The fast-rising rootsy British troubadour Connor Selby presents his new album, The Truth Comes Out Eventually, using it as an emotional release valve. It will be released on 29 August via Provogue. To celebrate he has revealed the video for the title track, you can watch it HERE. Connor Selby will also be touring the UK from June to September.
Authentic, roots-based voices have penetrated the mainstream in recent years, from the soulful yearns of early Leon Bridges, the groove of Gary Clark Jr., the booming voice of Jacob Banks, the raw and haunting delivery of Ray LaMontagne or the earthy tones of Rag ‘n Bone Man – those voices cut through, and they stand out, they make you take notice because they don’t sound like everyone else.
Selby’s voice echoes these trailblazers, enveloping his music with an emotional integrity. He delves deep into his soul, all the way down into his core and the feeling of belonging. “The songs are about my feelings of being in the world and not really feeling like I belong,” he explains.
Life can often throw you around, leaving you mentally and emotionally battered and bruised, and not all of us know how we deal with these situations. Selby, like many others, has found it difficult to verbalise these feelings and emotions, so this is his way of expressing himself – his emotional communication. “I honestly don’t know why I find songwriting the only way to get these emotions out. It’s just the way it is. Music is the way I’ve always been able to express myself,” he reflects.
The young multi-award-winning musician has collaborated with Mark Knofler; he has supported The Who at Wembley Stadium and shared the stage at London’s Hyde Park Festival alongside the likes of Pearl Jam and Stereophonics. He has toured with powerhouse singer Beth Hart, including a performance at the iconic London Palladium. His glittering tour CV has included shows with Robert Cray, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Betty LaVette, and P.P. Arnold.
Unfazed by the big stages, it’s something that he just takes into his unhurried stride, “A stage is a stage. I just shut my eyes when I’m playing, and it’s like you’re just playing another gig. That’s kind of how I wrap my head around.”
When he talks about where his place is in this world and where he belongs, this is where he belongs – evoking a calm and assured confidence with his emotive storytelling dancing along his fretboard as he’s lost in his thoughts.
When you wear your heart on your sleeve and can only live by openness and honesty, you’ll likely get burnt in relationships and life. Sometimes, he feels like an outsider, looking in on the world. “I’ve always felt that feeling of not necessarily being able to live up to people’s expectations,” he opens up. This has become a hurdle that he has had to overcome throughout his life.
This is reflected in the title track. “This song is about the feeling of not knowing or not being able to be the person that others expect of you and the despair and confusion this brings trying to navigate a world where you feel like you’re playing to a different set of rules as everyone else,” he reveals.
Selby almost stands alone in the world of contemporary music, outside the parameters of the genres he touches upon – no one is making the king of music he is; no one really sounds like he does. This all plays into his sense of identity and belonging.
We can all only be who we are. Once you’re happy with yourself, you can be happy with life. But you need to find yourself first. “You can try and fake it, but the truth will come out eventually,” he reflects. “So you might as well make peace with it. That’s the story of the song. I’m particularly proud of this one, and it’s one of my most personal songs.”
The heart-fluttering groove of the album opener and his first single, Someone, sees Selby in full bandleader mode. You’re drawn in when he sings, “When there’s someone you can speak your mind without a care when there is someone that really cares about you.”
This, alongside I Am Who I Am, represents the mental battles that he often feels engaged in. He really spreads his wings on the goosebump-inducing beauty of the folky ballads Amelia and Songbird. “Mental health is a big part of the album’s songwriting,” he continues. “Either my mental health or someone else’s.”
These experiences cannot help but permeate his music, some written over the last twelve months and some old songs given a reinvigorating lease of life. With every release, we’re learning a little more of Selby. On The Truth Comes Out Eventually, he truly explores all facets of his musicality—Is he a ballroom big band leader? Is he a smouldering guitar hero? Or is he a delicate, folky troubadour? In truth, he is all of these things and more.
