A SINGER-songwriter is set to bring his wintery music to Cumbria as he embarks on a tour in the north in support of his latest single, and will play in Carlisle and Penrith.

Jake Houlsby, from Newcastle, will be releasing the title track from his forthcoming EP 'Bloom' on November 25.

It follows the successful release of his track 'Carousel', which garnered praise from 6music, and his debut EP 'Yannina', which came out last year.

Speaking his new music, Jake said: "After 'Yannina' I wanted to try and take my writing in a different direction and experiment with different sounds in the studio.

"I went through a period in my life where I struggled to be stimulated or inspired, and then I had an epiphany and realised that I was doing so much that I never thought I would get to do.

"It suddenly hit me how much my life had changed and how hopeful I was feeling about the future."

The future Jake is hopeful for looks like it will include an album in the not-so-distant future, which Jake hopes will follow the 'Bloom' EP when it comes out.

"The full album will hopefully be fully realised with a more consistent theme," he said. " I have already written about 80 per cent of the songs, but I haven't been into the studio yet.

"The theme is about acceptance. When I was younger I always wanted a perfect life but now I know there's no such thing. It's a coming of age thing."

The 'Bloom' single tour will see Jake travel through Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle as well as the Cumbria dates. A one-off London show will start the tour off.

Jake said: "I was speaking to the label and we decided that because it is for a single we'd keep the tour small.

"It is nice that it is in the north because I feel that you can hear that the music is northern. It is good to let it start up here and then spread organically.

"Hopefully once the full EP has come out I can take it further afield."

Jake will play The General Wolfe, Penrith on November 24 and The Source, Carlisle on November 25.