On Thursdays Del Osei-Owusu sits down with an artist on the FOTN radar, and gets them to discuss their origin story over a cup of tea and biscuits. This week it’s the turn of Message To Bears and he brought vegan choc chip biscuits.

Hello Jerome how are you?

Hi, I am very busy at the moment with various projects but all is well thank you.

Congratulations on the release of “Half Light” how does it feel?

Thank you! It’s been exciting, I am so happy to start sharing new music again. I haven’t released a solo album in 6 years, it’s a great feeling.

It’s a great piece. What’s the inspiration?

Half Light is inspired by that moment when you’re shifting between dark and light, in the midst of hopeful change.

Tell us about Message To Bears, what’s the origin story?

I started the project Message To Bears about 20 years ago, as an outlet for sharing my own experiments with making music, I was inspired by a lot of ambient, post-rock and folk music.

You’re an artist from Bristol, how did it all begin for you?

I always wanted to learn the guitar when I was a child, I ended up taking basic piano lessons and playing around with samplers and synthesizers with a local music teacher and family friend. Then I started teaching myself guitar and music production as a teenager.

What did you listen to growing up?

I listened to everything really, hip-hop and punk initially, then various kinds of rock before eventually falling in love with ambient and post-rock.

Your first EP came out in 2007, and was a hit, what have you learned about yourself since then?

Hard to say, sometimes I wish I could go back to the naivety of that time when I knew less!

Has your writing process changed since then?

It has become a lot more detailed and drawn-out, everything takes longer and I’m a lot more critical about what I share with listeners. I’m also probably starting a lot more ideas from textures and sounds rather than an instrument.

Being from Bristol what are your three favourite things about the city?

The food, music scene and harbourside.

Have you cracked the mystery of who Banksy is yet?

I’ve heard a couple of compelling rumors but I couldn’t say for sure.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Benjamin Gustafsson and Svaneborg Kardyb

What 3 things are you looking forward to in 2025?

Releasing my new album, building my new music studio and sleeping.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp