Introducing: Henry Vince

Growing up in a family full of creatives, how did your upbringing influence your music, and how do you feel it helped shape your unique blend of indie pop and alternative rock?

I feel as if my upbringing had influenced my love for music massively. My dad "David Seccombe" is a singer songwriter and growing up in a house as a kid all i would hear and remember were the echoes of his acoustic guitar playing through the walls. My dad has played a huge part in my musical career, And his Dad (David Wilfried Seccombe) had played a massive part in his. My grandad was a swing drummer in a big band, my dad inherited his musical passion and soon did i. i feel like its in my blood to be a musician, as cliche as it sounds. I feel like the music my dad and family had enjoyed when i was younger influenced my sound to where i am today. growing up listening to bands like Queen and Led zeppelin all the way to people like glenn miller and frank sinatra, i found not only a love for the music, but the story telling in the lyrics. having an open music taste has benefited me not being dynamic and instead being as open to all music genres as possible. at the end of the day i just truly love music. taking inspiration and aspects of all different genres, i feel like my sound today has been moulded by this. 

Your latest project, "Festive Romance," captures love and togetherness during the holidays. What inspired this song, and how did your collaboration with Ganderson come to life?

I have always had such a fond love for this time of the year, theres something about seeing everyone in harmony that brings everyone such joy. I wanted to have my own efforts on bringing this excitement, and joy to everyone through my music.

I had met harry and dan ( Ganderson ) at a local folk night by chance after just recently moving up from Cornwall. We had instantly clicked after sharing the same love for music, and soon became close.

One evening during September down the pub i had asked harry and dan to have a listen to a little project i had been working on, this project was an extremely rough demo of “Festive Romance”. I proposed that harry and dan be a part of this project as not only are they good friends, but brilliant musicians in there own right. It was inspiring to work along side other musicians on a project like this, truly having such a fun time creating memories for life. Staying up until 1 am working on lyrics, or re recording the same bass line 500 times due to tiredness but knowing we had to meet our dead line even though work was 7 hours away! we Wouldn't change any of this for the world.

I had also asked A good friend and member of my family Tom Parker also known as “Barefoot Music” to get involved with this project. He was extremely thrilled to be getting involved with this project as well. i had reached out to tom as myself and tom have worked on plenty of tracks previous to this, and knew tom would Mix and Master up the track a way we needed, alongside having his own musical intake on it.

Christmas is all about togetherness, and truly through this whole writing experience i feel like we had truly captured the essence of this. This was a real community project with my mum (Greytin) (sonya Seccombe) illustrating the art work for us, encouraging locals to get involved in a fun music video from shop keepers to tattoo artists, even the local green grocers ! it had been such a fun experience for everyone all to share the same message... joy to others.

Balancing your work as a youth worker with your musical ambitions must be challenging. How do these two roles intersect, and how has working in education influenced your songwriting?

Balancing my work as a youth worker alongside my music ambitions hasn't been a walk in the park. i think it helps remind you of priorities, and that as much as i love music and will continue on with this dream, sometimes taking a step back to go forward is what is needed. Ive taken Alot more stress and pressure of myself as a musican, and found that there are people out there who genuinely need my time more than i do. the ultimate dream would be to help people through my music. music works as a massive vice for me , beig able to get home and pick up my guitar, pen and paper and write is my way of coping. not only this but it helps me work on myself as a person. getting to create memories and give experiences to young people who haven't been as fortunate as others is a really inspiring thing to be apart of.  

You’ve had some incredible milestones, including being runner-up in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge competition and playlisted on major Spotify playlists. What moments have been most rewarding for you so far, and how do they motivate you?

I would say my most rewarding achievement so far through my music career has been placing second in the radio 1 live lounge competition. the whole process was so surreal and the late nights rehearsing and the opportunities it led me to were wonderful. Being interviewed on the radio live was surreal to me, having family and friends at home sat in front of a radio for me was definitely a pinch me moment and definitely motivated me going further. i have lots of motivational factors to why i want to do music. Family always comes first. i love to do this not just for myself, but for my dad, for my grandad. 

Your upcoming debut EP is highly anticipated. Can you share how your experiences, including your move from Cornwall to Somerset, have influenced the themes and direction of this project?

.My ep is something i have truly put my heart and soul into. i definitley took a step back for a little bit last year whilst focusing on my work as a youth worker but soon found myself right back on my desk with a guitar in hand writing again. I feel like this ep and the projects in this are so raw, ture and honest sounds.its definitley the most vulnerable i have been with my music. throughout these few years so far i have really been trying to explore and discover my sound as an artist, and i feel like from taking a step back i have had that time to find it. im extremely happy to share this project with the world and cant wait for this to be released. My move from cornwall to somerset was hard on me at first. my therapy through this was a pad and pen. i have really put effort into the story telling side of things with this EP, and tried to show relatabilities.  In all honesty now,  looking back on it this has been one of the best decisions i have ever been apart of in my life. the community and sense of community here in somerset is truly breathtaking. the support from others in this creative field is inspiring. now that i have had time to settle in, I truly appreciate the power of music as through this, i have made friends, connectisons and this has helped me socialize throught this whole relocation.