In Conversation With #177 - Alfie Neale
Neo-soul singer-songwriter Alfie Neale has just released his new EP ‘everywhere/nowhere’.
Selected as part of The Ivors Academy creative development programme, Inside Track, Neale worked with Ivor Novello-award-winning producer Cassell The Beatmaker (MNEK, The Streets, Akala, Plan B) on this compact, impressive display. Showcasing his wilful genre-hopping tendencies incorporating elements of soul, disco, jazz and hip hop, this punchy and accomplished EP is held together at all times by Neale's distinct smoky vocals and smart lyricism.
He took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey there Alfie, how are you? So your EP is finally here, how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Hey guys, I'm really great thanks, and thanks so much for having me. I'm so excited to have the EP out there - it feels like I've had this music prepared for a long time, prepared so much for the release and it's still all a mad rush at the end haha! I'm relieved it's out there though, I've been waiting for my next project release to really mark the return back to somewhat normality since I last released music. I just can't wait to hear what everyone thinks about it and to start playing live shows again.
It is called ‘everywhere/nowhere - what is the meaning behind that?
It stems from the very self-reflective process of creating of the EP between the last two lockdowns we had here in England, I was recording all this music which I thought was a real step forward for me, though was still in exactly the same place working my 9-5 and dreaming of playing live shows. I guess it stems from recording the music which I really have massive aspirations for, but at the same time it all just being a figment of my imagination at the time I had the music. The fact I really could play this EP through and get the same feeling as if I'm on my way to the airport for a holiday, while being sat in my car on the way to work brought the title out of nowhere. It was also a really hectic time for me and I like the play on being everywhere in the past, but 'now here' at the release of the EP, kind of proving that all the work was worth it.
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process?
The EP was recorded at Cass (Cassell The Beatmaker) the producer's studio in London, with some of the vocals just recorded in my bedroom in Brighton surrounded by mattresses and duvets to try and dampen the room sound. Cass works really closely with a ridiculously talented multi instrumentalist called Eric Appapoulay - they went to school together and have been best friends ever since, they're like complete opposites but just work so well together. The whole process was at a time where no one was busy, the sessions were supposed to be 6 hours but sometimes they ended up being 12, even if some of it was just us talking about aspirations and me asking about their experiences in the industry. We recorded my favourite music I've ever made, drank rum and ordered takeaways so we didn't have to stop making the music. It really opened my eyes to the process of recording music with artists who really are at the top of their games and how hard they work. Cass brought in Mike Patrick who he plays in The Streets with to lay some keys down for the EP too which was a crazy experience - I vividly remember him declining the use of my chord sheets, listening to each of the tracks once then playing them pretty much note for note which was crazy.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
The themes are very self reflective - most of them picked from past experiences and influenced by my friends and relationships. I had to really pull a lot of the stories within the songs from a place I hadn't written about before - a lot of my music was about recent experiences I decided to write about but some of the stories in these lyrics go back years. The EP explores love, friendships, aspirations and vices among many other things. Even a more up-tempo song, 'I Don't Wanna Dance' for instance, explores a theme that resonated with me for quite a few years after moving to Brighton from Dorset - leaving home and visiting again seeing the people you grew up with and noticing how much has changed.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
I of course have to say that I love every lyric on the EP and it really is true. There are a few lyrics which might pass people by, I'll use I Don't Wanna Dance as an example as in the seconds verse there are these lyrics describing catching up with an old friend:
Tell me what went wrong, 'cause boy I've had the same old conversation all night long
Found a million reasons I could tell you why I've been gone.
I've been paying my way, tell me what's the cost?
Miscommunication with friends I never lost'
The song describes how over time people might naturally grow apart from each other, though the song discusses friendships as opposed to relationships. Growing up back home I found my friends and stuck with them, though after moving away it was really interesting to drift away from a few people without either of us meaning to. It's just a natural process of growing up I guess. I like that lyric because it's buried behind a fast tempo and catchy melody so you might not take it in on first listen, but I really think it's something that a lot of people my age go through when they leave the towns they grew up in.
Now the EP is out there, what next for you?
I cant wait to play some live shows - I think with a few of the features I've done the band and I have got enough for a headline set, and definitely enough for a few support slots. I just announced a headline at The Grace in London which is on sale now and honestly felt like a new man after announcing it. I've never been the most consistent with releasing music so I'm going to try my absolute hardest to get some more music out there as soon as I can after the EP because I'm having so much fun making it with Cass and Eric and have such a great live band too. It really feels like the work we've put in over the last few years is all coming together.
