WHEN the topic of country music arises Alex Krupa’s face becomes a beaming light of enthusiasm. Enthralled by the honest song writing and storytelling that can take you further than a pilgrimage, the genre captured his heart at a young age.

Eager to overturn the dated stereotypes of ‘achy breaky hearts’ and ‘rhinestone cowboys’, Alex’s focus is on the very essence of the genre, it’s sincerity. In an age of manufactured pop, clever PR campaigns and exhausted fragmentation and numerous thoughtless remakes of what came before, there is a longing to feel real emotion in music.

Andover’s resident country music star is not afraid to put the work in to see results. His busy schedule speaks for itself. A full-time job, countless wedding bookings, writing and recording a debut album, performing at gigs and in musicals and somehow finding time to present a weekly radio show and host a new regular open mic night.

The secret to his success Alex says is his passion, but he remains modest despite his tenacious work ethic, “hopefully something comes out of it all” he said playfully.

The 25-year-old’s foray into music got serious during his time at university, where he studied drama.

“Music just came out of the blue. It started to become really serious to the point I started getting paid for gigs and then I thought, alright I’ll write a few songs.”

With debut album, The Other Side Of Me, set to be released by the end of the year, Alex is both excited and reluctant to share his very personal songwriting with others.

“It’s all a little bit self indulgent, that’s the thing because this album is about me and I’m really real about how I am as a person.

“I never expected any of these songs to be on an album. They were never meant to be on an album, they were just meant to be for me to sing in front of the public, because they were just for me.”

Alex’s focus is on building authentic connections with people. Sometimes done through writing about difficult subjects, but his preferred method is live.

“You can really connect with the audience, and that’s my favourite thing to do” he shared, “so if I do a gig, I’ll always chat to ya.”

The album delves into topics people can relate to. The title track is about hidden emotions that lay underneath an otherwise seemingly happy individual.Cheating partners and life stories are other narratives tackled, alongside having a good time on a Friday Night.

“Literally, across the whole of the UK at the moment there’s a big old rumble of country music starting to lift of,” Alex excitedly proclaimed after discussing the themes of his album, “and it’s about trying to catch the wave”.

With all this grit and determination, it is surprising that getting to Nashville is not a goal at the forefront of Alex’s mind, “I just don’t feel like I’m ready for that. I feel like I need to set myself up here before moving on to Nashville.” For more information about Alex Krupa visit his Facebook Page, alexkrupacountry.

By Rebecca Rayner