Blog interview: PG Ciarletta

Thank you very much. It feels great as like you said this was a song that was recorded and produced a while back, so it feels class to finally get it released at a period of time that feels right. It’s amazing to see tracks which were written in your bedroom during lockdown being released to the masses, and the response in the build-up to the track has been awesome, and the support is very humbling and much appreciated as always.

I would class the track as a coming-of-age song. 27 is a warm, uplifting, feel-good reflective anthem, essentially with narratives summarizing aspects of my life. Who I am, where I am from, my journey in music so far, my dreams of continuing to release music, perform and progress further. Essentially, the message in the song is that your life is going to flash before your eyes, reminisce over good times and make the most of it. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow and if you want to do something, do it, work hard, have a good time and make memories for life. I literally sat in my room one day reflecting on how fast life was progressing and from there, kicked off the creative process and 27 as an idea was born.

So initially I played at open mics and pubs etc singing covers and I can remember where it all began in an open mic night in Kirkcaldy. Thirty of my family and friends turned up and I didn’t know what to expect, I was sh*ting myself, and then belted out a bit of Paolo Nutini’s ‘Candy’ and Don Mcleans ‘American Pie’ and the place went wild. My 90+ year old grandparents made the trip in their wheelchairs, so that is a sentimental memory which will live with me forever. When lockdown happened in 2020, I got the feeling of a “now or never” or a “what if” moment and decided to write new original material and revisit ideas from yesteryear. You know what it was like and how tough it was during that period, there was literally nothing to do, so I focused my positive energy on song writing and my musical capabilities. I then performed various Facebook lives and took part in the ‘Sofathon’ singalong which was a charitable event during the pandemic. Various musicians across Scotland took part to raise money for the Music Venue trust  which is a great cause. From there, my momentum grew and fast forward to August 2020, and ‘The Sesh’ was released. Literally as soon as restrictions eased in the summer, I recorded ‘The Sesh’ in Glasgow, which became my debut single. This was a key milestone in my journey as ‘The Sesh’ reached number 1 in the iTunes Alternative Chart, and number 8 in the Official Scottish chart. From there I have continued to release songs and since September 2021 I have been given the opportunity to travel across Scotland and play live in historic venues such as King Tuts and The Mash House.

A real range of Indie alternative acts, examples include Gerry Cinnamon, The View, Paolo Nutini, The Libertines, Baby Shambles, Green Day, Blink-182 & KT Tunstall.

It’s been superb, and I feel very grateful to the artists and promotional companies for giving me the opportunities to play live, and support names such as Andrew Cushin, Cameron Barnes, Skylights, Paris Street Rebels & Cody Feechan. It has been amazing, and the crowds in each venue have loved my sets, so it has been a quality experience. To see the reaction towards The Sesh and Bonnie Toun when I perform live means a lot so yeah, I cannot wait to play 27 to a live audience, and again see the euphoria in the crowd. As a performer, you thrive off the positive connection between yourself and the audience. The beauty of music is that it brings people together, and if you go out there and give it your all and put on a show, everyone feels the positive energy and goes home happy, which is what it’s all about.

I can narrow it down to two moments. Firstly, the feeling of releasing your debut single and seeing it reach Number 1 in a chart, and reaching the Top 10 in the Official Scottish Chart was an amazing experience. Since then ‘The Sesh’ has been playlisted by the local hockey team and featured across various radio shows and playlists. It’s a song which people connect with and love to play on a night out to get them in the mood. The second moment would be playing King Tuts for the first time. When you walk into the venue, there is an aura due to the history of the venue and as you walk up the staircase there names of many musicians who have gone on to amazing things are on each step. You step out on the stage and it’s a very proud moment. I feel very grateful for that opportunity, so a big shout out to DF Concerts & Andrew Cushin for having me on the bill that night, it really means a lot, especially being from Scotland. That night gave me further motivation to kick on, and I would love to go back to King Tuts one day as a headliner, sell it out, and put on the best show ever!

For me it was the thought of getting out and playing again once the Covid period passed. It was tough for us all, and we had to make sacrifices for the greater good of the world, but once we came through it collectively the creative industry would bounce back stronger. I used the time to song write, improve as a musician, learn new instrumentation and musical theory, and also collaborate with musicians, bands & people on social media, up and down the UK. I used it as an opportunity to improve as a person so I was in a stronger position for coming out of the tail end of the pandemic. I think during that period of time we all used social media to come together and keep each other positive & motivated, so we were all ready to go once normal times came back around. 

I think I learned not to take things for granted, and when normal times resumed to appreciate things a lot more. Literally when you’re on stage you never know if it’s going to be your last so you just have to cherish that moment. I learned to never say never and if you want to go out and do something, just do it and have no regrets. 

Yeah, for example, I increased my skills in terms of songwriting, playing guitar, and developed my loop pedalling and kick pedalling skills further. Taking inspiration from the likes of Gerry Cinnamon and KT Tunstull. Based on how often I have been on my phone, I have probably increased my social media skills aswell haha! 

Of course, latest examples were Time and Vigil on BBC iPlayer and my favourite was Line of Duty, and of course our Steve Arnott is a bit of a Chancer so I’m sure he will like my tunes aswell haha!

Buckfast, Maddog 2020 and Whiskey haha! Joking! I would go with the Scottish music scene as one, we have some amount of talent to be proud of in Scotland. I would go with our Scottish patter second as our banter is good up in Scotland. Lastly, the scenery, if you check out the music video and content from my single Bonnie Toun you will see why.  

I’m a big advocate of the up and coming music scene. Since coming onto the scene myself I have linked up with and discovered so much quality talent across the UK. Right now, I am listening to Shambolics, Megan Wyn (Check out her debut single Polaroid by the way), Dictator, Jupiter Strange, Andrew Cushin, Rianne Downey, Louis Berry, Lissy Taylor, Kyle Falconer (Love ‘Wait Around’), The Snuts and Glasvegas.