Declan is dreaming of his debut EP release
Lanarkshire singer Declan Welsh reckons musicians should speak up about the world - or else they are backing the status quo.
The talented East Kilbride troubadour has just released debut EP, All My Dreams Are Dull, where he covers everything from gender fluidity (Do What You Want) to standing up for your beliefs (No Pasaran). And Declan, who plays with his band the Decadent West, believes the personal and the political are the same thing. He said: “A lot of artists do themselves down when they say they are not political, because writing about wanting to change something, whatever it is, is a political thing.
“Writing about mental health, and trying to change that, is in itself political - political writing isn’t just about politics itself, and that’s what I try to do.
“I think not saying something about the world is saying something, because you are acquiescing to the status quo.”
The singer points to his East Kilbride upbringing, where he grew up in East Mains, as helping him firm up his beliefs.
He added: “The way my parents brought me up was a huge thing - I think people telling you to be compassionate influences you so much.
“You end up trying to understand people, and that then goes into the songs.
“Also, in East Kilbride there’s a shopping centre, roundabouts and lots of houses.
“So you end up people watching instead, and wondering about their lives.”
Releasing an EP as opposed to just a single is a big milestone for the singer
“It’s good to have a body of work as opposed to just a three minute song.
“I think something like the new Arctic Monkeys album, as divisive as it has been, shows what a full record can be - it can be a completely different thing, that shows all these different sides to an artist.
“So on All My Dreams Are Dull there’s a few new things on there -Good Person, Bad Things starts with just drums and vocals and becomes a bit more noise rocky, and the last track (Do What You Want) is more soul than anything else.
“That’s what I wanted - to have different things on there.”
The EP is out now on streaming platforms such as Spotify.
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