'5 Questions With': Jamie Cooke

"It happened really naturally, and I guess I started pushing myself to write and use social media to get myself out there."

Jamie Cooke is the London singer & songwriter you need to know about, and with summer around the corner, his latest track ‘Hideaway’ is due to give you all the feels. Growing up in a musical household filled with sounds of the greats such as Erykah Badu and Sister Sledge, this Watford dwelling star-on-the-rise takes inspiration from a variety of artists which leads to his genre-fluid and eclectic style. We asked 5 Question to Jamie, on his new single, his inspirations, and what we can expect next from him.

Read the full interview below…

Words & Interview by Danielle Temeng

EQ: Hi Jamie, welcome to EQUATE! Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into music?

JC: Hi Equate! Thanks for having me! I am a singer/songwriter from Watford, and I have been studying vocals for 2 years now at BIMM London. I have always had a passion for singing from a young age and I’ve been leading up to releasing music for years now. Then I met Curt Lopez, my producer, and we are working together on my music and an upcoming EP. It happened really naturally, and I guess I started pushing myself to write and use social media to get myself out there and showcase my voice to people.

EQ: What would you say has been the soundtrack to your life so far, if you could only pick one song?

JC: Wow - what a question! I choose this song because it’s always made me feel good - no matter what mood I’m in! It’s ‘We are Family’ by Sister Sledge. I also have a big family in which music was a massive part of our lives and helped my musical ability grow into what it is today! A close second would be ‘On & On’ by Erykah Badu!

“[on Hideaway] It’s an ode to mental health and missing that human connection we all longed for..”

EQ: Your brand new single ‘Hideaway’ is out now, and it’s the perfect summer track! It’s pop, a little electronic, sultry, and very relatable. What was the inspiration behind the song?

JC: Thank you so much! I’m hoping it’ll make people feel summery and happy after a hard and long lockdown. The inspiration for the song came to me during lockdown actually. It wasn’t meant to be so ‘pop’ or ‘summery’ but the sound of it changed the closer we had it finished to coming out of lockdown. I, like a lot of people found winter lockdown a lot harder and I imagined writing this song to myself. It’s an ode to mental health and missing that human connection we all longed for. I wanted it to be a euphoric coming-out-of lockdown bop!

EQ: With your music being so genre-fluid, who would you say you’re most inspired by musically?

JC: I take inspiration from so many genres. It’s so hard to categorise myself to one, so it makes me happy knowing my music is genre fluid. Most people would tell you growing up I was stuck in my room listening to female R&B artists and Amy Winehouse and Adele, I love a powerhouse soulful singer. Blend that with some indie soul like Tom Misch, Erykah Badu, Anderson Paak. I love listening to music that is easy to dance too as well, I will write a ballad one day I’m sure, but for now, I wanna make music people can dance too. Throw in a liquid drum and bass track and I’d love to do some vocals over that too!

EQ: Finally, with outside open again will we be seeing you perform anywhere this summer? And what can we expect from you the rest of the year - do you have any exclusives you can let us in on?

JC: Thankfully gigging is starting again! I have a couple of gigs lined up, but until everything is confirmed I can’t say where yet but I’m so ready to do my first show! You can definitely expect a few more singles on the way, I’m very excited about another summer tune coming very soon! It’s a collaboration between me and Curt Lopez and we’re very excited about it. In the meantime, I’m putting together an EP being released in 2021 so stay tuned!