"You can't help but be influenced by your environment," says singer-songwriter Justin Manville, "the story-telling element is what interests me.  You don't need anything other than a guitar and a voice, and you can entertain people for hours on end."

Environment has always been important to Justin, whether the rugged Yorkshire countryside of his youth, or his adopted country of Ireland, rich with musical and literary tradition. For lyrical inspiration, Justin digs deep into the depth of his own experience, covering major issues such love and loss… the big stuff in life.  And there has been a lot of material to draw on. Justin has already lived three distinct lives.  Some people dream of becoming a professional cricketer… or a model… maybe a singer.  Justin has managed to do all three, and has barely broken sweat. 

Every Yorkshire lad wants to be play for their county and Justin was on the Yorkshire staff at the age of 15, living in cricket's spiritual home - Headingley - playing with the likes of Darren Gough and going on to play first class cricket for Sussex and Durham.  "But I couldn't focus on the game." Justin smiles.  "I would always be out on boundary, mentally jotting down lyrics and hook lines for songs."  Describing himself as "athletic but bohemian", he next drifted into the world of modelling, joining Boss before setting up his own agency, Industry People.  Sport, fashion, music - all creative endeavours that connect and intertwine.  "You just do whatever you can do, you know," says Justin, with a deceptively simple philosophy.  "And enjoy the journey." 

Justin ultimately found the world of modelling somewhat vacuous, but it did provide for a moment of serendipity when, in 1995, his agent booked him on a 4-day shoot for Berghaus, in Ireland.  "It rained the whole time," Justin recalls, "it was miserable.  And yet when I got home I missed the place.  Within a couple of weeks I packed my belongings, drove over and I've pretty much been here ever since."  Over the subsequent years, Justin found himself drawn back to his first love - songwriting.  He first picked up a guitar at junior school, aged eight, but was so disgruntled with the lessons that he dragged his guitar all the way home.  Hard.  Hard enough to make sure it would never be played again.  "After the second lesson I wanted out," he admits, only to find that music was all around him in the Manville household: "There was always this mad, eclectic range of music going on," he remembers, "and I was subjected to all manner of music, right across the board." 

Through his first collection of songs, Hearts & Minds, through to 2007's Mothers Ghost, the experience has been the same - drawing on the inspiration of the people and places and the things that surround him.  For example, Mothers Ghost was recorded in a country home of Marina Guinness, in the rural heart of Ireland, and that very much set the tone:  "Definitely.  Anywhere that you write music has an influence on the sound.  You get a log fire crackling in the studio and off you go…"  Justin's music is a rich and organic blend, combining the simplicity of the guitar with both male and female vocals, principally those of his niece, Zoe Manville. As such, he continues the folk tradition of telling stories to acoustic music, but with more of a modern, polished urbane aesthetic.  It's an intensely personal process.  "It has to be," Justin agrees.  "I can't persevere unless it's something from inside of me.  You have to have experienced it first hand to be qualified to write about it."

These are the emotions that Justin explores, using music as the medium.  And for that you don't need major record labels, billboard posters and 48 track recorders… all you need is your voice, a guitar and an audience, whether that be an arena of 20,000 or a backroom of 20. Justin has put himself at the epicentre of his own independent career and with a dedicated team behind him has still managed to record at Abbey Road, write with Guy Chambers and shoot videos in LA .With over 40 songs and some 300 shows in the UK, US and Ireland behind him, Justin is now in a position to take his songs - and the stories they tell - out on the road.  "For me, live performance is the most important part of it," he details, of that unique moment of connection, feeling the music in the process of its creation.  "And I don't want it to be ordinary - I want it to be special, to captivate people."