Rising Star Julius Eastwood Goes Old-School on Emotional Gay Anthem

Welsh alt-pop star Julius Eastwood releases «Be The Sound», an emotionally raw indie-pop anthem about gay mental health, recorded live in response to AI music boom.

«Be The Sound» tackles gay mental health head-on and the singer’s deliberately ditching synthetic production for something warmer.

A rising Welsh artist has fired back at the AI music revolution in the most old-school way possible, by making sure his latest single sounds utterly, beautifully human.

Julius Eastwood, an award-winning alt-pop singer-songwriter from the Welsh Borders, has dropped «Be The Sound», an indie-pop anthem born from a piano in a living room, recorded in a proper studio with real musicians, and written to help a struggling friend stay afloat.

Why live music matters

Here’s where it gets interesting. In what amounts to a direct critique of generative AI in the music industry, Eastwood chose to record the track with a live arrangement. The result? A warm, intimate sonic landscape that mirrors the raw vulnerability at the song’s heart.

«I wanted to create something that feels human», the story goes. «Something you can hold onto when everything else feels mechanical».

That wasn’t easy. Eastwood secured funding from Help Musicians, the charity that supports UK artists, which gave him the chance to produce the track at a major recording studio earlier this year. Working alongside collaborators and the studio’s in-house team, he managed something tricky for a debut artist: building a rich, layered record while keeping the fragile intimacy of the original piano demo.

The theme that drives it

At its core, «Be The Sound» is about showing up for the people you love when they’re at their lowest. But there’s a specific lens here: the track addresses the mental health crisis facing the LGBTQ+ community.

Eastwood’s gay himself, and the song was penned as a hopeful message to a friend who was drowning. It’s cathartic stuff — the kind of track that could make you ugly-cry at your kitchen sink.

The numbers so far

The 25-year-old isn’t a one-hit wonder by accident. His catalog has already cleared 100,000 streams, and his music has been picked up by radio stations across the country.

His previous single, «Borderlines», was named BBC Introducing Track of the Week, a break that led to a director reaching out to shoot the music video across locations on the Welsh borders. The clip went on to earn a nomination for Best Music Video at the BAFTA-accredited Focus Wales Awards.

Where he’s played

Eastwood has been tearing it up on the circuit. Recent dates include:

• Notting Hill Arts Club — a tough London venue to crack
• Pride Cymru Music Festival — home crowd, big stage
• War Child’s Live Lounge Fundraiser — charity billing
• Future Icon competitions — quarter-final and semi-final slots
• Central London — sold-out headlining show

Who he sounds like

If you need a shorthand, think Tom Odell’s piano-driven melancholy, Declan McKenna’s narrative wit, and Marina’s shimmering pop sensibility, mixed into something that’s recognisably Eastwood.

There’s storytelling at the core, yes, but also the sort of catchy melody that sticks in your brain for days.

What’s Next

For those in London, the next chance to catch him is 3 December at The Amersham Arms in New Cross. He’s been building towards this gig since his last sold-out date, word on the street is tickets are already getting scarce.

After that? Rumours suggest he’s lining up more dates across the UK, though nothing official has been announced yet.

Bottom line: In an age where algorithms are churning out synthetic tracks by the thousand, Eastwood’s betting on the opposite approach. And if “Be The Sound” is any indication, he might be onto something.

For tour dates and releases, follow @juliuseastwoodmusic on social media

Source: Press release