#( he just came on my release radar on spotify with his latest song )

[fortitudina]

*OOC. ------ There is just something about Nation Haven's voice that does things to me. He can serenade me with his songs all that he wishes.

[regularbeans]

Best Artists of 2017

This year, for the first time since I started doing these lists eight years ago (bloody hell) I’m ditching three categories at once and smothering one in the crib. These four categories are female artists, male artists, bands, and newbies. For newbies I just didn’t have enough entries for it to be worth the time to make a separate list, and for the other three it would’ve mostly been artists I’ve already written about in previous years.

So what I did (because I’m smort) is I merged these four categories and define it as any artist I either got to know this year or listened to a lot this year. This way I can still have some of the new musicians I got to know this year but still reflect what my year looked like in music even if some of those have been on these lists before.

This is serious business, we’re not banging rocks together here.

15 Bastille

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Bastille came out with the best album of 2016 last year and this year I was lucky enough to first have to cancel seeing them live in February and then reschedule seeing them in August. To this day I’ve not waited more for a band than I’ve waited for them which should be a sign of how amazing I find them. Wild World was a tightly paced, captivating record about how shitty the world is, in true Bastille fashion where you can’t tell whether you should drink or dance more. This year saw them release Glory and World Gone Mad as singles, there’s a new Other People’s Heartache in progress and we know for a fact that they’re working on a new album which is supposedly shaping up to sound like an apocalyptice party record so... count me in.

Listen to: World Gone Mad, Blame, Glory

14 Dua Lipa

She was on my newbies list in 2016 but little did I know back then. Since then she released her self-titled album and went on to conquer the world with her single New Rules. Out of all the singles we knew was going to be an album I wouldn’t have thought New Rules would be the one but I don’t mind. With such a strong, distinctive voice and such bops it’s really just her marketing that can fuck things up. I know I’m a downer but I hope she doesn’t disappear in the sea of young and spunky English singer-songwriters. (Has anyone seen Ella Eyre lately? :/ I was so excited... I don’t even dare to hope anymore.)

Listen to: Garden, Be the One, Last Dance

13 Matt Maeson

A Spotify darlingheart that popped up on my discover weekly playlist and boy am I glad. Cringe is one of those crowd-please bangers that you just can’t escape from and you’ll find yourself humming it days after the one time you’ve heard it until you go back to it. Such was the case of Matt Maeson and his latest EP “Who Killed Matt Maeson” instantly cemented itself on my radar and did not disappoint. His voice is so versatile and he uses it all the right ways. I hope he releases a full album soon because I need more soooongs.

Listen to: Cringe, Grave Digger, Tribulation

12 Bishop Briggs

Surprised myself by putting her so “low” on the list but if I’m honest there were only three or four songs I listened to by her this year. That doesn’t mean she’s in any way less worth of your attention though. Bishop first popped up featuring on Cold War Kids’ track “So Tied Up” which I’ve mused about once before here and I was thrilled to find out this girl can sing. River is every bit as addictive as you think it’ll be based on the first two notes, and the EP it’s on (titled Bishop Briggs) is just a collection of this sort of souther gothic alternative... rock thing she does. My worries about her are similar to the ones I’ve mentioned about Dua Lipa but I just don’t want to imagine a world where I can’t hear more of Bishop’s voice.

Listen to: River, Dream, Wild Horses

11 Window to the Abbey

Without getting into an argument about how confused I was about the name of this band (the project on pledgemusic was listed under Troy Baker, how was I supposed to know Window to the Abbey was the name of the band? I thought it was the damn album, where did “Moving Around Bias” even come from? Fucking hell...)

Anyway, Troy Baker released my favourite album in 2014 (it’s perfect, no jokes) and I was so stoked for his new project when I found it was coming out (not that pledgemusic notified me about it even though I literally pledged money for it, no, I had to find out about it from tumblr like some sort of animal). I wrote about the result here and I still hold my opinion that to me it’s the order of songs that bring the whole of the journey down (I know, the stupidest thing, that’s why it pisses me off so much) but every song is dripping of human emotion and the joy of music, and damn that voice gets me every time. I hope he never stops making music.

Listen to: The Promise, Break Up Song, Common Grounds (no links cause only The Promise is on Spotify)

10 American Authors

Remember when I said this is a mixture of four categories? Well, I lied, it’s actually a mixture of FIVE. Really early into 2017 I realised there were a few albums I missed out on in 2016 and I was furious because they would’ve easily made top 5. One such album is What We Live For by American Authors. I was a huge fan of their first record, “Oh, What a Life” (it actually placed 12th on my list that year) (all these links are going to change when I change my URL on New Year’s Eve someone kill me) and I’m beyond pissed that I didn’t catch What We Live For it would’ve been #6 behind Life Screams by Lacey Sturm.

Not that this album doesn’t have a fair share of ballads and sad songs but the whole band is just radiating positivity. Catchy tunes, playful banjo, stomp-clap songs (u kno u luv them), singalongs, it’s such a damn pleasure to listen to these guys so look beyond Best Day of My Life and give them a listen, they’re the best pop music has to offer these days.

Listen to: Pride, Mind Body Soul, Right Here Right Now

09 BANNERS

This scrawny asshole has also seen at least one of these lists last year when he kept pumping out singles. Guitar pop, indie pop, alternative... whatever, call it what you want the facts are that you would recognise his Banners’ voice out of a hundred thousand, and his songs are all different but somehow still fit that feathery sort of magic rainbow cloud world I assume he’s coming from. His songs are either super serious (Half Light), beautiful ballads (Start a Riot), dancey club bangers (Shine a Light), songs that would be a worldwide #1 hit in the mid-00′s (Empires on Fire, pls), or my favourite song of the year (Someone to You). We have no news of it but I’ve made a place for his debut LP hopefully released in 2018.

Listen to: Half Light, Someone to You, Shine a Light

08 Fall Out Boy

I swear nobody can rile up the crowds quite like Fall Out Boy coming out with a track like Young and Menace. For the thirteenth time we listened to the panicked masses screaming into our ears about how FOB sold out, they changed, they’re not FOB anymore, and what’s this dubstep bullshit anyway? Let me tell you what, only the best song you’ve heard this year. I love that they stopped giving a shit, I love them for it, I really do. And even though Mania was delayed until 2018 we got a taste of what to expect and damn I know I’m already up for seconds.

(That sounded way too commercialy but I said it already so I’m not taking it back.)

Listen to: Hold Me Tight Or Don’t, Young and Menace, The Last of the Real Ones

07 FOURS

I can’t... I can’t emphasise enough how much y’all need to listen to FOURS. I’ve said this last year when they only had two songs and an EP out and I’ll say it again now that they came out with four more. The strongest female vocals I’ve heard in years paired up with nostalgic pop that could come from Whitney Houston herself (listen to Sicky Sweet and tell me it doesn’t remind you of I Wanna Dance With Somebody) these guys deserve so much more attention. I’ll hold out here until y’all stop sleeping on them.

These reviews are getting sassier with every entry... I need sleep.

Listen to: Sickly Sweet, Stella, Fade to Love

06 Everything Everything

A late entry but look how high it got straight away. I loved Everything Everything’s Arc back in 2013 (placed 20th, hah, I didn’t even remember that) so I was beyond disappointed when Get to Heaven didn’t live up to my expectations and even though I did listen to A Fever Dream I sort of just slipped past it for some reason. But better late than never I can now safely say this band still owns a significant piece of my heart. Weirdly enough, I still think Jonathan Higgs’ voice isn’t one anyone hears and thinks “man this guy should be the lead singer of a band” but with this (fever) dream-like sound he built up around the songs I just couldn’t imagine these songs with any other voice. I’m definitely happy I wasn’t late for this one.

Listen to: Night of the Long Knives, Run the Numbers, A Fever Dream

05 Enter Shikari

If you’d told me in 2009 when I had to listen to Common Dreads on a bet (that’s the kind of crazy stuff I be on haha!) that eight years later Enter Shikari’s latest album would be one of my favourite releases that year I would’ve... probably been excited to see what direction their music takes. But because nobody warned me I have no idea what this band’s been doing the past eight years and I only found their new album this year because I heard Live Outside on BBC’s Radio 1 while I was waiting for an NBT track to drop.

Based on the fans’ comments Enter Shikari has changed a lot and this album doesn’t represent a majority of their career, which if it’s really the case, I’m so happy about. I love the melodies, I love the crystal clear message in every song, such a wide variety of topics, still hectic and scream-y in some places but easy listening in most of the other places, it’s exactly the right album for me and, well now I have to pay attention to these guys as well.

Listen to: Live Outside, Rabble Rouser, The Sights

04 Kaleo

Another entry on the “how did I not recognise them before” list, Kaleo came out with their second LP “A/B” last year but I think they mostly remained in hiding until the movie Logan used Way Down We Go in its second trailer. That’s how I stumbled upon this surprisingly Icelandic band. It’s surprising because they play better American music most Americans do. It’s this badass country/blues rock about roadtrips and the devil and love. That paired up with lead singer Jökull Júlíusson’s insanely badass vocals (for real, listen to that voice and tell me it doesn’t sound like sweet melting chocolate) it’s something really special.

Listen to: Hot Blood, Way Down We Go, Glass House

03 Kensington

If you guessed they were another band I missed out on in 2016 then you guessed right. This is what I wrote about them when I featured them on my best newbies list at #11.

“Poor Kensington’s this far back on this list because even though I enjoyed the HECK out of Rivals (the HECK, I’m telling you!) I only… enjoyed the heck out of that one. It’s not that the other albums were bad, it’s just that I never got around to checking them out unfortunately. Which I should, seeing as I’m seeing them live in February, eh? Anyway, a kickass vocalist, smashing guitars, it’s a simple equation but it works. I for one welcome our Dutch overlords.”

Well, look at where we are, laddies and look no further. I spent a majority of this year enjoying the fuck out of Rivals and being in trance for two months straight after seeing them live and I’m seeing them again next April so... don’t do drugs, kids, that’s the only reasoning I can give for not falling in love with this album sooner.

Listen to: Regret, Home Again, Little Light

02 Misterwives

And here we have the band that would’ve topped the best newbies list had it not been for my incompetence. But I like to think that they’re in the right place because anything that’s second behind the band that’s in first place is actually really the first. Makes sense, right?

Misterwives was also gifted to me by the almighty Spotify where it threw up Machine on me. It was one of those moments where it stayed burnt into my memory for so long I couldn’t help but go back to it even though in the moment it didn’t feel like it was going to be something big. And now a few months later I’ve been absolutely captivated by the colourful, bounce-y, full of energy pop music of Misterwives. This six-piece is like the one colourful spot in a world full of greys, just an absolute pleasure to listen to. If you want to dance, if you want to smile, give them a go.

Listen to: Reflections, Our Own House, Machine

01 Nothing But Thieves

Hell no, it’s way too early to get into this right now. Guess you’ll just have to wait until my best albums liiiiiist ^^

[independentartistbuzz]

Indie 5-0: 5 Questions with Benny Sinclair

Benny Sinclair is an artist that has been taking the world with his brilliant brand of indie infused music. His latest record "Assumptions," which came out last week, has had us head over heels for the artist, as he brings an album to the table which is truly a labor of love. With brilliant hooks and an amazing storytelling element, Benny Sinclair is an artist to have on your radar in the New Year. We caught up with the artist for an exclusive interview which you will find below.

1. What is the inspiration behind your upcoming album and did you draw the piece from a personal place?

My music is inspired by life experiences and my passion for hip hop music. ‘Assumptions’ is the third installment of a planned four album project which touches on the four agreements,  which I use as a guide for personal freedom. 

2. When creating new songs, how long did it take to accomplish from start to finish? I listen to a variety of songs and think about what elements I like particularly about those songs. This encourages me to think of ideas and starts the creative process. At that point I go into the studio with my producers and we create a new track together. My producers know my sound and quite often send me beats. I write to the ones that inspire me the most. I rhyme & sing out loud what I’m feeling inside when I hear it.  I normally give myself 12 months to complete an album.The time it takes to create each song varies as sometimes I can just listen to the beat in the studio and ideas just start flowing an it can happen in one session. But the overall process from creating beats, to laying down lyrics and then have the track mixed and mastered varies. 3. At what age did you realize that music is a career you wanted to pursue; what was your 'ah-ha' moment? When I was about 8 years old, some scouts came to my school auditioning kids for the state choir and I was picked. I knew at that point I had a voice. I attended one session and felt it wasn’t quite for me. Shortly after that I remember hearing hip hop driving along in my step dads car, it gave me goosebumps and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. 4. Who are your musical inspirations; what artists inspired you to start your career and find your musical passion? I can remember the song I heard that day in the car it was ‘Funky Cole Medina’ by Tone Loc, so it must have been an inspiration. Then I got into Gangster Rap with artists like NWA, 2 Live Crew, Public Enemy, Geto Boys and the list goes on. I have also always loved R&B, Soul & Reggae music. I can remember my uncle buying the Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ album and sitting around in his lounge with my cousins listening to it over and over again. My mother also owned Whitney Houston’s first album, which was one of my favourites. As I got a little older Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley were among the artists whose music  I admired the most. 5. What other treats do you have in store for us this year? Can we expect more songs, a full record or a full tour? The album Assumptions will release in November and will be distributed over US radio. I have a new video ‘Jungle’, which is the second track off the album, dropping very soon. I’ve put together a show under my label ‘Dime & Ruff’, which I will be performing at, as well as show casing other local artists. I would love to come and perform in the states early next year.

Find Benny Sinclair via:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bennysinclair/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bennysinclair/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1lwECiFWy7HZ5PwDWCtzDo iTunes: https://music.apple.com/au/artist/benny-sinclair/1193497488 Soundcloud:https://soundcloud.com/bennysinclair Website: www.bennysinclair.com

[airadam]

Episode 124 : Trophies

"I will not lose."

- Jay-Z

Back on the road after an unscheduled absence, and now with a fully operational battle station (see my IG stories for more). This month's selection starts with a few tracks to test your audio installation, remembers 2Pac twenty-three years after he passed, and is pretty much guaranteed to hit you with at least one track you didn't already know! Let's begin...

Twitter : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Federation ft. Daz Dillinger : We Ride

I've been banging this one hard for months, and it seemed like an appropriate one to start the episode with! That little pre-chorus amuses and entertains in equal measure, and gives a breather each time before Rick Rock's stomping beat comes crashing back in. This is a great tune from Federation's 2004 eponymous first album, and they rep Fairfield hard on the mic while also bringing in Daz from Tha Dogg Pound for a cosign from a veteran. One to crank your car system to, for sure!

DJ Quik : Ladies & Thugs (Instrumental)

This is far from my favourite track on the excellent "Trauma" album, but the beat fit really well here - and DJ Quik was generous enough to release an instrumental version of this album for us to hear his wicked beats taking centre stage.

Jay-Z ft. Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and Static Major : Change The Game

Keeping it west coast on the production, Rick Rock is on the boards once again with what was arguably his national break-out tune. Jay-Z scooped up some of that Bay Area mob music vibe on this one, and featured two of the foremost MCs of the Roc-A-Fella roster of the time. The hook was provided by the sadly departed Static Major, and it fits perfectly. This was a big single from "The Dynasty : Roc La Familia", but didn't make anywhere near as much noise on the charts as the track that followed it on the LP - "I Just Wanna Love U". 

80s Babies ft. Chaka B : Technology

This crew is made up of Tall Black Guy on the beats and Dee Jackson AKA Shogun on the mic, and their "Sonic Music" album is somehow almost ten years old already. "Technology" and the track that follow just happen to fit together nicely, with no deliberate plan to have a tech critique theme in this section! The lyrics lament the state of the modern world when it comes to our reliance on technological solutions, with some maybe being more useful than others. TBG is dope on the beat as always, and if you pay attention you may hear a little callback to a track from his hometown of Detroit...

OutKast ft. George Clinton : Synthesizer

George Clinton was a big feature to get when this came out on "Aquemini", and I'm sure he was drawn to OutKast's outer space vibes. This was released in 1998, pre-social media and in what was almost another technological age - despite this, the themes discussed have held up surprisingly well for a track over twenty years old. As much as anything, maybe OutKast were just rapping ahead of their time!

2Pac ft. Dogg Pound, Method Man, and Redman : Got My Mind Made Up

This is one of my favourites from the over-long "All Eyez On Me" album, but the background to this one is weird. There's about half a bar of background vocal from Inspektah Deck right at the end - he actually recorded a whole verse (as did Lady of Rage) which was omitted from the final version after a mix-up when tapes were being transferred. Daz Dillinger did the production as well as rhyming on the track with his Dogg Pound compatriot Kurupt, but Dr Dre allegedly claimed it at one point. Meth and Red somehow didn't get any publishing or plaques from this track, despite being major artists at the time who contributed typically dope verses. Industry rule #4080...

[K-Murdock] & Mega Ran : Player Two (Instrumental)

The vocal version of this from "Forever Famicom" is well worth hearing, but for now you get to hear just K-Murdock's quality beat. It works in groups of three bars, so catches you a little off-balance at first! 

Blu & Oh No ft. Definite, Ca$hus King, and M.E.D : Boogie To Flex

From "A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night", we have tales of when the party goes all the way wrong and the gangsta business sets off! Oh No's beat is somehow bright and dark at once, bringing the tension, and every single guest MC brings it to the point that Blu only needs to come in with the perfectly-done hook.  

Royce Da 5'9" ft. Tre Little, Cha Cha, Cut Throat, Jah 5'9", and Billie Nix : D-Elite, Pt. II

Both parts of this mini-series to the B-side of the pretty so-so "You Can't Touch Me" once again proves Chuck D right! I actually prefer the first one overall, but it's very short and tonally wouldn't fit here. Part II is no slouch, with Alchemist on production and a host of guest MCs - the D-Elite of the title, who Royce cedes the floor to.

Reks : Forrest Gump

I'm wondering if the 2013 "Revolution Cocktail" album has been deleted - I can't find it on Amazon, Spotify, or even Bandcamp! Listen to it if you get chance because there is some serious heat on there from the Lawrence, MA veteran.

Curren$y : Billy Ocean

When the going gets tough, the tough get blunted. New Orleans' own Curren$y is on some paid rapper lifestyle business on this selection from "The Spring Collection" mixtape. Cardo and Sledgren provide the midtempo but chilled beat.

Luxury Elite : Upscale

A little vaporwave instrumental break courtesy of West Virginia's Luxury Elite, from her "World Class" album. So eighties, so good.

Tobe Nwigwe : Mo City Don Freestyle

I'm going to keep telling you how ill this Houston MC is until you believe me for real! Pure bars on this track that pays homage to the legendary Z-Ro's "Mo City Don" freestyle from his "Let The Truth Be Told" LP - which itself pays respect to the great Eric B & Rakim's "Paid In Full". Don't ever believe that real Hip-Hop isn't still alive and well in our era.

Zion I ft. Pep Love : Warrior's Dance

Back to the "Deep Water Slang v2.0" LP for a track that's motivational and bouncing at the same time - nothing less than you'd expect of this crew from Oakland, home of the Black Panthers! Fellow Oakland MC Pep Love of the Hieroglyphics family guests on here, taking half of each verse as well as the very last rhymes of the final verse. This is a salute to freedom fighters over a solid Amp Live beat.

Large Professor : Live In Stereo

This is very distinctly new-era (well, 2002) Large Pro, with the more electronic sound he started developing after the SP-1200 days that first made his name. The "1st Class" LP is Large Pro's second album, but the first to actually be released after "The LP" was shelved by Geffen and subsequently heavily bootlegged - finally surfacing in 2009.

Wretch 32 and Avelino ft. Bobii Lewis and Super N£ro : Nothing Will

This is such heat, and may well have slipped past the radar of many. Wretch 32 and Avelino are MCs who represent Tottenham heavy - at the time of this recording, Wretch being a relative veteran and Avelino the up-and-comer. A standout on the 2015 "Young Fire, Old Flame" mixtape, this tune has all MCs dropping deep quotables all over the DJ Smasherelly track, and Bobii Lewis with a great performance on the hook too. 

Pete Rock : Heaven & Earth

A gentle head-nodder from a man who has been bringing us classic production for almost thirty years now! If you like this, be sure to get the "Petestrumentals 2" album.

Nas : We Will Survive

After watching the episodes of the latest "Hip-Hop Evolution" series on the tragic beef between Death Row and Bad Boy, this track stood out for me while listening to Nas' third album "I Am". It's definitely one of the best on the LP in my opinion, with Nas speaking on his relationships with the late 2Pac and Biggie Smalls. The beat is a reflective number by Trackmasters and Jamal Edgerton, working a (cleared!) Kenny Loggins sample. This was a fitting song to end the episode with. 

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

  Check out this episode!

[onestowatch]

Ones To Watch Presents Live From The Rooftop + Q&A: Tom Walker - “Leave A Light On”

With an unmistakably husky voice, hip hop-inspired beats, and a soulful undertone, UK’s Tom Walker landed high on Ones To Watch’s radar as soon as we saw him perform live. Naturally, we felt the need to share that magic with the rest of you, so we invited Walker to perform a solo acoustic rendition of his standout single, “Leave a Light On,” on our office rooftop. 

Born in Scotland and raised in Manchester, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Tom Walker is certainly one of the fastest growing names in 2018. He released his debut EP, Blessings, in 2017, and we can anticipate a debut album later this year. “Leave a Light On” soared to Platinum in multiple countries, joined the top 15 most Shazamed songs, and has racked up nearly 75 million streams on Spotify alone. Produced by Steve Mac, Producer of the Year at 2018′s Brit Awards, Tom Walker just unveiled the music video for “Leave a Light On.” Watch below:

Get to know Tom Walker, from his days of flyering the streets of London, to landing a record deal with Sony’s Epic Records, to currently preparing to release his debut full-length -- What A Time To Be Alive is truly the only way to describe it.

OTW: You’ve tried a couple of odd jobs before getting into music. How did that lead to the moment where you decided that it was time to pursue music professionally?

I was always trying to pursue music professionally; I just needed to pay more rent so I had some random jobs. I was in London, and I was leafleting for around 6 months, which is just like handing out leaflets everyday on the streets. That was just the worst, the most terrible job, but it was quite well paid. You wouldn’t think it would be but it actually was because I don’t think anyone else wants to do it. It wasn’t amazingly paid but it was enough where I could do four days a week and have three days to do music. Then I was a chef for a while but that meant working 6 days a week. I worked for a photobooth company. That was hilarious. I kinda just always wanted to do [music]. It wasn’t like I did this job, and then I decided I hated it, then I went to do music full time. Since I was like 12, I wanted to do music full time. I was just going to do whatever I could to make it up.

OTW: Did something in particular happen that led you to pursue music full time?

Well I spent a number of years doing the whole gig cycle around London and UK in my spare time, but I guess it was when I met my manager, Simon. He started putting me in writing sessions at first. I started working with a couple of people, and we started getting it really well. Six months went by and all of a sudden, I had a record deal. I got an advance, so I didn’t have to work anymore so I just did music full time.

OTW: Can you expand a little bit more on the making of your latest single: “Leave a Light On”?

I wrote it with a guy called Steve Mac, and he’s done so much cool stuff. He wrote “Shape of You” with Ed Sheeran, and he’s in 3 or 4 songs on the UK’s top 40 right now. He was incredible. It was first time I ever met him, and we just sat down and bashed that song out in like 5 hours. One of my friends had been going through a rough period and lost his way a little bit. We had to have a word and talk it out, but that was like two years so it’s all good now.

OTW: Did the song save him? 

No no. I went out, and I started playing the song, and it was a long time after I’ve been playing that I actually told him. Thank god he was happy and not offended. I think some people might have taken it the wrong way, but it was just a point in time which I’ve framed into one day and one song. 

OTW: Your next single is “Angels?”

Yeah, who told you that!? [laughing]

OTW: When is that coming out?

That’s coming out in May. With “Leave a Light On,” we expected it to do well but it has way exceeded everyone’s expectations. It’s in the top 10 in Germany at the moment. It was the #1 Shazammed song in like four different countries for a week.

OTW: Then the album comes out shortly after that?

September. I’m just in the middle of recording, and it’s going to have like 16 tracks on. It’s called What A Time To Be Alive cause… what a time to be alive.

OTW: Is that a reflection of your own journey?

The stuff that’s going on in America, the stuff that’s going on in England, politics, the world. I feel like we’ve leapt forward with technology and advanced, but there’s so many stupid things that we do like not care about the planet. I’m not going to go on like an eco-warrior, but it’s just going to reflect a few little things very subtlety. I thought that I could tie it and reflect where we are in the world right now.

OTW: Okay so, back to “Angels.” Another fact that I learned is that you invited your father into the studio to listen to it ,and he got you into music in the first place, right? Tell us about that experience.

That was amazing. He knew that I was doing okay, but I invited him down to my first ever big string arrangement session. There were around 30 string players in the room for “Angels” and he’s never seen or witnessed anything like that. So, I think he was a bit taken back by what I was doing in the song and stuff. It was really nice to see. My mom and my dad came down so both my parents were there. My dad’s totally into music, and I grew up going to a lot of concerts with him at the M.E.N arena in Manchester. We went to Foo Fighters, AC/DC, MUSE, Underworld, Prodigy, you name it. We’ve gone to see classical concerts, Albert Hall, and all sorts of stuff. He really paved the way for me, introduced me to so many different genres and styles of music. I think that’s why I got so into music.

OTW: What a time to be alive.

Yeah, exactly! 

OTW: What do you feel like is your strongest point? What makes people gravitate towards your music? Is it seeing you live? Is it the songwriting? A mixture of everything? 

I would say it’s the songs. I always think a good song relates to people. I’m quite selfish in the way that I write to make myself feel better, but I’ve had a lot of people come to me and message me and tell me that my music has made them feel personally better and they can relate to what I’m going through. That’s just super cool. Super fucking awesome. There’s a girl that told me that one of my songs helped her get over her fear of flying. I was like, “I don’t know how you made that connection but that’s awesome.”

OTW: Do you have any other insights into the themes and the sounds that are going to be on your debut full length?

It’s going to be a real mix of stuff. I’m not held down to one style or one genre. There’s a really slow jam on there called “The Show” that I recorded recently, which is about a night where I was at a nightclub in London. I was in queue outside the door, and it was taking forever to get in. I just was like “No, I’m not doing this.” So I went down to the shop, bought a couple of beers and walked around London for like 3 hours on my own. I  realized that the whole of London on like on a Friday night at like 2am. The whole of London is just like a show. There’s just stuff happening everywhere. People kicking off fights, people hugging in the streets, people going out, homeless guys struggling, rich people having a great time. It’s just everything in front of you so I just wrote a whole song about that. That’s one of my favorite ones that are going on the album. It’s going to be the last track.

OTW: It would be cool if you did a video for that.

Yeah, I’m in the middle of convincing the label. It sounds so good! I did it with Jim Abbiss, and he’s such a great producer. We did it at RAK studios in London, which is one of the coolest most amazing places to record. It’s got like this super old API desk which makes everything sound lush. It’s going to be wicked. There’s a mix of things in the album. Some of it’s rock, some of it is hip hop influenced. It’s got everything.

OTW: Who are your Ones to Watch?

There’s a girl in the UK called Maisie Peters. She’s really cool. There’s also a guy named Sam Fender who I think is going to do really well. I think that’s it for people that I’ve personally seen in concert in the last 3 months.