In The Balance: Limited Edition Blue Vinyl LP

Inspired by the rawness and honesty of artists like Elliott Smith, Julien Baker, Adrianne Lenker & Sufjan Stevens, Callum Pitt imbues his indie-folk with grand, orchestral, chamber pop sensibility plus an alt-rock edge. Despite using music often as a canvas to openly discuss depression & anxiety, as well as political unrest, Callum still manages to imprint feelings of optimism and unity, alongside genuine warmth and honesty, throughout his songs.

This debut album In The Balance pinpoints back to one night in 2019, where Pitt was handed an earth-shaking reminder of how much hangs in the balance with each passing second. Minutes after he waved goodbye to his brother and parents as they left his house, a fire engine hit the back edge of their car. They were all unharmed. But if the car was in the engine’s path a fraction of a second later — if Pitt had said one more word at the doorstep — it would have ploughed directly into the drivers’ side. 

28-year-old Pitt has been working on his craft for a decade, beginning in the Newcastle pub scene and gradually refining his thoughtful, poetic songwriting voice. He won the Alan Hull Award for songwriters in 2019, and the Fender Player Plus competition in 2021. Meanwhile, he’s studying a masters in Occupational Therapy, and has worked with children, young people and adults with disabilities through various outlets, including therapeutic music work. These are experiences that shaped In The Balance, his first true body of work, giving him a new perspective on the cathartic and unifying power of music.

In The Balance is an astonishing debut album that marks Pitt as an artist with equal parts vision and talent. As he takes it on stage, he hopes to use his music as a vehicle to create space for other up-and-coming songwriters, including booking shows for fellow artists, and emphasising accessibility and inclusivity. “The North East is a really nice music scene. I’ve got a number of peers who are all really supportive and non-competitive. It doesn’t feel cold, it feels like everyone wants each other to succeed,” he says. This same warmth is key to In The Balance; in a chaotic universe, the instances of connection both big and small can feel like miracles.