Boy Takes Mum to Meet the Media

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Sixteen year old Evan Anderson from the Scottish Borders is a budding singer/ songwriter and producer who is making his debut as a fringe performer this year.   


​Thursday Aug 8th 12:00 St Giles Busker Stage East
Sunday Aug 11th 12:45 Gardens (near the Mound)
Friday Aug 16th 17:15 Gardens (near the Mound)

Evan started singing when he was 8 years old learning​songs that he liked, performing them to an audience whenever he got the chance. 

​Around this time he also had the idea that he could write and perform his own songs. He came up with song titles, lyrics and album covers but quickly realised that he needed to learn an instrument so taught himself to play the guitar. Evan wrote his first song, Waiting For You​, when he was just 12 years old. At this time he was chosen to be one of the contestants on the first series of the talent show Got What it Takes shown on Children's BBC. As Evan continued to write songs he began to experiment with synthesisers and to use computer software to create moods and rhythms that he wanted to express. Some of his early songs can be found on Soundcloud.

​Despite having aspirations to have a career in the music industry, Evan has continued to work hard at school, all the while working on his singing, songwriting and production skills. Evan's aim is to write great songs that capture and express the ideas and feelings that he has inside.   
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When Evan was around 13 years old he started listening to and enjoying Japanese pop music, particularly the supergroup AAA, but also White Jam and ONE OK ROCK. So began an interest in Japanese music, culture and learning the language. Evan has spent the last 3 years teaching himself Japanese from text books, watching Japanese TV and messaging on social media. When he was 15, he decided to do a cover version of a song by a Japanese singer that had English lyrics. This song is Human by Shuta Sueyoshi. This song is available on YouTube and Evan posted it on Twitter where Shuta, the original artist, saw the video, liked it and retweeted it. This video has gone on to have almost 100,000 views and the views continue to grow.

​Evan has done a further 44 covers of songs by Japanese artists, some in Japanese and some a mixture of Japanese and English. Altogether these have clocked over 500,000 views. Most recently Evan has written and recorded his own song in Japanese, My Summer Lover. Jim Gellatly, champion of new Scottish Music, has played two of Evan's songs on Amazing Radio and these are available on Spotify, iTunes and all major streaming platforms. Evan has also recently written songs in English which he will be performing at the Fringe and these are Up and Down and Love Another Day.   

​Evan's parents have always seen music as an important part of his education, encouraging him to try singing, playing instruments and song-writing. They have taken him to see lots of live music including Radio 1's big weekend and the last ever T in the Park. Now at the age of 16, Evan is ready to start promoting his own brand of pop music all created in his own bedroom. You may wonder how someone so young has learned to craft songs so emotive and complex. Hours of listening to influences as diverse as The Script, The Beatles, Plan B, Neil Finn, Charlie Puth and of course Japanese Pop Music may hold the key. Evan has created his own style of pop music that resonates with teenagers today experiencing the highs and lows of modern life.