Our Social Media and Relationships Manager, Ellen caught up with Tate James, an aspiring artist from Ellesmere Port. They have been releasing music across various streaming platforms for the last five years, and they will now be performing in collaboration with KERB Productions at the Kazimier Stock Room, on the 28th of February 2026 (details to follow). We wanted to do a real deep dive with them in regards to their experience performing, and their thoughts on the music industry as a whole.
Interviewer: So how did you first get into creating music and performing?
Tate James: I was the only one of my siblings that took an interest in music. My Nan is a musician, so from a young age, she sort of threw them at me to see if I was into it. I started playing the drums when I was 8 or 9, which was my main instrument. From there on, I taught myself how to play guitar, the ukelele and piano, and then did drum lessons in high school. I’d do school shows, but I never really used to sing. Before my Mum passed, she really wanted me to learn how to sing and I never did. She passed in 2017, and I’d always regretted not trying to sing whilst she was alive, so, I just started messing about in my bedroom and realised that it was actually something that I really enjoyed. I always knew I had a musical talent, in that I could pick up an instrument and teach myself, but when I started learning to sing, I realised I had such a passion for it.
Interviewer: When did you first start writing your own songs?
Tate: I think it was around 2020. The song was called “Hurricane”. I literally just recorded it all myself on Garageband – I did the vocals, drums and guitar and released it on Soundcloud. I was getting a really good reaction from friends, and so I started releasing them onto Tiktok too – even making little music videos and releasing them on YouTube.
Interviewer: And is that when you started to progress to performing to an audience?
Tate: Yes. I started working in a bar (anyone from Ellesmere Port will know this as “The Prinny/Madisons) and they started to put on karaoke evenings on a Sunday. My sister was my manager, so her and all the staff really pushed me to get up every weekend. Then, they offered me the chance to do a little gig. Other than karaoke, that was my first real time – it was really fun. That was the first time that I had to stop and think “oh wow, people are actually willing to listen to me, to stop what they’re doing and listen to me”. I really got a buzz of that connection that you get when performing on stage, you don’t get that atmosphere anywhere else. If you’re playing the drums, you don’t get to immerse yourself in it, whereas singing – you’re front and centre, everyone’s looking at you and you can’t get away from it.
Interviewer: So, we spoke a little bit about your song writing, so I wanted to ask, what takes front and centre in the song writing process?
Tate: My emotions, 100%. I know that can seem like a very mainstream answer, but it really is. I found Billie Eilish, who I’d say is a huge inspiration to me. A lot of songs lately are very “pop-ie” and not a lot of emotion in there. Until I found her, there wasn’t really anybody that I could relate to. My process of writing very much centres around trying to make people live through what I’m living through. My songwriting helps me to grieve emotions that I wouldn’t otherwise know how to process.
Interviewer: I think that’s a really beautiful way of putting it. On that note, what would you say your favourite song is that you have written?
Tate: I would say it’s the song I’m currently working on, which I think is going to be called “Breakthrough”. It’s a little more upbeat than I’m used to – a newer vibe that I’ve not really delved into.
Interviewer: What made you want to change direction?
Tate: When I look at the songs I’ve released, I can’t see my current self in them.
Interviewer: Oh, so you’d say your music is evolving with you.
Tate: Yes, 100%! I don’t want to stick to one “kind of thing”, because, not only do I think that that will hold me back, everybody evolves as a person, and I want that to be reflected in my music as well. A lot of my previous music has been quite dark, and I just thought to myself, if I’m always writing dark and gloomy songs, I’ll be carrying that with me. I want my music to not only reflect where I’ve come from, but also where I want to be. This new song has elements of yearning.
Interviewer: Which song do you wish that you had written yourself?
Tate: Fable by Gigi Perez. It’s stunning – genuinely one of the most incredibly written songs I’ve ever heard. Her style of writing, I feel like you’re hanging on every word of the song. It made me heal from things that I didn’t even know needed healing. I used to feel a lot of internalised homophobia, and this song does have some religious connotations to it – or that’s what I took from it at least – almost the regret of religious homophobia, so I think that’s why it struck a chord.
Interviewer: Music is very subjective, I always say when it comes to the meaning of songs, take what you need and leave what you don’t.
Tate: Exactly that, and that’s what I want people to get from my music too.
Interviewer: Is there a moment where, either your following really picked up, or you felt that people had really started to resonate with your music?
Tate: I’m still not where I want to be with that, there’s still so many more people I want my music to reach. But weirdly, the song that has the most listens on my Soundcloud is a song called Dead Mans Depression, which, in my opinion, is my worst song I’ve created.
Interviewer: But that goes to show what we spoke about earlier with “take what you need, leave what you don’t”, along with that, you can’t control what other people resonate to within your music.
Tate: No totally, I agree. But it’s definitely frustrating sometimes. There’s a song that I have on there called “18”, and I love everything about that – I like the production, I like the way it sounds. Of course, when you listen back, there’s bits that you always think I could change this or that, but nothing is ever going to be 100% perfect, and I almost don’t want it to be.
Interviewer: What is the best compliment that you’ve ever gotten about your work, and what is the “weirdest” comment on it?
Tate: Oh, I love that question! The best compliment that I’ve gotten is, somebody told me that my music saved them. It was a direct message on Instagram or TikTok, and they continued to say that I’d spoken words that they’d never been able to say. I was floored. I’ve felt that about other peoples’ music, so to hear that about my own was a dream come true. It’s nice to know that what I’m doing is making a difference.
On the flip side – the weirdest comment was somebody said that I look constipated where I sing *both Tate & Ellen burst out laughing, and Tate proceeded to show videos that “proved” that point – Ellen disagrees – they look great*
Interviewer: Where have you performed before, aside from the pub night that you mentioned?
Tate: So, I’ve performed at Inglewood Manor, I’ve performed at the Jacaranda & a few other pubs around Ellesmere Port – including at The Bulls Head at your guys’ Matador Events and the KERB “Ellen Lewis and Friends Charity Night”.
Interviewer: Who would you say that your biggest influences are?
Tate: Well – shocker – Billie Eilish *both laugh*, and then the likes of Sam Fender, any song that has an emotional meaning behind it, I can get behind.
Interviewer: What are your thoughts about the current music industry?
Tate: Growing up, constantly listening to music, I’ve seen a slow decline in meaningful songwriting. The music industry has become less and less about being an individual, and more about shoving yourself in a box and conforming to a strict set of rules to “make it” in the world. Writing from your own experiences is a dying art form, and I wan to bring it back, if not for me, then for the thousands that come after me. There’s a rise in mental illness in children, and with society today, it’s becoming harder and harder to get the correct support. But something that has always helped me is music. I have autism and ADHD, my whole life I have felt estranged from the world I live in. I’ve never fit in, and I’ve struggled my whole life with feeling alone, and I don’t want anyone to feel that way. So, if I can strive to do anything, it’s to be someone’s voice. I want to be the nagging thoughts that you can’t piece together, or the reason that you feel comfortable enough to let the tears out. But most of all, I want people to feel less alone. I want my music to feel like a friend, like someone you know that will always have your back.