INTERVIEW: “Sheffield is an inspiring place to be” - Reverend and The Makers guitarist Ed Cosens opens up on debut solo album

Having tasted critical acclaim and chart success with the band, Ed has now stepped out of the shadows to record and release his debut solo album, ‘Fortunes Favour’.

Although not the first time he has dabbled in solo recording, it is the first time he has released solo material to the public, with the sound he was looking for having finally ‘clicked’ a couple of years ago.

"It is something that has been in my head for a while now and I have had the time and space of the last couple of years, as I have not been doing so much with Reverends, and I have just managed to find a confidence and self-belief that the ideas I have as a solo artist are can stand up to the band, and my peers as well - that's an important theme through the whole album; the journey of growing up and learning life lessons and finding the confidence and belief in yourself,” he says.

“I started recording solo 8/9/10 years ago but was never really happy with what came out the other end. Looking back, some of the songs weren't good enough but two or three years ago some of the songs started coming together and it just clicked, what I wanted it to sound like.”

The album, which will be released in January 2021, was recorded in the space of a couple of weeks in a secluded village in Wales, at a recording studio called ‘Giant Wafer’ – an idea of Dave Sanderson’s, who produced the album.

Known as the guitarist of Reverend and The Makers, or the ‘music man’ as he calls it, Ed admits taking pride in the lyrical side of his craft has not come as easily.

“Some of the songs are semi-autobiographical, and are about learning lessons throughout your life and relationships and friendships and doing the wrong and right things and stuff coming full circle,” he added.

"I just sat down with a guitar and started writing more on the lyrical side, because I have always been the 'music guy' in the past, so it has taken time to work out that what I writing lyrically is good enough and I think that was more of a key - being able to express what I wanted to say, and tell stories that I have lived through and I think that was the catalyst.”

Unfortunately, the musician will have to put touring his debut solo album, as well as planned tours and festivals with Reverend and The Makers, on hold due to coronavirus – but it is the people in the background of the industry that he worries for the most.

“We are supposed to be touring right now and that has been put back to April next year and that is still unlikely. I'd love to be out there playing my solo stuff and promoting that but that's obviously not possible. We delayed the album and then you've got to ask how long do you wait for?," he asks.

“It is incredibly difficult, from a personal view we had lots of festivals booked and a big tour but that is all gone. I feel more sorry for the people behind the scenes and all the crew, because whilst as artists we are not millionaires, we still create music.

"There's people behind that haven't got anything. As an industry it has been decimated.”

The first single from the album, ‘If’, a catchy and introspective debut (typifying the semi-autobiographical nature of the LP as a whole), was released earlier this month, and Ed says he has been blown away by the reception – despite always believing in its qualities.

"I believe in the songs, and know that they are really good, but you are always really apprehensive, because obviously I think that because I wrote them,” Ed says.

"Until you actually get it out there and people comment you don’t know how its going to go, so I am made up with the reaction – it has only been good stuff so far. I can't wait to release the next track, and then the album.”

The single was accompanied by a cinematic video, just the first of a dislocated short film and narrative spanning the four singles to be released from the album.

In the video, in which a relationship is expressed through dance, the city of Sheffield features heavily – with areas such as Sharrow and one of the city’s numerous parks taking centre stage.

This is echoic of the creative inspiration Ed takes from his hometown and birthplace, with the musician admitting the city will always play a ‘big part’ in his artistic creations.

“I am Sheffield born and bred and the vibe of the city plays a big part in music for all of us in the band and our generation growing up, with the history with the electronic of the 80's, and the rich musical history, and the mid-noughties was an amazing time to be about.

"I think Sheffield, and the make up of the city, with the Peak District on its doorstep, is an inspiring place to be.

"You draw on that and the whole Mesters thing, with the Steel industry, these guys doing their thing and coming together to make a whole industry, that is what Sheffield is like.

"All these little bands and creative people doing these amazing things all over and all feeds into each other and a real understated mystique, where as Manchester and Liverpool shout more, Sheffield is a bit more understated.”

‘Fortunes Favour’, the debut solo album by Ed Cosens is out in January 2021.