Adam Barnes

There has always been a sense of patience needed. A way to clarify the difference between expectations and reality and where is the progression in between. There’s always this question that spirals round when it’s darkest and it’s asking why are you doing this? Why aren’t you able to placate the doubts around you and continue on this journey of supreme highs and juxtaposing lows. This in itselfs is it’s own answer, there’s nothing quite like the struggle of creation.

‘Vacancy at Nasa’ is Adam Barnes’ second record, nearly 4 years have past since his debut album ‘The Land, The Sea & Everything Lost Beneath’. Although you can find his release ‘One Day We’ll Be Fine’ found wedged in between and arguably this can be contributed to the turning point and inspiration of this new record. A musical folk drama documenting the struggles of 7 years of creating a fledgling career as a young songwriter in the current era. There’s an aspect of blunt realisation and openness that you can’t find in earlier songs. ‘Reykjavik’ and ‘Bad Luck’ were the first songs written for the album. ‘I suddenly realised that I was turning 25, although I think it isn’t crazy to be living at home at this age anymore, I had lived with my mum and her partner for 5 years. I have been in a long term relationship for 6 years and whom I’m unable to see most the year because I live too far away or I’m on the road struggling to reach a wider audience. I had issues that I needed to vent about.’ You can find it at it’s most obvious form with a lyric in Reykjavik ‘We never talk in the evening / I’m always playing a show / playing sad songs to strangers that I hardly know.’ There’s also a sense of awareness that Adam isn’t the only person struggling through challenges in front of him, there’s always a sense of change and trends to keep up with, other minds fighting the fight alongside.

These adversaries are among his closest friends. There are aspects of hope and moments of defiance riddled throughout the record, It’s never been the aim to completely devastate people but connect through honest experience. ‘Everything’ was written to document the kind of stability of companionship and love that’s needed to make a record like this. It’s not a record about defining a genre, breaking boundaries or challenging minds. It’s an attempt to honestly connect through compassion and moments of mundane beauty that everyone can relate too. ‘A lot of the record is a fight between being away from loved ones doing something that I love, and circling the same questions of self doubt when i’m living in a place I struggle to call home, the metaphor that appealed to me and kind of stuck was an astronaut wanting to do whatever it takes to make it to space, and slowly missing those at home the further and further they got into space. It’s a constant battle between enjoying things you’ve worked so hard for and remembering what you’ve had to go through to get there. It’s a beautiful heartbreaking adventure. I began recording around the time that they found a new solar system called Trappist-1, I had a holiday poster as the background to my phone, I liked the sense of wonder a whole new world could offer and how you’d have to leave everything knew behind to reach a place like that. Obviously I was probably born 1000 years too early.’

Heavily inspired by the likes of Damien Rice, Noah Gundersen and even Father John Misty. Listening to the orchestration of his debut record and there’s a raw texture to accompany these open folk songs. ‘It’s great to hear albums like I Love You Honeybear (Father John Misty) or Dark Bird Is Home (Tallest Man On Earth) garnering such critical success. The string and horn sections are defining aspects to a record that is both musically and lyrically challenging, it’s inspiring to hear, I wanted to utilise it in my first record and it’s a theme that I felt deserved to be continued into this release’. So along with his companions from the last record Joseph Hicks on guitar and James Walker on piano, Adam drafted in Barney Morse Brown who has contributed as live cello for Birdy, and Sam Winfield (Amber Run, Bring Me The Horizon, Fickle Friends) on horns who also co-produced and engineered the record at his studio, Studio 91 in the countryside of Berkshire. This won’t be the defining moment of Barnes’ career, it’s just another step, after the last step and the step before that. It would be nice though if this step is one that you’re still talking about it years to come.

Adam Barnes is a songwriter from Oxford, UK. A humble 28 year old personified through his relatable lyrics and his ability to lean on the contemporary hooks of 20th century folk music.