Hailing from the Scottish Highlands, but currently based in Leeds/Glasgow, Josephine Sillars is a pop musician inspired by art-pop and trip-hop, drawing comparisons to Fiona Apple and Bjork. Her new releases see her confidently experimenting with new styles and deeply personal subject matters. Her 2021 EP “Desperate Characters”, funded by Help Musicians, was described as “compelling and expansive” (Tenement TV) and as “hands down one of the finest Scottish releases of 2021” (Small Music Scene), with lead single “Enemy” selected as Track of the Week for BBC Introducing in West Yorkshire and as 71 out of 100 Top Tunes in Scotland 2021 (The Herald). She released her debut vinyl "Spend Time Wasting" via Leeds label Come Play With Me in November 2022, a 7" split with Fuzz Lightyear. "Spend Time Wasting" was featured as a Track of the Week for God Is In the TV, and described as "dreamy and immersive" by Tenement TV with features in DORK, Lock Magazine and the UK Official Charts.
From March - June 2023, Josephine was the Artist in Residence at Vinyl Whistle, Leeds, curating nights showcasing alt-pop music from Yorkshire called POP TRASH, and released two new singles, with single "Slow" described as "A heady mix of influences such as hyperpop and 90s pop […] with rippling synths, hazy guitars and layers of pop influence, the vibrant instrumentation contrasts its self-reflective lyrical content." (Tenement TV). In October 2023 Josephine released a collaborative EP with electro-folk act Loughlin, titled "Someone Else's Break Up", following one of their demos receiving over half a million views on TikTok.
Label: Come Play With Me (from 2021 - 2023 as part of their last ever Singles Club)
Creative Director: Rhianonne Stone
Manager: Steve Robertson - [email protected]
Publisher: Boost Music - [email protected]
PR: Bright Dead Things - [email protected]
Download high-res images here (credit Rhianonne Stone).
Listen on Spotify
Press
"Heavily inspired by art-pop and trip-hop, ‘Spend Time Wasting’ is a dreamy, immersive track featuring layers of arpeggiated synths, syncopated beats and ambient atmospherics. Encouraging the listener to slow down and embrace some down time, Sillars’ enigmatic vocals weave in and out of the infectious grooves and meticulously crafted soundscapes – lending a freeing, transportive quality to the track." - Tenement TV
"Leeds art-pop artist Josephine Sillars has shared a new single, ‘Spend Time Wasting’. It is her second drop of the year, following September’s ‘Bad Dream’, and is released as the concluding record from Come Play With Me, a non-for-profit vinyl singles club that has highlighted a variety of West Yorkshire emerging talent since its creation in 2015." - DORK
"With its delightful swagger this is a tune to light up daytime radio and serves as a grand finale to the most estimable Come Play With Me singles club. Listening to ‘Spend Time Wasting’ is unquestionably time well spent. (Simon Godley)"
- God Is In The TV
- God Is In The TV
"Josephine Sillars has had a broad music career from the start. She started by working on the side in the two musical projects Fleeces and Rubber Rose, but in 2022 something new had to happen. She quietly started working on her own project, which has taken the form of "Bad Dream". Josephine Sillars gives vent to her personal expression on the track, which plays with conventions. Auto-tuned vocals cross blades with drum patterns and buzzing synthesiser, while the message – “I need you, like a bad dream” rolls through." - Bands of Tomorrow
"The whimsical Highlands musician now based in Leeds produced a captivatingly ethereal 4m 39s from the Desperate Characters EP that is a heady, experimental collision of trip hop moods, Asian influences and indie." - The Herald (single Enemy selected as 71/100 Top Tunes in Scotland 2021)
Previous Shows Selection:
Sandvikfest - Björnlunda (Sweden) - 2014/2016
XpoNorth - Inverness - 2017
Kelburn Garden Party (headlining Pyramid Stage) - 2017
Live at Heart - Örebro (Sweden) - 2018
Eden Festival - 2017, 2019
Belladrum Tartan Heart (Hot House Stage) - 2019
Lindisfarne Festival - 2019
King Tuts Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow - 2019
Long Division Festival - 2022
Belgrave Music Hall - Leeds - 2022
Hyde Park Book Club - Leeds - 2022
The Old Blue Last - London - 2022
The Hug and Pint - Glasgow - 2022
Hidden Door Festival - Edinburgh - 2023
XpoNorth - Inverness - 2017
Kelburn Garden Party (headlining Pyramid Stage) - 2017
Live at Heart - Örebro (Sweden) - 2018
Eden Festival - 2017, 2019
Belladrum Tartan Heart (Hot House Stage) - 2019
Lindisfarne Festival - 2019
King Tuts Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow - 2019
Long Division Festival - 2022
Belgrave Music Hall - Leeds - 2022
Hyde Park Book Club - Leeds - 2022
The Old Blue Last - London - 2022
The Hug and Pint - Glasgow - 2022
Hidden Door Festival - Edinburgh - 2023
Stage Plan / Live Band
Josephine Sillars - Lead vocals
Jamie Hogg - Bass, bass synth, backing vocals
Jay Taylor - Guitar, backing vocals
Lauren Rycroft - Backing Vocals
Hamish Wilkinson - Drums & Backing Tracks Samples via SPDs
Jamie Hogg - Bass, bass synth, backing vocals
Jay Taylor - Guitar, backing vocals
Lauren Rycroft - Backing Vocals
Hamish Wilkinson - Drums & Backing Tracks Samples via SPDs