With a top ten hit on the U.K charts, Swizz Beatz as a mentor and collaborations with Rich Homie Quan, Stormzy and Ed Sheeran, U.K singer Angel is definitely making a splash in the industry. We sat down with him to find out more on his latest soulful EP Her:
First off, Congratulations on your new EP ‘Her!’
On the Concept of ‘Her’:
“Basically I call the EP Her because a lot of the tunes extend off women, they’re all always going back to women. I wanted to call the album Her so that I could do a b-side and call it ‘More of Her’, and call the album ‘Woman. I want it all to run concurrent. “
On the Creative Process:
“That was the best part. I just literally zoned out everyday and whatever came into my head I just laid down. And I felt like that was the best part because I didn’t feel pressured, it was like whatever I was going through at the time or whatever I saw that day, it just came to me and I literally put it into melody.”
If the EP could be an anthem for anything, what would it be:
“I’d probably make it an anthem for make up and break up, celebrating women in general and the beauty of them.”
Hardest Part about Creating ‘Her’:
“The hardest part was trying to because most of the songs were so real and so true to what I’m going through, and true to me it was more hard to put it in a way that would feel relatable and still not too deep and emotional at the same time. It was hard to keep it in between.”
On the difference between creating his earlier EP’s ‘Seven Minutes Before Time’ and ‘Possession With Intent’ versus now:
“I feel like I’m in a different space in life. Obviously I’ve got the Motown guys behind me, and I just feel like everything’s coming together, everyone’s embracing it more. I feel like I’m talking about everything I want to talk about and I’m doing all the music that I really want to do. I’m not compromising in any shape or form. It’s really just Angel what I see, what I hear, and what I’ve gone through, and what all my n—as have gone through.”
I love your song “Rude Boy,” is there any song off the EP that is most personal to you:
“You know what it varies every day, it depends what mood I’m in. It depends how I feel, you know what I mean? I would say “Rude Boy” for me though, that’s my jam and that’s the one that I feel because I feel like it’s a statement more than anything, more than talking about all these love songs and everything else, it’s like rude boy this is where I’m from, I grew up on a a block this is where I’m coming from, and all of the things that go on around me and then boom I can do love songs and then still do music like this.”
What statement he wants he music to make to the world:
“I want it to basically represent where I’m coming from-black British culture most importantly. Just to get out there, like real life situations and what’s really is going on in the world, without trying to hide it and dim it or anything like that. Just like get in tune with the whole community. Not anything political but like things that are actually going on down there that we should think about more just real things.”
On the transition from being in a group early in his career versus now:
“It was different, because I grew up doing it with the family and I was on the road with them all the time. It was that comfort of just having your siblings as my friends it was like that fun we had, and then going off and doing it alone was like a different stepping stone of like: I’m on my own now, there’s no siblings, you’ve got to go out there and do it yourself. I learned a lot from it more than anything, the past has made me just want to do that anyway. Learning throughout time I got a lot more use to being on my own. It has curved me, I feel like being with my brothers and sisters and being on the road and singing with them and playing with them curved me and shaped me to who I am right now and brought me to this stage.”
What is something that has inspired your work:
“Old school, 90’s. In my own world I’m living in the 90’s (chuckles) you could say. Like everything 90’s, literally from the way that I dress to the way, the way that I speak, even down to the work process of making the record you know like singing every chorus and changing things and variations. I think it helps me to be more creative right now.”
How does your style tie into your music:
“Definitely does. My whole thing is not really new, all my influences from the 90’s I’m just trying to make it modern with my own sound but still trying to make it credible so that even the youth can understand it. Because a lot of the songs that I do some of these young people they’ve never heard it, but it’s good music you know so I think let me try and take that and then modify it and hopefully it will get out to the youth and then they can hear what we heard growing up, you know what inspires us.”
Your voice is very versatile, would you ever consider dabbling in any other genre of music:
“Yeah, definitely. I’d love to do a country and Western album down the line. But I actually make all different types of music everyday. Sometimes when I’m zoning out, I’m like let me stop vibing for a second let me just get into some other stuff and try to be creative. Especially growing up in a background of reggae music I’m always making reggae tracks and sometimes I never think of getting them out into the world but it’s a vibe and I am going to start embracing that more and showing that element of me more.”
Can we expect a tour anytime soon:
“Yeah definitely there are some things being put together now. I actually got three dates that I’m doing in London next month, the 26th and 27th two dates in London and then one in Birmingham. A sold out show in Shepherd’s Bush which is my hometown, so that’s really exciting.”
What’s next for you:
“I think the next step for me, I’m just putting out music still. Whereas there’s no pressure for me, I’m just in the studio everyday making more music. My last EP Her I’m about to put out and then after I do that I’m putting out more More of Her but I want to call it a playlist instead of an EP. I just want to extend the bridge for the album because I’m nearly finished the album as well, I actually have more then enough tunes for the album I’m just picking and choosing what I vibe with, that’s the hard part and the good thing. I’m really excited about the album and just putting out another record, another record for the summer. Just loads of different things here there and everywhere.”
“I’ll be back and forth in the states, I’ll actually be in New York, within the next couple of weeks, I’m doing some promos over there. The venues will be on all my socials. I just want to shout you guys out for all of the support and I can’t wait to put some more music out.”
