Ahead of his performance at 2Q Festival in Lincoln, local singer/songwriter Toby Johnson chats to The Linc about his newest EP Carolina and what it is like producing and promoting music from Lincolnshire.
With over a quarter of a million regular listeners on Spotify, Toby’s folksy, indie-pop genre of music is continuing to rise following his signing with Mahogany Records – who have recorded with artists such as Billie Eilish and Hozier.
Toby said, “It’s great because I even had organic listeners before I signed to a label, even people from Europe liked my music off-the-batt so that was really good.”
Since signing with a label, he said not much has changed in terms of his daily life. Moving down to London he said, “I tried to push his music more as it is the place to be for music but I didn’t really like the city.
“Being able to write and do what I love from here (Lincoln) makes it more relaxed and personal.
(It has) allowed me to work with BBC Radio Lincolnshire and smaller festivals like this a lot more closely and they are really great people, so it is really nice to have stayed here.”
It is hard not to like Toby’s music. His mellow voice and accompanying soft guitar playing makes it an easy listen while being able to understand and relate to every word he sings.
It is easy to picture yourself listening to it hugging a cup of coffee at your favourite coffeehouse, on a sunny morning at home or, with his more upbeat song Rumour of a Good Life, alongside friends travelling and enjoying what the world has to offer.
Toby then went on to say that he recorded his EP in RAK Studios in London, “which a lot of big names record at.” He said, “You bump into all kinds of people in that studio because it’s just down the road from Abbey Road.
“It’s one of those things if someone tells you that you’re gonna be recording in places like that, you wouldn’t believe them. It’s really cool.”
From his early days, you can see Toby’s passion for making music has grown through his efforts to continue to produce and improve. On top of everything, he is a genuinely nice guy and we can’t help but wish him all the best with his music career.
Listen to Toby’s newest EP Carolina which is out now on Spotify or Apple Music.