We sit down for a chat with 16-year-old Wollaton-based musician Jude Forsey, who tells us all about his song-writing process, studying at Confetti, his musical influences, his acting work, and the support he has received from Dean Jackson and BBC Introducing...
With a passion for performing since he was a young child, it’s no surprise that Jude Forsey ended up on stage. And where better to hone his craft than at Confetti?
The established college, which offers courses in the creative industries, is based in the heart of Nottingham - a short bus ride from where 16-year-old Forsey grew up in Wollaton.
“If I did anything else in college, I just wouldn’t enjoy it. I love doing music every day, and I learn a lot from the other musicians here,” he says.
Forsey explored his other passion, acting, a long time before music entered the picture, starring in Calum Scott’s music video for What I Miss Most when he was only ten years old. “Acting is what I first did, and I still do it now,” he says.
“Whenever I watched TV, I used to dress up and pretend I was the different characters, so I joined a drama class, and got an agent and acting lessons. I’d love to be in a big movie one day!”
With Nottingham being home to the renowned Television Workshop, which Forsey attended for eight years, as well as a lively and vibrant music scene, he found himself in just the right spot to pursue his creative passions.
“It’s a really good city for anything creative, really. It’s been great living here. I’ve had so many cool opportunities,” he says.
One of these opportunities included the BBC Introducing showcase back in January, where he performed at Metronome alongside April Tapes, Set in Motion and Lucy Crisp.
“I was sending all of my songs in to BBC Introducing, then I did an interview with Dean Jackson when I released Regrets and he said he’d get me on one of the showcases. It was the coolest thing I’ve done so far.”
Forsey still has a few Nottingham venues left to tick off his bucket list, with Rock City, The Bodega and Saltbox Bar standing out at the top of the list.
He also has some festivals on the horizon, including Radfest, where he will be one of the headline artists on the Radfest Introducing stage in June.
“Festivals are some of my favourites to perform at - it’s nice to be able to watch everyone else’s sets afterwards!” he says.
“I always like to keep my sets short and snappy, and sometimes I perform shorter versions of my songs to keep things as engaging as possible.”
His latest single, It’s all a waste, follows this sentiment closely. The track’s unique structure builds up to the chorus, before coming to an end after less than two minutes.
“My favourite hyperpop artists, like glaive and ericdoa, inspired the structure,” he says.
“A lot of glaive’s songs have a long build-up which I enjoy - it’s like a journey. And it’s a cool way to write, just getting all of your ideas out in the verses.”
The track blends these hyperpop influences with pop, indie, and Soundcloud Hip-Hop sounds, over an instrumental produced by Forsey himself.
“It’s the first song I’ve released where I’ve produced it. I’ve been working on production for a while, but it didn’t come as naturally to me as song-writing,” he says.
“I’ve been learning guitar, so I played the guitar on it too. I feel proud that I did it all myself.”
Going forward, these are skills that Forsey is focusing on improving. “I want to get better at production, better at guitar… I’d love to perform with guitar at some point, once I feel confident enough to do so.
“I just want to do more live gigs. I love performing, it’s the best part of doing this. I’ve always wanted to perform, no matter what it is,” he concludes.
Forsey leaves no doubt that the stage is where he belongs, and where he is meant to be, in front of a live audience.
And without a doubt, it’s this natural instinct to perform that marks him as one of Nottingham’s brightest up-and-coming homegrown stars.
Check out Jude Forsey’s music below.
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