RUPERT STROUD ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF NEW EP

He’s supported Texas, James Blunt, JP Cooper, Little Comets and Jake Isaac, his last EP shot to No. 11 in the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart and he was dubbed as Yorkshire’s ‘One To Watch’, now this outstanding UK talent announces his highly anticipated new EP

Rupert Stroud – a unique British singer/songwriter whose outstanding beat-driven sound has seen him share a live stage with the likes of Texas, James Blunt, JP Cooper, Little Comets, garner radio claim from names including Dermot O’Leary, Alex Lester and Janice Forsyth and shoot to No. 11 in the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart with his last EP.

Now the Yorkshire boy is back with probably his best work to date as he releases his new Single/EP ‘Heart & Soul’ on 28 July. As an ambassador for Alzheimer’s Research UK, Rupert is also a well-known media campaigning voice, appearing to over 200 million people through an Al Jazeera International News broadcast on ‘Inside Story’, as well as featuring in The Guardian. A voice of campaigning substance, a heart that shines with hope and a lyrical and vocal ability that’s so unique it moves mountains – Rupert Stroud is back with his best sound ever!

The EP ‘Heart and Soul’ is a generous 6-track mini offering, born from Rupert’s newly created DIY studio in Leeds, a freshly built space which gave him a creative awakening and full control and liberation of his own music, on his own label, Xidus Music. The EP is a musical canvass, with Rupert’s life-experiences soaking into the very fabric of his creative process as he draws influences from his day-to-day life. It exposes how main stream media, and humans in general, focus on the bad in life – cutting out the good. ‘Heart & Soul’ is a tempting-taster of what we can expect from the forthcoming album from this UK artist. Bolder, more aware and seeing life through wiser eyes, this sound takes on a mature perspective and observation from Mr Stroud.

The title track (and new single) from the EP delivers a politically-tinged angle fused with a love narrative of love-loss. Inspired by a trip to New York, ‘Heart & Soul’ is about venturing beyond your comfort zone, experiencing a sense of freedom and then losing it. It’s a song about opening-up and expressing true feelings. ’Fate’ is a conversational track with someone you’re worried about, a message to hold onto hope and self-belief, to shed fears, anxiety and negativity and to move forward with positivity. ‘The Truth’ (a track which prompted an interview with Janice Forsyth at Radio Scotland) carries a faith narrative, about trusting yourself and others (ambiguously, the ‘others’ could refer to religion, politicians, rulers – who you put in that box depends on your interpretation of the song), this is a message about doing the right thing. ‘Demons’ depicts the battle we have with our inner demons, and rising above the self-doubt of others and yourself; a message of perseverance and going for your goals. ‘Spirit’ puts a spotlight on world issues and problems and highlights Rupert’s own belief in mankind, how humans take the world for granted and fail to live in harmony with each other. ‘Believe’ is a track which Rupert wrote in December 2015 following the catastrophic floods of that year in the UK. The lyrics highlight the realisation that we’re powerless at the hands of nature and no matter what we do, there are natural forces which are so much bigger than us.

Displaying strong-hearted, acoustic rock-inspired tracks, Rupert Stroud has been compared to Richard Ashcroft, Jim Morrison and Nick Cave, with a hint of Elbow adding to the delicious mix. Drawing influences from an eclectic mix of artists spanning Nirvana, Oasis, Blur, Texas, Green Day, right through to The Beatles, Tom Petty, Simply Red and Leonard Cohen; Rupert Stroud creates a sound which is as unique as it’s compelling. His second album ‘Chasing The Night’ (a collaboration with Will Jackson of Soundworks), saw him dubbed as Yorkshire’s ‘one to watch’. But it was his single ‘Never Back Down’ which pulled in Stroud’s first national radio air-play from Dermot O’Leary and Radio X, spurring Rupert to write more prolifically. In 2014, the promoter of Dalby Forest personally invited Rupert to open a live show for James Blunt (James had selected Rupert after he heard the single ‘Morning Light’). From that show, festival bookings and media requests flooded in, Rupert the songwriter was well and truly on the map. Within a few months Rupert was supporting Texas, playing the Millennium Square: a personal triumph for Stroud who had been a huge Sharleen Spiteri fan from childhood.

Now for 2017 a bolder, wiser, more mature Stroud steps forth and delivers a sheer musical masterpiece in the form of the 6-track EP ‘Heart & Soul’. Enjoy!

The EP ‘Heart & Soul’ is released on Xidus Music on 4 August.

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