Alfie Templeman

Alfie Templeman knows music. At just 17, this boy wunderkind already has four EPs to his name, and anencyclopaedic knowledge of music history that some veteran artists would envy. He’s been called a“bedroom producer”, and that's true–all of his songs were crafted at home in the small village of Carlton,Bedfordshire. “It’s kind of boring,” Templeman says cheerfully. “I live in a nice place and everyone’sfriendly and supportive, so I’m lucky. But there’s not a lot to do, so that’s one of the reasons I got intosongwriting.” But where many young artists create tracks from pre-made samples, Templeman is morelikely to pick up one of the 10 instruments he taught himself.It started with his father. A builder by trade but a passionate guitarist by nature,Templeman’s dad wouldfill the house with the sounds of classic rock, while his son banged away to the rhythm on pots and pans.Then one day, his dad brought him along to do some work at a friend’s house. That friend wasn’t sure howto entertain a child, so he put a video of a live Rush concert on the TV. “I was blown away,” Templemanrecalls. “I can vividly remember watching Neil Peart play. He became my first musical hero.” He begansaving his pocket money to buy “all of the Rush albums”, then set out converting a mate so they couldform a band together. Aged eight, using his sister’s toy microphone and an old laptop, Templemanrecorded his first demo.At school, he always felt like the odd one out. “All the boys were playing football, and I hated that,”hesays. “I felt like the weird kid because I didn’t want to do sports.” He began going to cello lessons, whichhe credits for his perfect pitch. Then he fell in love with the drums around the same time he was teachinghimself to play one of his dad’s left-handed guitars (right-handed). After that it was the keyboard,mandolin, “a bit of violin”, bass, sitar, harmonica, synths... “One of the reasons I learnt all that was so Icould play and produce everything myself,” he explains. “I had to have full controlover my first EP. I justwanted to see if I could put everything together so it sounded good.”It definitely worked. Like An Animal, released by Chess Club Records in 2018, is an astonishing, self-produced collection redolent of Kevin Parker and Mac DeMarco. There are hazy, sun-drenched twangs ofguitar; swooning, Eighties-style synths; moody, wandering basslines and warm percussion. Unlike manyother artists, who might try to compensate for their youth by tackling the “big” subjects, Templemanmakes noattempt to hide his age. These songs are about feeling like an outsider, exam stress, and thoseall-consuming first crushes.Like An Animal was followed by two EPs in 2019, Sunday Morning Cereal and Don’t Go Wasting Time.The former was infused with heavy funk influences, from the squelchy bass and vocal fuzz of “StopThinking (About Me)” to the dreamy psychedelia of “Busy”. The seven-track Don’t Go Wasting Time wasan ambitious leap that shone a brighter spotlight on Templeman’s extraordinary range, encompassingpop, indie, rock, Latin and prog influences. It’s all the more impressive upon learning that, around thistime, Templeman ended up in hospital, where he was diagnosed with childhood lung disease.“It doesn’t really bother me, but I’m one of those 'vulnerable to Covid-19' people, so I’ve been shieldingsince March,” he reveals. “It’s been a long summer!” Until the diagnosis, Templeman and his familythought he had bad asthma. You wouldn’t think he had any sort of condition to hear him–or, indeed, seehim onstage. “It can get messy,” he laughs. His gigs, including a sold-out London show at COLOURS inHoxton, are raucous affairs, filled by screaming fans only too happy to catch him whenever he hurlshimself offstage. After a string of UK performances last year, including his triumphant Radio 1Introducing Set at Reading and Leeds festival, he’s eager to get back to it.And why wouldn’t he be? 2020 has already seen the release of his best EP to date, the irrepressibleHappiness in Liquid Form, which has achieved millions of streams–not to mention praise from the likes of The Guardian and NME. Templeman refers to the title track as “colourful sugary disco pop”, but there’splenty more to love besides that. Writing with Justin Young of The Vaccinesfame has instilled a newconfidence in Templeman’s songwriting. You can hear it in the cheeky bounce of “My Best Friend”–which will remind listeners of Billie Eilish’s insouciant charm–and the infectious Caribbean sound on“Things I Thought Were Mine”.“I listen to everything!” Templeman says, explaining how he came to have such a broad range ofreferences. This is a teenager who will just as happily discuss John McLaughlin and Miles Davis as hewould The Weeknd and Harry Styles. “I think some people might consider me as ‘just’ an indie artist, butmy music is a broad mix,” he continues. “There are modern influences, but also a lot of prog, classic jazz,funk... I like to play things that people don’t expect, that hit you right in the feels.”He praises his label, Chess Club Records, for helping him to “come out of my shell a bit” and be thecharming, exuberant and driven young man he is today. “I’ve definitely become more open,” he nods. “Ididn’t always know how to talk to people before, and I could get pretty anxious. I’d get scared, buteveryone’s really nice!” He’s eager to become one of the voices of a generation determined to change theworld: “Everyone at my school was so intelligent and well-informed. Young people have more of a voicenow than ever.”Templeman now has his eye on 2021, with a brand-new collection of songs on the way–the superbForever Isn’t Long Enough–that he describes as “the best representation of what I’m about”. “Each songis different but linked,” he says. The mini-album opens on the thrilling rhythms of “Shady”–produced byTom McFarland from the Mercury Prize-shortlisted collective Jungle. From there, you’ll be hooked,whether to the strut of “Wait, I Lied” (with nods to Gnarls Barkley and Justin Timberlake), or thegleaming “To You”, which recalls the sound of The Weeknd’s chart-dominating 2019 album, After Hours.“My mum kept wanting to hear what I was working on, but I can’t show anyone until a song’s finished,”Templeman laughs, thinking of the reaction his fans will have when they hear this new material. He wantsto do as many shows as possible when he gets back on the road, performing to a fanbase that nowstretches around the world. “I want those new experiences,” he says. “2021 is going to be massive.”