Seye Adelekan speaks to Islington Radio
Interview conducted by Annie La Vespa

Hi Seye! How has your start to 2021 been so far?

My year has started pretty well thank you very much. I have just moved back to London having been away for a couple years so its good to be back, plus this year has started with a few different projects including fun things like my Islington Radio Show Sepiatone which is super fun so im doing some brand new things so it feels like a proper new start. All things considered im doing well.

What were your plans before lockdown and how did they change?

Before which lockdown 😔? Well honestly I was planning on taking things super easy last year, I was taking time off after a pretty hectic decade + of work and life so lockdown just further slowed things down. I wasn’t planning to be working really until now anyway so it actually didn’t derail me, it just slowed my life down a bit and made me be a bit more deliberate with some decisions.

We’ve seen you’re going to be a mentor on ‘Rip It Up’ programme to support the next generation of BAME music talent. We think this is great. How did this come about and are you excited for it? 

Yeah I am super excited about it and feel so honoured that they even asked me. Well a friend of mine, Lois Warrington, works for Sound City and just messaged me on Insta and asked if I was interested. I think projects like this are super important because one of the best ways for young people to get into the industry is from learning from people who have gone before. “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others” and I have made plenty of mistakes haha I hope to help in whatever small way I can. And the more help BAME kids can get the better

You started performing at a very young age. Can you tell us how your journey with music began?

I grew up singing, in my house there were a lot of us(im the youngest of 6 kids) and we were singing basically everyday as a family. Singing christian songs as I grew up in the Church, which is one of the best musical educations you can get. I started playing the Flute in year six and was in all the musicals and plays at school and concert band/orchestra and joined a skate punk band when I was about 14 or something and kept writing and never stopped playing. Even though I never thought of music as a career, I was on a gap year sleeping on my brother Gbenga’s(Metronomy) couch when he couldn’t do a tour playing bass for an artist called Jeremy Warmsley so I covered for him on that tour and I haven’t stopped!

Is there anything you would recommend young upcoming artists to do in particular help kickstart their musical careers?

If you’re an instrumentalist then I would recommend playing every day without fail. The more you do something the more naturally it will come. Especially as musical instruments often demand very unnatural finger patterns or breathing patterns, it takes a while before those become more natural. I would recommend playing anywhere you can, be it an open mic or your local village fete, pub, college, church, it doesn’t matter get as much experience as possible. Don’t be afraid to email or message venues. And if you can’t get somewhere to play then organise your own show, for charity or something and make sure you document everything! I think you should always think in long game terms, “kickstart” implies perhaps a quick way in and I don’t believe there are any valuable shortcuts when it comes to this.

What have been some of the standout moments of your career so far?

Playing with Gorillaz in any capacity is a highlight really. Playing with Sir Paul McCartney on Africa Express was definitely one. Helping produce and write on a Baaba Maal album with my good friend and super dope producer Johan Hugo. Getting helicoptered into a festival when I played with Paloma Faith was pretty dope as well haha

We saw you performed an immersive livestream recently. How was that, and are you planning on doing any more of those soon? 

That was amazing. I mean it was odd playing to just the crew and staff and some friends and family and guest artists in this big old room but it was a triumph and really showcased what you can do when you have an amazingly motivated band and management team working together through this madness. Honestly I hope we don’t do any more of those, im holding out for playing live infant of people. Hopefully we will get to do some more of that soon!

Is there any new music you’ve been listening to at the moment that you’d recommend?

My friend Lunakai just released a song with a dope video he put together himself. Its called All In. Also my mate Dan Caplin also released a new tune produced by another dear friend Hoost. Its a great time for my friends who have been doing this for a long time and who are rising to the top no. like I said before, its all about staying the course and being in this for the long haul. Most of my friends have ten years in and things are just kicking into another level! There is always another level so keep on going.

What are your future musical plans?

 I got a whole bunch planned. Ive written the best part of an EP but that’s on hold at the moment as I am co -producing and helping to write a project with an artist in the states so im focusing on that at the moment. I hope to have some of my own music out this year!