Q&A: On ‘Radiosoul’, Alfie Templeman Comes In To His Own
AS ALFIE TEMPLEMAN PUTS IT, HE CAN’T SIT ON THE “INDIE POP CHAIR” FOR HIS ENTIRE CAREER. The 21 year old is a musical polymath — it would be unnatural if he didn’t opt for experimentation. Tracks like “Happiness in Liquid Form” and “Movies” from early EPs propelled Templeman to stardom and landed him indie-darling status. But with his highly-anticipated second album Radiosoul, Templeman puts the indie pop sound he’s best known for to rest for now.
The risks pay off tenfold on Radiosoul. Early in his career, Templeman handled writing and production on his own. This time around, collaborators like Dan Carey (Fontaines D.C., Wet Leg), Justin Young of the Vaccines and even the legendary Nile Rodgers help bring out the best in Templeman. Funk, disco, rock — Radiosoul is a summery pop record that melds it all together.
“This album represents a musical crossroads for me,” he shares. “. . . I have to try different things. Enough different things work to sound cohesive on the record.”
Templeman says the album is scatterbrain and his piano playing is rough around the edges. That’s what makes Radiosoul unconventional and unique. “Beckham” is a highly layered track that spontaneously came together within a couple of days. “You can feel the energy when you listen to it,” he says. The album’s title track is a groovy five-minute journey with sax and soul.
Templeman moved from the countryside to London last summer, a city where “you have to fight for your place”, he shares. On Radiosoul, he reflects on his early twenties and all that comes with this next chapter in his life, including the move, dealing with anxiety and navigating adulthood. Lyrics recounting his personal experiences are both intimate and universal.
Templeman’s sound is ever evolving, so “buckle up” for what’s to come. Radiosoul embraces collaboration and change — it’s what makes the record quintessentially Alfie Templeman.
We caught up with Templeman ahead of the release of Radiosoul and his fall tour with stops in the UK, Europe, Mexico and the U.S. Read on to learn about Templeman’s departure from indie pop, recording in multiple cities and his coming-of-age journey.
LUNA: What was on your mind while creating Radiosoul?
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: Mostly growing up, maturing as an artist and moving from the countryside to London, a city where you have to kind of fight for your place because it's such a creative hub. There was a little bit of pressure, which I quite liked. It really influenced the way I wrote. I recorded most of the album in South London. I was here a lot before I'd even moved out.
LUNA: You've worked with a lot of incredible musicians and producers. What can you share about the process of meeting them and working together?
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: I guess you just have to come from a fan perspective. The people that I work with, I'm a massive fan of their music. That's the best way of working with someone, telling them that you really like their stuff and you think you have some ideas. Run with it, trust yourself and have that confidence to say, “I really love your music, and I think I could maybe add a flavor to something if we work together.”
LUNA: You had many collaborators on Radiosoul, which kind of gives each song its uniqueness. What do you think strings everything together? Is that something you were worried about?
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: It was about embracing the chaos, the scatterbrain of the record. Some of my favorite albums would just go all over the place, like Todd Rundgren and the Beatles. Sometimes that works in the context of the record, if you have a lot to say and experiment with. I feel like this album represents a musical crossroads for me. I'm coming from so many different directions, because I just can't sit still on the same thing. I have to try different things. Enough different things work to sound cohesive on the record. When I finished the record, I was still adamant that it had to somehow flow. I spent a lot of time making sure the tracklist made sense. I went to master it with my mastering engineer and made sure it connected.
LUNA: Occasionally artists will get fans who are a little jarred by experimentation. Do you ever worry about that, or think about it?
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: I feel like if that's going to happen, it probably will happen with this album. I kind of made this album to settle that for good. No way am I going to sit on the same indie pop chair my whole career. I have to move on and I have to try new things. This album establishes that in the best way. I made it to set the record straight and say, “This is who I want to be and this is where I want to go. If you liked this album then buckle up, because that's my style.” I released the title track of the album and some people were like, “A five-minute soul song with a saxophone on it? Where did this come from?” Other people are like, “This is the best thing you've ever made”. It can go either way but as far as I'm concerned, it feels very me.
LUNA: It's very easy for musical artists to get pigeonholed, whether it be by fans or the press. Getting stuck in that way can feel stifling.
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: Absolutely, I agree. That's what I want to avoid. Establishing that from a young age is better. I'd rather get that part done now and then make it easier for myself when I do whatever I want later on.
LUNA: You mentioned that you recorded this album in London, but you also came to the U.S. to produce and record. Do you think your physical location impacted the end product?
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: It definitely did. I did the classic thing of going to LA for a bit. The weather is shit for so long in the UK.
LUNA: You can't make a summer record.
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: No, you can't make a summer record when it's raining and depressing. So I got out of England and went somewhere hot. Songs started writing themselves and it felt really good and productive. That kickstarted the whole record. I went to California and then Miami and worked with the legend Nile Rogers. We started writing a bunch of stuff and that was really fun and spontaneous as well.
LUNA: Did the break give you new ideas or fresh perspectives?
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: Yeah, very much. I really needed the break in order to sit down and write deeper songs, from a lyrical perspective. Looking back at my first album, one of the flaws I see in it was that because I was in the pandemic and stuck in my room for so long, it was quite a struggle to actually write meaningful lyrics without coming across as kind of nonsensical. With this record, I found it really important to go deeper than before, and make sure every song had a good meaning or enticing lyrics at the very least.
LUNA: You're exploring a lot of deep emotions in this record, from growing up to dealing with social media.
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: The lyrics that are the most on the nose are the subconscious ramblings that end up on the song. The song has written itself before you realize what you're singing about. Those are the most meaningful songs to me. “Run To Tomorrow,” the last song on the record, is kind of a step by step guide to getting out of an anxiety attack. Seeing people relate to these songs and find them comforting is a really lovely feeling.
LUNA: What have you learned about yourself from creating this album?
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: I've definitely surprised myself a few times with some of the lyrics. Some of the musical parts I'm quite happy with as well. I'm not very good at playing piano, but there's a couple of songs where I try to have a go with my clammy hands. Listening back, it actually comes across as half decent. I kind of like the idea of not being great at the instruments, you're not too conscious of how you're playing things. You got your own unconventional way of doing it. I got way too comfortable with playing guitar. I had to step back a little bit because I was playing the same things. Layering things in different ways and trying new things, that just naturally excited me.
LUNA: What do you want people to take away from Radiosoul?
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: I want to invite people to listen to the different types of music that I'm listening to. Everything in this album takes from the other types of music and artists that I really love. It's about me experimenting and becoming more mature as an artist and person. It's a tiny little piece of the puzzle in the bigger picture, a bridge to what's to come. I'm just inviting people to join in on the fun.
