Born and raised in Australia, but living in Wales since his teens, Sonny Winnebago is a folk-pop artist in the styling of Cat Stevens and Harry Nilsson. Also known as Harvey Jones, Sonny embraced music early in life playing the flute as a child. Once he moved to the UK, he quickly swapped his flute for a guitar and began a band with his friends. Later on, he decided to study music production in Surrey before spending time in North London. I think he’s back in Wales at the moment and I hope Sonny Winnebago is his stage name. It’s a bit brighter than Harvey Jones – no offence.
‘Little Sun’ is Sonny’s third single but his debut for independent label Phwoar & Peace – try typing that ten times fast! To my mind, ‘Little Sun’ seems to be a combination of the previous two singles’ styles. It retains the upbeat and fast-paced emotions of ‘Take Me For A Ride’ while holding on to the emotional softness of ‘She Says’. A clever lyricist, Sonny wrote a simple narrative of daily life in a small town and the lingering thoughts regarding one’s future. It’s something we all deal with at some point – the desire to be elsewhere but accept the current situation until the time comes to leave (or stay).
Sonny Winnebago said the reason for writing ‘Little Sun’ was to “admit to myself that I’m a headless chicken and it felt really good to lay it all out. I felt quite powerless having no plans for the future and I wanted to get away from it all – to live in the garden or the sea. I had this idea that we’re all winging it, all the time.”
To end this review, I want to use the words of Cat Stevens from whom Sonny draws inspiration. “If you want to sing out, sing out, and if you want to be free, be free, ‘cause there’s a million ways to be, you know there are”. I like to think this is the message Sonny relayed in his Cat Stevens-esque ‘Little Sun’ and I love it!
The post NEW MUSIC: Sonny Winnebago – Little Sun appeared first on Turtle Tempo.
