Artist Profile: Jayson Norris

Jayson Norris combines his love of singer-songwriters, indigenous music and all things rock, together with tones, harmonies and melodies that naturally come from his cultural and musical heritage of New Zealand.

Growing up singing and listening to his father’s records from, The Moody Blues, Queen, Chris Rea, The Cars and Bob Marley, he graduated to Guns n Roses, Lenny Kravitz, Radiohead, Nirvana and Ben Harper in his teens.

It was around this time that Jayson became entrenched in writing his own songs and quickly penned many compositions.

After finishing school Jayson studied for his music diploma, majoring in songwriting. Performing most nights, Jayson learnt the benefits of playing constantly and earned the respect of his peers in the New Zealand music scene and abroad. His clever, dynamic and very energetic use of the loop station has become an integral part of his live shows with many people trying to recreate or interpret his techniques and sounds. 

Now based in London since 2004, Jayson has performed all over the globe, headlining his own tours and supporting artists such as INXS, Shihad, Blue King Brown, The Blackseeds, Pete Murray, Six60, I Am Giant, Tiki Taane, Breaks Co Op, Katchafire, The Feelers, and Dave Dobbyn to name a few. 

Norris has released two full-length albums independently. A BASKET FULL… in 2006, and FREEDOM TO LIVE in 2010, which was later signed to Loop Recordings and changed to FREEDOM 28 in February 2011 for New Zealand and Australia.

His 2015 EP - SAVE MY SOUL, engineered and produced by Tiki Taane, captures Jayson’s live sound whilst retaining his roots and delivering a current edge.

Jayson's 2016 EP, ERODED was engineered and Co-produced by Paul Matthews of I AM GIANT. These new recordings are a result of constant live performing, clever songwriting and new inspiration from working with peers and professionals over the past 20 years.  

It’s been a difficult time here in the UK for musicians. Over the past 12 months there have been very few gigs in between lock downs and government restrictions, but in these challenging times, music is one of the artworks we take solace in more than ever.

Jayson’s music is now available for synch licensing. For all licensing enquiries contact (09) 846 8892 or head to our search engine.

Listen to Jayson Norris here: