If you’re wondering where you recognised the name Josh Kumra from there is a good chance you have heard him as part of the number one hit ‘Don’t Go’ on which he appeared with Wretch 32. Since then the troubadour has been playing in front of 20,000 at the O2 in London and locked himself away finishing his stunning debut album ‘Good Things Come To Those Who Don’t Wait’. Having listened to the album it get’s the Gigslutz seal of approval and it’s fair to say there is a good chance you will be hearing a lot more of Josh in the future. Josh took the time out to tell Gigslutz of what you can expect on the album, tour buses breaking down and his love of R Kelly…

GS: Hello Josh, how are you mate?

JK: Yeah mate, good, everything is good.

GS: Your album ‘Good Things Come to Those who Don’t Wait’ is out this week. Can you give Gigslutz readers the low down on what to expect?

JK: Yeah, well for starters it’s not a cohesive piece of work. Each song represents what I was thinking at that time so the songs on there are quite broad. There is all sorts on there, there is blues, pop, soul. There are 17 songs which I feel all tell a different story of where I was at, at the time.

GS: As you’ve mentioned your album has traces of hip hop, soul blues, bits of pop in there. Are these influences down to you having an eclectic record collection?

JK: Yeah totally. You know when I was growing up I was listening to all sorts. One minute I’d be listening to Tracy Chapman, the next I’d have Bob Dylan on then Bob Marley then I’d stick rock bands like Deep Purple on so I listened to all sorts.

GS: You don’t hear Deep Purple getting mentioned by many young musicians these days! Fair play. So what was the first record you bought?

JK: That was Tracy Chapman’s first album. I then bought The ‘Joshua Tree’ by U2. Tracey Chapman was my first though, she’s such a great story teller.

GS: Are there any guilty pleasures in your record collection that you would admit to?

JK: Probably ‘Ignition’ by R Kelly! I still actually love that song though!

GS: I keep hearing that song recently for some reason

JK: YEAH!!

GS: Yeah, it’s everywhere I go man! Maybe it’s going to get re released

JK: Hopefully!!

GS: Ok, apart from R Kelly what are you listening to at the minute?

JK: Gary Clark Jnr, he’s amazing man. He’s like the Andre 3000 of rock. Fucking amazing, his voice is unreal, he’s got a real swagger. Also Ben Howard. I can’t put his record down man, it’s awesome.

GS: Your single ‘Don’t Go’ was a massive success, reaching number 1 .That must have been a mental time for you. What was the highlight?

JK: Probably playing Jools Holland I think. When I was growing up I always dreamed of playing on that show so it was unreal. I was sat next to Kasabian on one side and Wilco Johnson on the other. It was a proper dream come true.

Equally amazing was playing V festival with Wretch 32 the day the single went to number one. That was a fucking amazing day

GS: There is some great production and collaborations with Fink, Emeli Sandé, Naughty Boy and Mr Hudson on the album. If you could pick any artist apart from these to collaborate with who would it be?

JK: That would be Norah Jones. I love her man. Her voice is unbelievable and her songs are out of this world. And She’s beautiful too!

GS: A regular Gigslutz interview question is around tour buses. Can you paint us a picture of what yours is like? Do you sit in the camp of getting smashed up with groupies, or do you prefer to have a nice nights kip?

JK: Well I’ve not had very good experiences with tour buses really so I’m not a big fan at the minute! I’ve just got back from touring Europe with One Republic. Whilst we were on our way to Paris our fucking shit bus broke down man. We were stranded in the middle of Belgium and I had to leave my band and just jump on the train down there. It was my birthday too man…

GS: We have a radio show going out tonight on Optical Radio London. Do you have 3 songs which you would like us to play as part of our guest session?
JK: Ah cool. What sort of stuff can I play

GS: Anything you want mate. We play all sorts from 50′s rock n roll, acid house, rap, indie and everything in between. Leave out all that Euro Dance nonsense though. David the DJ can’t dance very well to that. And let’s be honest, it’s also complete shite.

 JK: Cool. OK then. If you know Ray LaMontagne I’ll play his song ‘Trouble’ if you can get hold of it. I’ll go for something old too, lets have The Beatles Come Together. I suppose I’d be foolish not to pick one of my own tracks too so I’ll go for ‘Brave Face’ off the new album if that’s OK.

GS: It certainly is. OK, let’s do some pointless questions now

JK: OK

GS: Beatles or Stones

JK: Beatles
GS: Rihanna or Beyonce for a night of passion

JK: Ooooooo. Rihanna

GS: Lager or Bitter?

JK: Lager

GS: Frosties or coco pop

JK: Frosties. Ah no, actually I don’t like them. Coco pops!

GS: If you could be invisible for the day what would you do?

JK: Errrm. Fuck man that’s a big question. I’d probably walk around the city naked. Yeah fuck it, I’d do that

GS: It would be quite liberating

JK: Exactly!

GS: And finally anything else you’d like to add?

JS: Just to keep an eye out for my headline tour. We are arranging it now so that’ll be released shortly

GS: Nice one Josh

JK: Cheers mate, take care.

Josh’s debut album was released this week (22.4.13). You can buy or download from the usual outlets or it is available to stream on Spotify.

Josh’s song selections will be aired this evening on Gigslutz Radio between 7-9pm on Optical Radio London. You can listen on line at the following link www.opticalradio.net