Kat Harlton
Canadian pop/soul artist Will Bowes recently released his debut album Character. Produced and recorded by Rob Wells (Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Backstreet Boys), Character’s inspiration is representative of Bowes’ journey these last few years. “I’ve just always been writing music and these songs definitely represent the last few years of my life, relationships I’ve had, and times that I’ve been through. I did a lot of writing while I was travelling, and that writing process was very internal. This collection of songs are more inline with the pop/contemporary realm that I identify with as a songwriter, and these songs represent who I am. When I had the opportunity to record them with Rob Wells, I just jumped at it. There are three songs on the record that I co-wrote with Rob, and his wife who was nine months pregnant at the time. It was kind of something I’ve always dreamed of doing and I’m really happy that I finally did. It’s so rewarding to see them come to life, I almost can’t believe it”.
Having been in various musical projects the past 10 years, Bowes shares that it’s helped prepare him for his own, “I think I’ve really grown as a recording artist, the ability to get into a booth and execute. I think I learned a lot recording with my last band, so I felt a lot more prepared this time. I think with any art form, in any project you take on, there’s always an element of self reflection and understanding that happens through that experience, and that definitely took place with Character”.
Best known for his appearances in ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’, ‘House at the End of the Street’ (with Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence), and television series ‘Alias Grace’, ‘Murdoch Mysteries’, and ‘Degrassi’, (the latter for which he directed the opening sequence for four seasons running.) Bowes can currently be seen in new Netflix series Spinning Out. Created by Samantha Stratton, Spinning Out centers on Kat Baker (Kaya Scodelario) an up-and-coming, high-level singles skater who’s about to turn in her skates after a disastrous fall took her off the competition track. When Kat seizes an opportunity to continue her career as a pairs skater with talented bad-boy partner Justin (Evan Roderick), she risks exposing a fiercely kept secret that could unravel her entire life.
Bowes appears in six of the ten episodes as Brent Fisher, a young, privileged male athlete. “I think that I’ve met a lot of people who are like my character, who are sort of the definition of white privilege in a way. They grew up in a very affluent family, they’re athletic from a young age, and their looks kind of get them on a water slide of privilege that other people don’t experience. That sense of entitlement kind of bleeds through in everything they do, I just tried to sort of channel that. It’s fun to play characters like that because you can just let yourself go”.
Feedback for both the show and Bowes performance have been positive, something he doesn’t take for granted, “I’ve been auditioning relentlessly since I was fourteen, so to land something like this is just a dream. You can go to a hundred auditions and just simply not be right for any of them, and it’s really discouraging and defeating. So when you kind of strike that jackpot it makes all those other negative experiences worth it. It’s that much more rewarding because it reminds you of how hard you’ve had to work to get there”.
For more on Will visit: www.willbowes.com