolin together, and the 12 string was something that sort of combined the two. So in my mid 20’s I bought my first 12 string guitar, and now I have three of them and it’s the instrument I always play live.
Ian Roland, late 80's
What were your first experiences in the music industry?
“One of my first jobs was ferrying recording artists around in my Ford Fiesta... [which is where]... I met Tim Cross, producer... in Mike Oldfields band ”
One of my first jobs was ferrying recording artists around in my Ford Fiesta, when I went to work at Parkgate Residential Recording Studio in Catsfield, when I was about 23 as a “go-for”. At Parkgate Studios I met producer, Tim Cross, who was bought in as an arranger for some strings parts being recorded by a band for a session, and we struck up a great friendship. Tim was in the Mike Oldfield band, when they were touring the ‘Five Miles Out’ album. I used to drive around Hastings, when I lived there, listening to this album on cassette tape. It was really a big part of my life.
Tim had a studio in Robertsbridge and I started to record music with him. On the first session, when I went into his kitchen to put on the kettle for a cup of tea, I looked up and saw he had a platinum disc on his kitchen wall for Mike Oldfield’s song, ‘Family Man’, which he co-wrote! I asked him about it and in his typically loving way he shrugged it off and said “Oh, that old thing”. He was a big influence on me and he helped me massively to improve as a musician and adopt the discipline you need to try and do something musically.
We worked together for over 20 years on various musical projects for television and radio, which included: writing the music for Floella Benjamin’s ‘Hullabaloo’ and ‘Jamboree’ television series for CITV and Channel 4; contributing to two albums for blues singer, Dana Gillespie; three albums for TV Smith, lead singer of 70’s punk band, The Adverts; and we also composed various production music albums for JW Media Music, ranging from House music to Christmas Carol favourites.
Tim passed away 12 years ago. When he died I realised that in order to try and keep him present in my life, I was going to have to go out and play music live. It gave me an energy. I get quite nervous playing live, but the relief afterwards is quite drug like and now I am hooked. You learn to try to control the nerves a bit better as well.
Anna Corcoran, Robert Vincent and Ian Roland, Mid Sussex Music Hall, February 2024
What are your favourite venues to play in?
I love playing my music to new audiences. The Neptune in Hove is a favourite of mine but I also travel around the South East for gigs to play pubs, taprooms and acoustic venues. I went back to Sydenham, in South London, recently to play at a microbrewery called Ignition. I grew up in South London and lived in Forest Hill and Sydenham. Ignition Brewery used to be a printers, and my Dad used to work there! It was so strange going back to my old haunts. I went back to the park I used to play in, and this old oak tree I used to climb is still there. The bakery I used to buy iced buns on the way home from school is still there too.
Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?
Go out and play as many open mic nights as you can. It is not just about song writing, it is about stage craft, and there’s a lot to learn. You need to develop a tough skin. Try to be easy on yourself and do it for as long as you enjoy it.
What are your musical career highlights?
I have been very lucky to work with some fantastic musicians including, as mentioned, Tim Cross., Dana Gillespie, TV Smith. I have supported some brilliant acts as well including Martin Simpson, The Black Feathers, Stick In The Wheel, TV Smith, Robb Johnson, Boo Hewerdine, Robert Vincent, Chris Helme, Joshua Ray Walker, 10cc’s Graham Gouldman.
Dick Taylor, Sam Brothers and Ian Roland at St Edith's Folk Club, April 2024
The Graham Gouldman gig was just amazing. You never know what is around the corner. I was playing at the open mic at The Neptune one Monday and I met someone there who had a connection with The Factory venue in Worthing. I asked if there was any chance of any gigs at The Factory and they said they would put me forward as a support suggestion for Graham Gouldman. I thought that there was no way I would get the gig but a few days later The Factory called me up and offered me the slot. It was brilliant and, despite the nerves, I managed to keep my 12 strings pretty much in tune!
Ian Roland and Graham Gouldman
‘Lodestone’ is your second single release of 2024. It has been described as “a folk hymn…gloriously transporting us away” (Americana UK). What inspired you to write this song?
Inspired by the sound of local church bells heard echoing across a Sussex village, this song points to the enduring purity of music as a uniting force that rings true in all of us. Music helps grow and sustain us. It helps grow and sustain communities. Music helps form shared identities and helps us appreciate difference. Music accompanies us through all the distinct stages of our lives. The sound of church bells rolling across the South Downs on a Sunday morning transcends the restrictive, the prescriptive, the contained, and allows our hearts to beat free for a moment. The song is in memory of Gavin Macleod, founder of the Greyhound Acoustic Gathering at the Greyhound Pub, Keymer.
What is your next big dream?
I am going to write, record and play more music. Recent recordings have included the following very talented musicians, Dave Coomber (bass), James Chapman (drums), Simon Yapp (violin, viola), and Mishkin Fitzgerald (piano, keyboards) and I would love to get everyone together on stage for a live performance sometime soon.
I have a new single coming out on 31st October called ‘The Beacon’, featuring these musicians again too.
Ian Roland and Joshua Ray Walker at The Prince Albert in Brighton, 2023
GIGS
There are plenty of opportunities to see Ian perform:
Sun 29th Sept 2024 (4pm) The Kings Arms, 80 High St, Billingshurst RH14 9QS
Sun 27th Oct 2024 (5pm) Tom Cole’s Sunday Sounds, Brickmaker’s Alehouse, 27 Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN40 1EE
Sat 2nd Nov 2024 (3.30pm) SAMY’s Kitchen & Bar, 48-52 High St, Shoreham-by-Sea, BN43 5DA
Sun 3rd Nov 2024 (3pm) Brolly Taproom, 8 Redkiln Close, Horsham, RH13 5QL
Sat 9th Nov 2024 (7pm) The Dog House, Evegate, Station Road, Smeeth, Kent, TN25 6SX
Sun 17th Nov 2024 (eve) WholeHearted Charity Event, The Brunswick, Hove
Fri 22nd Nov 2024 (eve) Players Theatre, 147 High Street, Hurstpierpoint – part of HURSTFolk Festival (22nd-24th Nov 2024)
Sat 21st Dec 2024 (5pm) St Cosmas & St Damian Church, 119 Keymer Rd, Keymer, Hassocks BN6 8QL – part of a Xmas Concert with Poni Mitchell
For more info and news check out Ian Roland’s website:
https://ianroland.com/