New songs from Harry Styles 'will blow the socks off the world'

Snow Patrol’s Johnny said he had been collaborating with the former One Direction singer “for years” – but recent songwriting sessions have been particularly exciting.

One Direction’s Harry Styles (Cal Aurand)

He told the Press Association: “I’ve been friends with Harry for a long time, and we’ve written together a lot.

“Harry is a really prolific artist and a super-talented guy. He’s really authentic and he has an incredible voice, so we’ve been writing a lot of songs. We’ve been writing songs for years together.

“I’m really excited by the way he’s sounding at the minute, he’s such a talent. I think the world is going to be really shocked at what he comes up with.”

One Direction are currently on hiatus, leaving band members – including Harry, 22 – free to pursue solo projects.

One Direction (Matt Sayles/Invision)

Johnny, 39, who is the keyboardist and guitarist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, said he was unsure when fans could expect to hear any of Harry’s new material.

“I don’t know about soon, I don’t know how long that is,” he said.

“But I would imagine that Harry would come up with something that’s going to be pretty special, and from what I’ve heard, it’ll blow the socks off the world.”

The two take an informal approach to songwriting, preferring to steer clear of the studio when they work together.

Johnny McDaid (Karina Lidia)

Irish musician Johnny explained: “We do the guerilla thing. I’ve never been in a studio with Harry, we tend to just hang out at his house or mine, or we’ll meet somewhere and set up in a living room.

“It’s just the way he likes to do it and the way I like to do it, so it means that we can order takeaway and kick up ideas.”

But it is a collaboration with another global superstar, Ed Sheeran, which has earned Johnny a nomination at the Ivor Novello awards, which take place in London on Thursday.

Ed Sheeran is up for an award (Yui Mok/PA)

Alongside songwriting team Ed, Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden, Amir Izadkhah, Leon Rolle and fellow Snow Patrol member Gary Lightbody, he has been nominated for best song musically and lyrically for their track Bloodstream.

“It was a really nice coming-together of everybody’s songwriting,” he said.

“And being able to collaborate like that and see it come to fruition with a song like Bloodstream, and then for it to get a nomination was just fantastic.”