ON THE RISE
ORLANDO, Fla. — Everyone needs affirmation and that’s what Giles offers in his new single, ‘Alive’ which debuted on the Digital Radio Tracker Global Top 200 Airplay chart at No 116 on April 9.
A fast song that sends a message of hope and worthiness to everyone who listens, Giles released three versions on YouTube last month — including a visualizer version and a version that shows the lyrics. But to get a true measure of the artist’s talent, one really needs to listen to the unplugged version.
Recorded on a simple Canon camera, Giles plays the beat on the piano and sings the song without the fancy studio and digital enhancements that you see in the video or streaming version of the song. It leaves no doubt regarding Giles’ talent and the heart with which he spreads his message of encouragement and empowerment.
“That was my goal to let people know that I really do have some competence musically and that it’s not a bunch of studio tricks,” Giles said. “I wanted to showcase not only my musicianship and my ability to produce on a high level, but also my ability to rap on a high level and to sing on a high level and do the things that make me feel unique as an artist. I wanted to overdose on that a little bit, just really show the world what I had to offer. I didn't know at the time that this was going to be the single that I came out with, but I knew it was a possibility.”
Producer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, audio engineer, arranger, and composer; Giles, formerly known as Vthov, has worked as pianist and lead musician on “What Does Freedom Mean” off the Soundtrack to the Oscar winning major motion picture "Twelve Years a Slave.” Giles has also worked as the principal arranger for Cody ChesnuTT's critically acclaimed sophomore album "Landing on 100.”
Giles said his previous stage name came from the nickname his friends gave him in school combining his first name, Alvin, with Beethoven, to come up with Vinthoven, then the shortened version Vthov.
When he decided to reboot his entertainment career, Giles decided to reboot completely and go with his surname instead of returning to that previous stage name. Now he just has to deal with people figuring out whether to pronounce his name with the hard “G” or the correct way with the soft “G,” like “Jiles.”
“I decided to rebrand and ‘Vthov’ was so hard for people to say and even if they heard it they couldn’t spell it, so it wasn’t easy to find my music just from hearing people talk about it,” Giles said. “So I did what any reasonable person would do and switched my name from one thing that was difficult to pronounce to something else that was difficult to pronounce. Now I’m dealing with the ramifications of that, but that is actually my surname so I’m a little less flexible.”
Now Giles is setting off with new music, including “Alive,” which was released in March, and another single coming out soon called “Grinders and Hustlers.”
Giles said when he plays “Alive” before a live audience, it’s fun to watch the awe on people’s faces when he plays with just a bassist and drummer and himself on the piano.
“This is my first time putting out music in a while so some people who are familiar of my artistry as a live performer have the sense of me covering other people’s music,” Giles said. “But they weren’t really familiar with what I could do as a song-writer. Some people who have never heard the song in its recorded form, their first interaction with the song is hearing me replicate it live without all the production elements. Just me playing the piano, sometimes with a drummer, and for them to have that response lets me know that irrespective of the production value, it’s a good song. It’s a strong, well-written song, and that’s all you could ever ask for as a song-writer.”
Giles said “Grinders and Hustlers” is another song with a message, honoring those who go out and work hard at whatever they do, whether they’re college students, contractors, or they work in a board room.
“I wanted those people to feel that their hard work is valued as well and it’s something they should be proud of,” he said. “And it’s something I’m proud of watching them excel in those areas. That’s kind of a twist on it, I’m saying something that’s been said before about acknowledging people who grind and people who hustle but I’m doing it through a different lens.”
Giles said he plans to continue performing and promoting and he may put these two singles with other music he’s preparing into an album soon.
Follow Giles on all social media and streaming platforms:
Website: https://gilesmusic.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Official_Giles
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGilesMusic
Instagram: http://instagram.com/officialgilesmusic/
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@officialgilesmusic
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OfficialGilesMusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/68TzkIrPgDqHPko5ZHvxqV
ON THE RISE
Blossoms caught up with NME to discuss competing with The Beatles and Johnny Marr for this week’s Number One album. With ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ in the running, the band also explained why making things themselves remains such an important part of their work as AI becomes more common.
The Stockport group put out their sixth album last Friday, October 2. By the midweek update, it was sitting at Number Two, between The Beatles’ expanded edition of ‘Rubber Soul’ and Johnny Marr’s latest solo album, ‘The Age Of Everything’.
“It’s mad, to be honest,” singer Tom Ogden said to NME about the chart race. “Liverpool on one side, Manchester on the other and Stockport in the middle. If you’d told us this 10 years ago, when we were releasing our debut, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I mean, we’re in good company aren’t we?”
Discussing the stories behind the album, Ogden described ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ as “about being married and all the everyday stuff that comes with it”. He married Katie Donovan, the sister of Blossoms drummer Joe, in 2021. Married life has since given him a new appreciation for what he describes as “the extraordinary ordinary”.
“Saying the wrong thing in an argument, losing your wife’s no claims bonus, crying at the Kardashians, it’s all in there,” he explained. “The album is named after Stockport Town Hall, which everyone round where we live calls the Wedding Cake, and it’s where I got married, so it couldn’t be much closer to home.
“The last album [‘Gary’, 2024] had a song about a stolen fibreglass gorilla, which everyone loved, and that gave us the confidence to bring the same playfulness to this one, just with more personal subject matter this time.”
Alongside tracks that came out of writing sessions with Declan McKenna in a hot tub, the album reflects the band’s desire to stay involved in every part of the creative process.
“It started with the recording,” Ogden explained. “We made the album with Shawn Lee, playing live straight to tape, and once you’ve done it that way you can’t really go and fake everything else. We sat down as a band and picked the colour palette, and everything visual followed from that. We had body scans taken of ourselves and cake toppers of the five of us 3D printed, put them on a real cake and photographed it. I’ve directed and edited the videos, and the sets are all built by hand, no green screen. For the pop-up shop on launch weekend, a local artist hand-painted the album cover for the sign outside.
“It’s more work, but you end up with a world that’s yours, and I think people can tell when a band’s had its hands on everything.”
With AI tools and digital effects becoming increasingly widespread, that approach feels particularly relevant. For Blossoms, though, the motivation is simple: “the fun is in the making”.
“Tape doesn’t let you cheat and neither does a real cake,” Ogden said. “If a set’s a bit wonky, it’s because one of us or our mates built it. I think the more stuff gets generated, the more people want to know a human being actually did it. We’ve been in this band together for over 10 years, five lads from Stockport, and that isn’t something you can ‘prompt’.”
Maya Jama also appeared in the video for the album’s first single, ‘Meet Me In Love’. Her appearance came shortly before the UK launch of Celebrity Traitors, where she took on the role of a traitor alongside a cast that included Richard E Grant and James Acaster.
“She was brilliant,” Ogden recalled of working with Jama. “We’d met her at the MTV EMAs in Manchester a couple of years ago, so we took a chance and sent her a DM …and she said yes. Next thing she’s in a theatre in Cheadle miming my vocals while a load of people dressed as me serenade her. She got the idea straight away and was a proper laugh about it.”
The conversation then turned to whether he thought Jama could take home the win on Celebrity Traitors.
Ogden joked: “As for Traitors, she spent a whole day pretending to sing my song and I almost believed her, so I’d say she’s got every chance.”
Fans can listen to ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ now. In November, Blossoms head out on a UK arena tour with The Royston Club. Tickets and further details are available here.
Before the tour begins, the group is also scheduled to appear on SNL UK on Saturday, October 24.
