Introducing: CIARS

Fresh off a breakout year that’s seen him named BBC Introducing’s Featured Artist of the Week, storm the Lakefest Main Stage, and earn praise from SLAP Magazine as a “grunge wizard,” Worcestershire-born alt-rock artist CIARS is gearing up for the release of his debut EP Madeline on August 29, 2025.Recorded over an intense three-day session at London’s Fish Factory Studios, the five-track project distills CIARS’ raw, emotive storytelling into a whirlwind of fuzz-drenched guitars, Hendrix-inspired solos, and lyrical vulnerability shaped by loss, solitude, and artistic reinvention.

With a background steeped in Hendrix, Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a live band whose chemistry electrifies every show, CIARS (aka Ciaran Wright) delivers a sound both steeped in tradition and defiantly modern. Madeline captures his most defining moment yet—a five-part emotional journey that SLAP Magazine hailed as “a stunningly accomplished feat of alchemy.”

Below, CIARS dives deeper into the making of the EP, the influences behind it, and the evolution that brought him from Cardiff’s Porcelain to one of the U.K.’s most compelling rising indie voices.

1. Madeline has been described as a “stunningly accomplished feat of alchemy” and your moment to shine in the U.K. indie scene. How would you describe the creative vision behind this EP, and what does it represent for you personally?

Madeline was used as an emotional outlet for the three weeks leading up to the studio time. I translated my feelings into a piece of music that reflects the solitude and heartache I was going through. Each track represents a moment in time, with the vision being a 5-part story documenting the rollercoaster of emotions after losing somebody.

2. You wrote and recorded Madeline over just three days at Fish Factory Studios. How did the intensity of that process shape the sound and energy of the record?

Madeline was written in the three weeks leading up to the studio time and recorded in just three days. This narrow timeframe shaped the EP writing and recording process in ways that I would not be able to reproduce had you given me a weeklong residential studio opportunity. The spontaneity of layering acoustic guitars, slide guitars, percussion, and vocal harmonies which were not previously planned is what shaped the sonic depth of this EP.

3. Your music blends Hendrix-esque solos, fuzzed-up guitars reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins, and lyrical storytelling in the vein of King Krule. How do these influences come together to define your unique sound?

I’ve always admired the likes of Hendrix, Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, for their guitaring abilities alone and have always seen myself as a skilful guitarist before I started writing music. You’ll hear guitar solos in most of tracks on the ep, which sets my music apart from the modern-day indie scene which seems to have collectively abolished them.

My lyrics are not ‘on the nose’ and tracks like Timepiece will mean different things to every listener, the metaphorical storytelling of writers like King Krule has certainly influenced the way I write lyrics and I think that comes across in this EP.

We spent a lot of time in the studio nerding out over guitar tones and Madeline features a lot of overdriven, fuzz inspired tones similar to the Smashing Pumpkins. On the title track alone three guitars were used (Fender Strat, Custom Tele, and a Gibson ES 335) before the acoustics were layered, to achieve the heavy walls of stereo guitar noise you can hear in the chorus and outro.

4. Tracks like Golden Leaves have already earned you recognition on BBC Introducing, and your live performances, including Lakefest Main Stage, have been hugely praised. How do you approach translating the energy of Madeline to a live audience?

Translating Madeline to a live audience Involves me taking myself back to the moment that inspired each song whenever I perform them. Going back to the places that define the EP takes the emotion straight into the microphone and out to the audience.

The energy of Madeline also comes across live through my band: Reece Morgan (drums), Tom Gough Aka Guffy (rhythm guitar), and Kai Mellor (bass guitar), who’s infectious on-stage energy brings Madeline to life with our raw and electric live shows.

5. Looking back on your journey from Porcelain in Cardiff to launching CIARS, how has your growth as an artist shaped the themes and emotions explored on Madeline?

I think the main thing that’s changed since writing for Porcelain is the way I go about crafting songs. Every song I have written under CIARS represents a feeling, or a moment. And each feeling or moment will resonate with each individual listener in unique ways.