Harrison Storm: From busking to the international music scene
MANILA, Philippines — “It has been a long journey.”
Australian singer-songwriter Harrison Storm reflected on his relationship with music while looking back on his humble beginnings in an exclusive interview with The Philippine STAR during the “DISTRICT M: A Marina Central Festival” recently held in Singapore.
“Before music, I was studying something completely different. I was studying civil engineering at university, and I met some friends that introduced me to the music scene in Melbourne. And I decided to drop out of university and play music,” the 32-year-old musician said.
It was back in 2015 that Harrison decided to start busking in the streets of Melbourne, Australia until he earned enough money to fund his debut EP titled Sense of Home.
“So, I quit my job and I became a street performer. So, for two years, I was playing music on the streets for four to five days a week. Sometimes to big crowds and sometimes I was just playing to pigeons. And yeah, it was difficult at times, but it was rewarding at the same time, being able to follow my heart and to follow my dreams,” he quipped.
Before securing a deal with a record label, Harrison had his fair share of doubts that almost made him quit the industry. “There were definitely times when I felt like I wasn’t making any progress. I felt like quitting and maybe going back to university. But I think my dreams were kind of too big and I wanted to do music ultimately at the end of the day, so I just kept going.”
The Feeling You hitmaker is fond of making and performing his music in front of crowds. However, entertaining his audience is one of the things he struggled with at the start of his career.
“It can be really difficult. There’s an element of it where you have to perform, and you have to entertain. Naturally, I’m not an entertainer. So, there were times where I felt quite self-conscious. But the more I practiced and got good feedback from the crowd, I guess the easier it became,” he admitted.
When The STAR asked if he had any regrets with his decision to pursue a career out of his passion, he got candid about it. “There were initially. But I think good things started to happen with music, so these regrets became smaller and smaller, and the success I have became bigger and bigger. It kind of made those regrets seem insignificant.”
The sacrifices of the indie-folk singer-songwriter paid off as he started to conquer the big stage with his appearance at the second edition of “DISTRICT M: A Marina Central Festival.” He gave the audience a night to remember with his performance of his well-loved tracks at The Deck located at Marina Square on Oct. 4.
Offering an emotional set with the rain complementing the mood, Harrison connected to his listeners with songs on love and loss. For Your Love, Run, Be Slow, Feeling You, In Good Time, Warm A Cold Heart were among the tracks he played as the night deepened.
When it came to having encounters with Filipino fans, Harrison lit up as he recalled receiving a special gift during one of his shows in Los Angeles.
“I had a video of mine go viral last year and it must have gone viral in the Philippines because I had a lot of Filipino people reach out to me, telling me to come over and play some shows. I was playing in Los Angeles in April of this year. And at the venue when I arrived, there was a box. It was a gift from someone, and I opened it up and it was just full of Filipino memorabilia like souvenirs and T-shirts. I’ve never received anything like that. It was a really sweet gift. I need to go to the Philippines. I need to experience this warmth.”
Apart from receiving souvenirs from the Philippines, he also had memorable interactions with Filipino fans online. “I have fans now on my social media that message me, and I know they’re from the Philippines. And they’re telling me to come there. I see them, and I hear them.”
“So, I released a song called Daylight Sun and it was the video of me sitting in my van, telling the story of the song, and asking people to use it in their reels. It just went viral. Something about that song must have tugged the hearts of the Filipinos,” he added.
The Australian singer-songwriter said that hearing from Filipino fans makes him look forward to what the future holds. “This part of the world is uncharted territory for me. I would love to play a show in the Philippines, if we can make it happen.”
When The STAR asked if he would be given the chance to collaborate with a Filipino artist, Harrison answered AJ Rafael, adding that the song would be about either a heartbreak or a beautiful romance.
“So, I checked their music out, he seems like a sweet guy. And I think that we could write some beautiful music together maybe one day,” he said.
After his successful performance at “DISTRICT M,” Harrison shared that he has big plans ahead until next year.
“I’m constantly working on new music. I’m working on my new album at the moment. I’ve just got lots of touring planned for next year, a big European tour. And I’m heading back to North America then I’ve got a big Melbourne show that I’m organizing as well so it’s gonna be busy. And I need to come to the Philippines.”
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