'5 Questions With': simon a.

EQ: Hi Simon, can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into music?

sa.: I’m from Walthamstow, East London - always gotta rep! My family’s already really artistic, and everyone’s in different fields. I was interested in film from very early on, so I initially wanted to pursue that, going to uni for it and everything, with music as just a passion. I was making birthday raps for my brother and friend because I couldn’t really afford actual presents and one day at an Anderson Paak. concert my friend suggested that I start taking music seriously because I seemed to like doing it so much - so I did! I dropped my first project out of nowhere and everyone was so supportive so I thought “maybe I can actually do this”.

EQ: Your music, to me, is reminiscent of American artists such as Brent Faiyaz and Frank Ocean. Who would you site as your main inspiration(s) and why?

sa.: I would say yeah, definitely Frank Ocean. I appreciate the music of James Blake a lot, as well as Kendrick Lamar. I’d say Solange in the way that I sing, but I always make sure to keep my London accent, I can’t let go of that. But to be honest, what inspires me most when making a song is whatever I had just listened to, and that could be anything.

EQ: Your EP “Way To Go” is debuting soon - congrats! What can fans expect from it, and what was the idea behind the project?

sa.: Thanks! I’d say they can expect some nice, soulful, dreamy vibes, with a deeper story throughout if you want to focus on that. The EP is really a representation of how I talk to myself every time I think I’m not doing enough, or I feel stuck. Every once in a while I fall into a spiral of looking at my goals and seeing the distance, looking at my peers and seeing their pace, and looking at myself and going “well, what now?” but I’ve learned to distance myself from that mentality; the race I’m running is one for which I set the pace, and it’s often good for me to look back, see how far I’ve come and congratulate myself on it, and then look forward with this self-encouragement. ‘Way to go!’, but I’ve still got a way to go, know what I mean?

EQ: What’s your top two tracks on your EP and what do they mean to you?

sa.: That’s a hard one! I think my two favourite tracks at the moment are ‘To Stay Here’ and ‘In a Hall of Mirrors’. I really like the structure of the first one and how the story progresses throughout, because it really is just how a discussion with myself might go. And also, it sounds like a dream. The second is the ‘vibeyist’ one on the project I think, and it also concludes the overarching story of the EP well.

EQ: What have you been getting up to during lockdown, and what can we expect when life gets back to “normal”?

sa.: I’ve really just been chilling honestly. Animal Crossing has taken over my life and I’m just trying to perfect my island. I’ve watched some shows and anime with all the time I’ve had. Oh, and I’m set to graduate soon, so there’s that. Soon as things get back to normal, I’m setting out to hopefully do some live shows and really bring the EP to life. Here’s hoping!