The Truth Comes Out Eventually. Honestly is something that we should all aspire to live by. Authenticity is a word that's undervalued in today's fast-moving landscape and disposable culture, but authenticity and truth are interwoven, and if you have one, then the other naturally sidles up.
There are a number of reasons Connor Selby has chosen this as his album title.
These two words have always been at the heart of the music of the young British troubadour Connor Selby.
Having moved around as a child between the UK, US, and UAE before settling in his birthplace in Essex, he has always had a burning passion for the authentic rootsy music of the US - it was one of the few constants. This passion seeps into his very existence.
Authentic, roots-based voices have penetrated the mainstream in recent years; from the soulful yearns of early Leon Bridges, the groove of Gary Clark Jr., the booming voice of Jacob Banks, the raw and haunting delivery of Ray LaMontagne or the earthy tones of Rag n Bone Man - those voices cut through, and they stand out, they make you take notice, because they dont sound like everyone else.
Selbys voice echoes these trailblazers; enveloping his music with an emotional integrity. He delves deep into his soul, all the way down into his core and the feeling of belonging.
"The songs are about my feelings of being in the world, and not really feeling like I belong" he explains.
When you wear your heart on your sleeve and can only live by openness and honesty, youll likely get burnt in relationships, and life. Sometimes he feels like an outsider, looking in on the world.
I've always felt that feeling of not necessarily being able to live up to people's expectations, he opens up. This has become a hurdle that he has had to overcome throughout his life. This is reflected on the title track.
This song is about the feeling of not knowing or not being able to be the person that others expect of you, and the despair and confusion this brings trying to navigate a world where you feel like youre playing to a different set of rules as everyone else, he reveals.
There is a sense of hopelessness encapsulated in the song. The line I was born with a broken heart suggests the protagonist feels they were born defected and eventually excluded, like a stranger through and through.
Selby almost stands alone in the world of contemporary music, outside the parameters of the genres he touches upon - no one is making the king of music he is, no one really sounds like he does. This all plays into his sense of identity and belonging.
We can all only be who we are. Once you're happy with yourself, you can be happy with life. But you need to find yourself first. When youve moved around like he has, that can take time.
"You can try and fake it, but the truth will come out eventually" he reflects. "So you might as well make peace with it. That's the story of the song. I'm particularly proud of this one and it's one of my most personal songs."
"In terms of my music, it is a theme that's been consistent in my songs, going back to my first album," the multi-award-winning musician adds.
He has already become one of the most respected young singer-songwriters in the UK; he burst into the attention of the wider world when he released his Provogue Records debut, a MOJO Magazine Blues Album of the Year 2023's 'Connor Selby' which has already clocked up 2 million streams. It also received support from BBC Radio 2's Cerys Matthews, Classic Rock, Guitarist, and beyond.
The fast-rising star also featured alongside a host of superstars on Dire Straits legend Mark Knopfler's 2024 charity single, "Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)," which features the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Slash, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Pete Townsend, Sam Fender, Tom Morello, Brian May, Tony Iommi, Nile Rogers, Roger Daltry, and Ronnie Wood.
He was voted Young Artist of the Year; at the UK Blues Awards for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, 2022) and was nominated in four categories (Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year, Instrumentalist of the Year, UK Acoustic Blues Act of the Year, and UK Blues Vocalist of the Year) in 2024.
No stranger to touring, he has already clocked up thousands of miles across Europe and played the biggest stages in the UK, from supporting The Who at Wembley Stadium to a Hyde Park Festival alongside the likes of Pear Jam and Stereophonics and opened for powerhouse singer Beth Hart at the iconic London Palladium along with other dates on her March 2024 UK tour.
He was the only artist to support the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band on his April Trouble Is; 25th Anniversary UK tour. He's played shows with soul Icon P.P. Arnold at the world-famous Jazz Cafe and Betty LaVette at the prestigious Cadogan Hall, London, toured with Robert Cray and produced a standout performance at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.
Unfazed by the big stages, it's something that he just takes into his unhurried stride. Contemplating the last two years, he says,
"I'm really grateful to have been able to do it. The venues were amazing, super beautiful venues."
But when asked whether the big stages swallow him up or if he feels like he belongs on them, he muses,
"I suppose I feel like I do belong. The thing is, a stage is a stage. I just shut my eyes when I'm playing, and it's like you're just playing another gig. That's kind of how I wrap my head around it. But it was an incredible thrill."
When he talks about where his place is in this world and where he belongs, this is where he belongs. You only need to see him perform on stage with his full bend behind him - evoking a calm, assured confidence at odds with many other guitarists; wild shredding. The poise and aura of players like Eric Clapton and Peter Green's emotive storytelling dance along his fretboard as he's lost in his thoughts.
The heart-fluttering groove of album opener Someone; sees Selby in full bandleader mode. You're drawn in when he sings, When there's someone you can speak your mind without a care when there is someone that really cares about you; Guitar solos dance, the Hammond organs swirl, and the horn section and backing vocalists wrap up the whole song in a stirring elegance that could have come from the Stax catalogue.
The song captures the euphoric feeling of meeting someone who really understands you and who accepts you for who you are.
This is hugely important for Connor and his journey to finally find that, Someone, who gets him.
Someone and I Am Who I Am represent the mental battles that he often feels engaged in.
Trying to wrestle these two contradictory feelings. Sometimes I feel like I shouldnt have to change, and that if people dont like me as I am then thats their problem, but sometimes I feel that I am the problem.
How many of us can relate to this feeling?
He really spreads his wings on the goosebump-inducing beauty of the folky ballads Amelia and Songbird.
Mental health is a big part of the album, in the songwriting, he continues. Either my mental health or someone else's.
Both songs have been around in one shape or another since his teenage years when his musical diet consisted mainly of Nick Drake and having personal difficulties in his life and observing some mental health struggles.
The delicate beauty of Songbird; serves as an epilogue on the album and represents the end of a chapter. It tells the story of a songbird flying away.
But that is also about a person in my life who I was involved with who I have closed the door on and will never speak to again, he says openly and honestly. "I just want to be as authentic as possible in my music and how I present myself. That's fundamentally the main thing that drives me as an artist: wanting to be authentic. That's why I do it. It's hard to be authentic because you've got to not second-guess yourself." "Everything I do is natural. The songs are all inspired by things I've experienced. I try to follow my gut, for better or worse. My instincts are pretty good, but there's also the other side to it. I'm self-aware enough to realise that it can lead to certain challenges.
Experiences are the fundamental thing to make us all grow. Selby has spent the last two years watching out of the window, circumnavigating the UK and travelling through Europe; Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, France and Austria, taking it all in and reflecting on life and the trials and tribulations that come with it.
Life can often throw you around, leaving you mentally and emotionally battered and bruised and not all of us know how we deal with these situations. Selby, like many others, has found it difficult to verbalise these feelings and emotions, so this is his way of expressing himself - his emotional communication.
I honestly dont know why I find song writing the only way to get these emotions out. Its just the way it is. Music is the way I've always been able to express myself, he concludes.
These experiences cannot help but permeate his music, some written over the last twelve months and some old songs given a reinvigorating lease of life. With every release, were learning a little bit more of Selby. On The Truth Comes Out Eventually - released on 5 September via Provogue Records - he truly explores all facets of his musicalityIs he a ballroom big band leader? Is he a smouldering guitar hero? Or is he a delicate folky troubadour? In truth, he is all of these things and more.
