“Mallorca’s music industry has grown so much over the years, now it’s all here”

The Bulletin talks to British singer, song writer, artist and performer Albie Davies.

Albie moved with his family to Mallorca when he was just one year old.

Albie moved with his family to Mallorca when he was just one year old | Photo: H. Carter

| Palma | |

Ever since Albie Davies started singing at the age of seven there has been no turning back. His career as a singer, songwriter and performer has gone from strength to strength and, thanks to the power of social media, from his home in Mallorca he now has a growing fan base across the globe. This summer, Albie has hardly any time to write and produce. Some days he is double booked for lunchtime and evening concerts and performances; then there are the 38 weddings - and counting - in Mallorca, on the mainland, Portugal and England. And he and TV star James ‘Arg’ Argent perform twice a month in Marbella and once together in Mallorca.

“I’m always thinking of my next track, but during the summer it’s non-stop. My last video was viewed and liked by over 100,000 people worldwide, but I’ll have to wait until things slow down come the winter to start writing and producing again,” he told the Bulletin this week while juggling his hectic schedule.

Albie moved with his family to Mallorca when he was just one year old. “Yep, so this is home really. My family own Triple A Rentals Mallorca car hire. In fact my whole family are involved in the business. They tried to get me on board but cleaning cars is not for me, I need to have a microphone in my hand,” he laughs. “I obviously began my education here but went back to the UK to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, one of the leading schools of its kind in the UK.

Taking it seriously
“I first went for a term when I was 12 to study musical theatre, but my dance moves aren’t the best and I felt a bit out my comfort zone, so I returned to Mallorca, went to Queen’s College and then the Mallorca Tutoring Academy in Son Vida to do my GCSEs. But when I was 15 I returned to Tring to study songwriting, performance and singing, which is what I really wanted to do. That was, is, my passion and my calling and I love performing. I love the adrenaline and the nerves.

“I started singing when I was seven. I would always get up in bars and restaurants here in Mallorca and just belt out a song when I was a kid. And then people actually realised that perhaps I could potentially be able to sing and my family started taking it more seriously. It all stemmed from there really.

“I started doing vocal training, vocal classes on the island, for which I have to thank my family, and I always got up singing That’s Life by Frank Sinatra for my grandad. That was my signature tune until I learnt some more songs. So I did my two stints at Tring but the second one was more important because I wanted to pursue the singing - not musical theatre - so once I was old enough I did that and loved it, I learnt so much. Then I returned to Mallorca and made it my official job, embarked on my career, if you like, of performing and singing,” Albie explained.

My first gig
“My first gig? I’d probably say my first gig was at a Europe Day but I also used to sing in Key West in Portals. The owner, Paul, would always get me up singing and he eventually gave my my first gig proper and it all took off from there. Back then I was singing loads of Frank Sinatra and a lot of Motown, which was unusual for a ten-year-old gigging. But when I was growing up Motown was my thing. Apart from the fact it was the music my parents used to listen to, it was always on in the background. I also think living here in Mallorca, there’s a big social life, you’re always out listening to other singers and that made me fall in love with Motown, so that’s the music I started with. Sinatra and Motown were the soundtrack of my life; I guess it kind of still is but I’ve moved on as an artist,” he said.

“Now I have a wide range of everything, including my own tracks, because I’m singing at weddings, different events, functions and in many of the top clubs and beach clubs, so I have to adjust every set list to the occasion and what the clients want,” he explained “I’ve got some of my own songs already out there on social media. I did have a management team in London but they weren’t really with the vibe I wanted to pursue which, living here, means summer tunes and House tunes. I also love the ballads as well but, as I said, the summers are now so busy for me I don’t get the time to write and produce, never mind take care of all the social media side of things like TikTok.

“That said, I enjoy social media and if I wasn’t a singer, I’d probably be a social media manager, so that doesn’t bother me. I enjoy it, I just don’t have all the time I’d like, but I’m getting there and with the help of Richie Embleton, with whom we set up Soirée Eventa, we’re moving in the right direction both on and off stage,” he said. “And what is wonderful about Mallorca is how the local music industry has grown and expanded over the past decade.

“Not only are top acts coming to the island either to perform or record and film, just take Kanye West who was recently been here recording. That can only give the island a boost, plus we also have amazing and extremely professional recording studios like Palma Music Studios which is attracting some of the best artists in the world for camps, courses and to also record.

The London rain
“Previously I was always having to go back to London to record and produce, but looking ahead it can all be done here in Mallorca which is fantastic. It’s not inspiring writing summer tracks in the London rain. Yes, for work commitments, networking etc., we’re just a two-hour flight from most major European cities, even less for mainland gigs, but there’s no longer that burning need to travel to work. It can be done here on this little island and the rest of the music industry around the world is getting to know that, as Mallorca’s image in the visual and music industries grows, this can only benefit Mallorca moving forward.

“Yes, I’m obviously looking for new markets around the world. Thanks to social media, which to be honest drives 90 per cent of the music industry today, apart from my strong fan base in the UK, I’ve got the United States and ever since I appeared on Germany’s Got Talent after being scouted here in Mallorca, I have my German fans as well,” Albie said.

“I do have friends and fellow performers in Dubai and I’m tempted to give that a go. Everything is so much bigger and better over there but wherever I will go, Mallorca will always be my home. And the wedding industry has exploded. I started doing weddings three years ago and did four that first summer. This year I’ve got the 38 I mentioned. And who wouldn’t want to get married in Mallorca with the most amazing locations, facilities and planners?

“And with the new Soultown Festival beginning on the island this year, that’s going to open up to a new market here in Mallorca, which to a certain extent is being overlooked by the main festivals. So being a support act for that is going to be exciting and perhaps will lead me another step closer to my ultimate dream, which is to be either the support act or the headline act for a major full stadium concert. That would be amazing,” he said.
Bookings and enquiries: info@albiedavies.com
Contact: via Instagram albiedavies

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