Since spending the last 18 months in his new home of Melbourne, former Cairns local Jayden Reid has been actively making a healthy living from his craft, busily working on his latest release and regularly performing in the city known for its vibrant live scene. Recording, producing and composing entirely in his bedroom studio, Jayden Reid has recently released his third EP ‘Nowhere To Be’ as a free download to great response from fans in Victoria and Queensland.

Displaying a great mix of influences that all enhance this talented twenty year olds strong vocal ability, the opening and title track ‘Nowhere To Be’ gives a very enjoyable North Queensland Reggae feel while ‘Where You’ve Been Sleeping At Night’ demonstrates a Blues texture well above his years. The incredibly honest ‘Places At Once’ paints a picture that all who have moved away from home can relate to, closing the well balanced album on a nice comforting note.

Speaking Jayden Reid about his latest release, he said:

“Nowhere To Be’ was quite an enjoyable process; I recorded everything in my bedroom of my Melbourne apartment over the course of around 3 months. I composed and produced the entire thing myself; it was nice to have control over the whole process. I really wanted to do it for myself, to know I was capable of producing something of quality, although I’m looking forward to working with many musicians in the next EP, but I think I’ll continue producing myself”.

Comparing Jayden to his first release ‘Cartoons’, the listener hears an instant maturity in every part of his music, from production, lyrics, arrangements and melodies. There is no doubting how much Jayden has grown as an artist, and how much improved he has become as an overall package, with his move to Melbourne an obvious positive in his career.

“I was really just finding my feet at the time of Cartoons. I’ve evolved a lot since then. But my last EP ‘From Now On’ is very much similar to ‘Nowhere To Be’, in many ways it is the sequel to ‘From Now On”.

“The network down in Melbourne is huge, it’s a city that gives original artist a voice. The live music scene still exists and the competition is very tight, encouraging artists like myself to stay sharp and well-rehearsed”.

With a strong desire to have his music heard by a larger audience, ‘Nowhere To Be’ has been generously offered as a free download for all his fans and is a welcome addition to any music lovers collection.

“I handed this EP out for free more so as a bargaining token to the people who have supported me this far, to buy myself some time while I work on something bigger in the background. I hadn’t released anything since July of 2015, so I felt it was a good time to throw some songs together and leave this acoustic genre on a good note. I’m chasing other areas of sound; there are really only so many sounds you can get from an acoustic guitar so I want to give it a rest for a while. It will always be there, it will always be my sharpest tool but I feel I have more to offer in other areas of music. The new stuff I’ve been working on really challenges me and I love that feeling”.

As for his hometown of Cairns, the performer has expressed a desire to return home for a run gigs in the not so distant future.

“I love my home town and I’m proud of where I’m from. I will always have loyalty to my family down at LILO Bar who has supported every decision I’ve made. I will return there within the year because it’s always a pleasure. As for the bigger venues, Brothers, Tanks etc, I feel as though that is in the hands of my hometown to get me on those stages”.

Download ‘Nowhere To Be’ for free here!

Mitch Sullivan

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