Ben Howard – HuffPost 8.29.12

Mike Ragogna: I have to ask you my traditional question for all artists, which is what is your advice for new artists?

Ben Howard: My advice. Ooh, I don’t know. I never feel privileged enough to be in that position.

MR: Are there any basics that you’ve come across in your own career that you would share with others?

BH: I think it sort of boils down to two things. One is play as much as possible. Just play gigs and learn your music and learn your style and where you want to be and what you want to play. Something that comes into that is be true to yourself, play music that you want to play. Don’t write a song because someone says that want you to write a song about grinding in a club or something like that. The other one is take things as they come. I think music — especially when you start gigging and traveling around — it becomes a pretty twisted and crazy place at the best of times and you just try and keep quite focused and you just try to keep quite steady about things and take them as they come and not let all the other things rattle you. Just carry on and make sure you’re happy in your own skin with it.