Ghostpoet's debut album, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize, is a mosaic of snapshots and scenarios, the south-Londoner tells JIM CARROLL
You moved from your native south London to study media production at Coventry University. Is that when you started making music too?
“I was writing bits and pieces before I got to Coventry, but it was basic hobby stuff. Once I got to university, I met like-minded people and began to learn the basics of production and stuff like that. Those people were producing music at the time and I’d never come across that before and it felt like a natural progression for me to do the same thing and begin to write my own tunes.”
You have said previously that you were inspired by people like Mica Levi, Sampha and Dels, producers who go against the grain. What appealed to you about them?
“I suppose they make music which is unique to them and that’s what I wanted to do. I wouldn’t say I wanted to break rules, but more that I wanted to make stuff which was very much my own thing. I took a lot of inspiration from grime music. It’s very unique and isn’t about pandering to anyone or any genre. I wanted to make music which was me and reflecting what I was about. Breaking the rules feels too rebellious to me and that’s not what I’m trying to do. Everyone has their own viewpoint and for me, I wanted to be unique.”
Aside from grime, what other music floated your boat?
“I started out listening to a mixture of my dad’s old highlife, African, reggae and calypso records. I was also listening to American hip-hop and jungle and old-school garage and drum’n’bass. I started to get into indie music a fair bit after that and then got heavily into grime and electronic music which got me listening to Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and Boards Of Canada. I’ve always loved listening to music and have never really been into just one thing. One artist would lead me to another and so on.”
One of the striking things about your debut album Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jamare the lyrics and the observations.
“The lyrics are less about me and more about what I see around me and my experiences with other people. It’s more a mosaic of different scenes, snapshots and scenarios so that from line to line, I can flip from talking about me to someone down the road to someone in another city, as long as it fits in with the emotion or subject matter that I’m trying to talk about.”
There’s an element of social commentary in there too, isn’t there?
“In the beginning, I wanted to be a social commentator in a sense and talk about stuff that everyone goes through, but it was difficult because I didn’t want to put myself in that situation. I didn’t want to put myself out there. It’s difficult to put things in my head into words in a song which might get played all over the place, but I got over it because it was my passion and what I wanted to do.”
Was it also difficult when you started playing those songs live?
“It was because, again, I was putting myself on the line. This was music I made in my bedroom. I didn’t really make music with the idea of playing it to hundreds of people at a gig. That was never on my mind! It was difficult to comprehend at first. But things change with repetition and encouragement and keeping playing good shows. I got used to it and began to enjoy playing the tunes live as much as I enjoyed making the tunes in the first place. I’m in a much happier place now when it comes to gigging. I’m not as scared or self-conscious as I was in the past.”
Your album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Was it a worthwhile experience for you?
“I’m not fully aware of the Mercury effect on sales. I do my thing, I make my tunes and play gigs. I know the figures have gone up, but I couldn’t tell you by how much. But I can feel it at gigs. There’s definitely more of a buzz now because it has pushed me forward. You get people who are curious about me and want to find out more. It’s another opportunity to push my career forward. “
Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam
is out now on Brownswood. Ghostpoet plays Whelan’s, Dublin on September 26
