Draft:Confidential (musician)
Confidential | |
|---|---|
 Confidential at a guitar exhibition in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | George Wakerley |
| Also known as | Confidential |
| Born | August 24, 2001 Southend-on-sea, United Kingdom |
| Origin | Brighton, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Bedroom pop, Lo-fi, Pop, Lofi hip hop, Downtempo, Hip hop, Chill-out music |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 2020–present |
| Labels |
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George Wakerley (born August 24, 2001), known professionally as Confidential, is an English music artist and producer.
He initially became known as a primarily instrumental musician, but has since expanded his sound to incorporate vocals. Since 2020, Confidential has released four studio albums and four singles.
Early life[edit]
George Wakerley was born on August 24, 2001 in Southend-on-sea, United Kingdom.[1] He moved to Boston, Lincolnshire at age 3. Hip Hop and Reggae music were banned during his childhood, though he showed little interest in pursuing a music career, opting to focus his efforts on riding motocross bikes.
At age 12, he started playing guitar, inspired by watching Madness performing their single House of Fun on an episode of The Young Ones.
With his abilities quickly progressing, Confidential was enrolled at a weekend music school, splitting his time between studying classical and contemporary music.
Career[edit]
2012–2019: Beginnings and Early Work[edit]
Shortly after learning to play the guitar, Confidential started performing in classical music recitals, specialising in baroque music. However, he quickly became disillusioned with critical attitudes towards performers and the limitations around being able to express himself. Despite continuing to study classical music, his interest moved towards contemporary pop music.[2]
Confidential started playing in local rock and metal bands at age 16.[3] He spent this time learning about the industry and developing his songwriting skills before relocating to Brighton and enrolling at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute.[3] It was during this time that Confidential was roommates with Ashe O’Hara, who was the vocalist for TesseracT at the time.[4]
During class, Confidential was shown a live performance of The Roots performing You Got Me. Impressed with what he heard and no longer living with the restrictions his parents had imposed, he began pursuing the genre and formed a local hip hop group, handling guitars and production.[4]
2019–2020: Health Issues and Hiatus from Music[edit]
See: Personal life
Internal friction and personal differences led to the group dissolving in early 2019. After a year of “being let down constantly by other musicians”[4] when trying to start a new project, Confidential became depressed and took a brief hiatus from music in order to regroup.[5]
2020–2022: Rebirth as Confidential[edit]
Following a period of recovery from his depression, Confidential quickly started working on his debut album in summer 2020. His first album, Sometime Tomorrow, was released on 3 July, 2020 through a joint venture between his own label, Sound Noir, and management company AEC Music, who’d previously worked with artists Lawson and Jake Quickenden.
Confidential’s second and third albums followed in October 2020 and January 2021, respectively.[6]
Aside from the release of two singles from his upcoming fourth album, the latter half of 2021 served as a fairly quiet period for Confidential, as he intermittently worked on his fourth album, The Search for. He later revealed that he went through a period of strong self-doubt and anxiety, causing significant delays to the release of new music.[7] Eventually, on 11 February, 2022,[8] the long-awaited album was finally released to a positive reception.[9]
2022–present: Stylistic shifts[edit]
Shortly after the release of his fourth album, Confidential began to secretly work on incorporating vocals into his music, turning them into, as he described, "structured pop songs". This culminated in the release of Slipping Away that June, featuring vocals from Confidential himself. He later claimed that the process of recording his vocals for the track took over a month.[10]
This was quickly followed up by a collaboration single, What Could Be, in July and an instrumental single, Huevos Rancheros, in August.[10]
The end of 2022 saw Confidential signing a record deal with independent label Indie Space Records. The deal culminated in the release of a new single, Enough for Me. Similar to Slipping Away, this single also featured vocals provided by Confidential.
In March 2023, Confidential released a cover of the 1992 Radiohead single Creep, and followed it up with two more singles later that year in The Way You Love Me and I Don't Go Outside.
Artistry[edit]
Confidential has described his music as an exploration of his personal life and mental health journeys.[11] When asked in an interview about his influences, Confidential made mention of Larry Choppins, The Roots, DJ Screw and J Dilla.[12]
Personal life[edit]
While studying at high school, Confidential experienced verbal, physical and cyber bullying, alongside tough pressure to perform as an athlete in a highly competitive family environment, having once considered a career in racing motocross.[2]
At age 17, Confidential suffered a broken wrist and significant nerve damage as the result of a motocross accident. Despite being told he’d never be able to play guitar again, he managed to recover enough to start playing again within 6 months.[10]
Confidential has also claimed to have been a victim of an abusive relationship, starting shortly after he moved to Brighton.[5]
Despite being reluctant to identify members of his family, Confidential has claimed to be married and have a son. Shortly after the birth of his son, he was diagnosed with postpartum depression.[2] In early 2019, an unnamed member of his family suffered a heart attack.[5]
In 2022, Confidential announced in an interview that he would be undergoing corrective laser eye surgery.
Discography[edit]
Albums[13][14][edit]
- Sometime Tomorrow (2020)
- Recovery (2020)
- Memories (2021)
- The Search for (2022)
- Treats pt.1 (2023)
Singles[14][edit]
- Life is Not The Same (2020)
- Slipping Away (2022)
- Huevos Rancheros (2022)
- Enough for Me (2022)
- Creep (Radiohead cover) (2023)
- The Way You Love Me (2023)
- I Don't Go Outside (2023)
Appearances as featured artist
- Turning Red (with Neshy) (2021)
- What Could Be (with Lu’Ami) (2022)
- Final Call (with xxJaswani) (2023)
References[edit]
- ^ "Confidential - MusicBrainz". musicbrainz.org. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c Episode 53: George Wakerley aka Confidential 'Give yourself something to look forward to', July 27, 2021, retrieved February 24, 2022
- ^ a b artistrack (February 14, 2022). "Interview with 'Confidential' (ArtistRack Hip Hop Artist)". ArtistRack (One of the world's leading music promotion platforms, one of the best Music Blogs). Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c Not so confidential, with confidential, October 12, 2020, retrieved February 24, 2022
- ^ a b c George Wakerley (Confidential Lofi), January 13, 2022, retrieved February 24, 2022
- ^ Music news with Confidential, March 2, 2021, retrieved February 24, 2022
- ^ "Confidential drops in for a background on "The Search For" - Interview". We Write About Music. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ rhino (January 18, 2022). "A Boost for UK Lofi Hip-Hop: Confidential Set to Release New Album 'The Search For' on February 11". XTTRAWAVE. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ Screen, Llewelyn (February 24, 2022). "UK-based Lo-fi visionary Confidential drops transcendent single, 'Lost Identity'". A&R Factory. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Interview: Confidential - Slipping Away". Lost In The Manor. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ "Confidential, the live-action face of LoFi Hip-Hop!". Planet Singer. June 10, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ rhino (May 29, 2021). "Confidential delves on his creative tastes, musical influences & collaborative single 'Turning Red'". XTTRAWAVE. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ Confidential - Sometime Tomorrow Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved February 8, 2024
- ^ a b "Confidential (6)". Discogs. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
Category:Living people Category:1998 births Category:Lo-fi musicians Category:Lo-fi hip hop