Five minutes with Songer: “I just want to keep going up the stairs and not down the corridor”

You might have initially encountered the artist as BL@CKBOX’s most viewed freestyle performance, but Songer has way more to him than just a legacy on a YouTube channel. He’s sold out headline tours in less than twenty-four hours, topped the UK charts with his album, SKALA, and collaborated with industry big dogs like Chase & Status and Becky Hill. But with all this under his belt, the artist is keen to keep moving. The latest step in his career journey? His recent single, ‘ALIVE’. While Songer’s usual sound jumps between hip hop and DnB, the latest addition to his discography is a throwback to the days of Britpop and the era of boy bands having a genuine edge — but Songer isn’t worried about fitting into one genre. 

Here, he sits down with HUNGER to discuss new territory — from his new single and plans for the future to his time in the far away land of Aus.

Your new single is quite different from your previous work. What was the inspiration behind it?

I feel like it has been a bit of a tough winter, so, now, the sun is coming out and I’m just embracing that pub culture, going out, seeing friends and being a bit fearless and careless. I just wanted something that reflected fun and a new chapter in everyone’s lives.

The video sees you dancing outside Reading station sporting wired headphones. Was this a return to your hometown roots?

The song is quite reflective of my social life — my friends just going to things to have fun. It made sense to film the video somewhere that reflected that, as well. It all feels very close to home and it was good to have fun filming it while symbolising those people in my group I like to get a beer with.

You get a lot of praise for being able to adapt to new genres between projects. Who inspired you musically for this new sound?

I’ve been listening to a lot of Kasabian and thinking about the live aspects of it — how it makes you feel. I’ve nearly finished my album and it isn’t all that new sound, but that indie-rock-ier sound is definitely inspired by Kasabian, Muse and, it might sound cliché, but even Oasis. I wanted to call back to that era of proper bands and Britpop, as I think it’s making a return.

It seems to be the summer of Britpop and basslines.

Exactly that — and I want to be the balancing act between them.

Do you think you’d want to make your own band or do a joint project sometime?

I’d never rule out joining a band for an album — I think it would be great fun. Right now I’m still focusing on the solo stuff, but a lot of people worked on the production of the album and all the instrumentation is done by a live band, so it has that element.

Was your line about ‘not fucking spiders’ an ode to your time touring with Dizzee Rascal?

I’m so happy you said that, because that’s a saying in Australia and at the time I thought, that’s going to be jokes. I put the line in there thinking Australians will love that. And then just before it came out, I thought, no one’s going to have any idea what I’m on about. So I’m happy people are picking up on that. It was inspired from the couple months that I spent in Australia and I’ll always think it’s such a hilarious quote. I absolutely love it out there, as well, and I think every time we tour now we will have to go back.

What’s in the pipeline for the next year for you?

I just want to keep going up the stairs and not down the corridor. I want to keep elevating and improve every aspect of myself and my career. The shows will be played with a live band and I’m so proud of the music I’m making at the moment. The highlight in the next year is probably Reading and Leeds main stage, because I’ve done Reading before and loved it, but this time the main stage is a proper bucket list moment. More music, more tours and trying to be as good as I can.

To throw it back, when you did your infamous BL@CKBOX freestyle did you ever think you’d end up here?

I thought I would always arrive at the destination, but I never knew that would set the ball rolling. I was always hungry to do something with my life, but BL@CKBOX kind of set in stone the direction that I would be going in. I wasn’t entirely sure what angle I was going to take, or what I was going to put everything into, but after BL@CKBOX I knew there’s something here, and I’ve been attacking it ever since.

Listen to ‘ALIVE’ here.