Living the life of a music artist is not the kind of fate that most dream of. Well, the rock star life of live gigs, world tours and stage dives may have crossed the mind of most young musicians, but the true life of a musician is not one we completely understand or appreciate.
Kersten Graham is a 26-year-old singer songwriter whose lyrics, vocals and ability on the guitar can transport you to a front row seat of a rock ‘n’ roll concert. There’s something about the aura that he presents that resonates after your conversation come to an end. During our brief chat, we spoke about his journey towards becoming a musician.
He started off as a guitarist, when Guns and Roses’ Appetite for Destruction found its way into his playlist – the flow and rhythm of the album inspired him to pick up his axe and get to strumming. Like many musicians, once a very specific song hits you and ignites the fire for an instrument, your life immediately becomes consumed by your newfound passion.
Starting off young – and building his way up in the music scene – didn’t come easy for Graham. Like most people, he had his ups and downs – and one of his ups saw his first original song come to life. A 2015 love song entitled Close to Home served as an expressive task, taking him out of his comfort zone and into a whole new dimension in his musical career. With the music writing came the lyrics and with the lyrics came the vocals – a first for Graham.
A few voice lessons later, one playful music video and a quick YouTube upload resulted in some 10,000 organic views. This boost in confidence and exposure paid off when Graham was granted a platform at Hugo’s Pub to perform every Wednesday – a then 23-year-old’s dream. His appeal is natural, there’s something raw about Graham and he seems to present his art in an extremely nonchalant manner.
He thinks it all boils down to his versatility. “I’m not extremely pop, I’m not even extremely rock. I’m just me, somewhere in the middle,” he said.
With every rise in an artist comes a fall, shallow or deep, and for Graham the battles of mental health and self-validation began to take over. The life we live today is not an entirely fair or just one for the overthinkers, the big planners and the expressively creative – there’s a missing element in our way of living that does not click with the cerebral intimacy our soul desires.
“I was going through a rough time, I needed to learn how to love myself again, even though there were times when I didn’t want to. Mental health is something that we need to take seriously in Malta, especially with the younger generations who are going through tough times. My escape was songwriting. I wrote about everything I felt and I took note of it – but I wasn’t ready to record and produce my original material. The songs are pure; they’re me and some of them will feature in my debut EP.”
Graham’s escape from mental health issues through music is a blessing, firstly because every heartache you survive makes you stronger as a person and secondly, in his case it made him stronger as a musician – leaving us, the public, with an amped-up version of what we had already fallen in love with back in 2017 with Got It All Wrong.
The following year saw a touch of appreciation that feeds the soul of any artist – recognition. He was crowned the winner of the 2018 Beland Music Festival and hit the stage at some of Malta’s biggest festivals.
The next musical challenge in his life came with X Factor in 2019 where he auditioned with an original track called Sandy. This got him through to bootcamp, where he showcased yet another original, Beautiful. He then progressed to the Six Chair Challenge with Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley. This led him on to the Judges’ Houses where he unleashed The Blues, an original piece found on his 2020 upcoming EP.
Graham’s single The Blues is from a five-track EP which he will be launching this year. This is a versatile collection of tracks that capture the passion, ambition and journey of a musician whose skill on guitar and emotion portrayed through voice come together to create inspired music. So, the biggest question here is a simple one: when can we expect more original material? Well, following Graham’s socials for his pub gig dates and other live performances is a start but, that craving for on demand streaming will soon be met, as soon as his album drops.
“I plan to launch my debut EP this year. I have set deadlines for myself and I’m so excited to give all my fans who followed me throughout my X Factor journey a piece of my musical adventure.”