If you don't know who Loyle Carner is, listen to his records and you will have the impression of knowing him. He comes from London, he has been making music with introspective tones for more than ten years, since he left the theater school to devote himself to rap. The debut of 2017 Yesterday's Gone He was nominated for a Mercury Prize and two Brit Awards and after four other records today he is a respected artist, known for existentialist songs. The new Hopefully! (written like this, with a space before the exclamation point) it is another introspective work that shows him in search of new creative solutions, also in singing, as in the launch single In My Mind. For the occasion he assembled a band of friends made up of five elements: everything started with Jam Session who eventually took the form of an album.
Recently he became a father for the second time and says that his children played a role in the project: he felt more comfortable to sing and not only to rapp thanks to the ninnanne intended to the children and in the middle of the sessions he went to take his son at the nursery school (on the cover of the disk the child's scribbles appear). His darkest and cynical songs are smooth by the lightness that only a child can inspire. “Basically Hopefully! He tells one day in the life of a child seen through his and my eyes. Let's say that I wanted to give some space to the child who is inside me ».
He fell in love with the guitar as he made known new artists to his children and the instrument plays an important role in an album in which Carner is not afraid to review his defects, but in which he also shows a renewed optimism towards life.
It's your first job from Hugo of 2022. What happened in your life in the meantime?
I became a father for the second time. The birth of my daughter is the most important thing that happened. I managed to spend a lot of time with them, I took them around. Observing the world through the eyes of my children helped me to see it for what it is, to grasp the wonder and joy again, putting aside the cynicism I had before. That's why the disc is called Hopefully!because a little hope is finally glimpsed.
What else has paternity taught you?
To be kind to myself, but also critical of me and more courageous in facing who I am. A son is a reflected image of who you are, you see us parts you like and others you don't like and that perhaps you knew there were there. Paternity forces you to measure yourself with who you really are.
One thing that strikes me of your repertoire is introspection. Where does this ability to open yourself from, when you write? Have you ever found it difficult to do it?
It is something that probably comes from my mother who is a teacher who deals with literacy of students with special needs. When I started writing I thought I would do it in a way we say anonymously, like a novelist, a playwright or a screenwriter. One who does not appear. Instead with music you put yourself on the front line. So I think it happened a little by chance.
What were the first things you wrote?
I went to school, I had the appearance I had, it was implied that my interest in writing would lead me to poetry or rap. There were no other options in addition to those two, nobody helped me to make my way into the world of writing to get closer to literature, I didn't see many people who were interested in what I wanted to do. So I got passionate about poetry and then I started putting it in music.
You mentioned Langston Hughes among your influences. What does your work and how is it reflected in your work for you?
His poetry is so important for me because it was one of the first I listened and not read, I speak of The Negro Speaks of Rivers and some of the songs of Weary Blues. I am convinced that poetry is made to be listened to, not read. Hearing her unlocked something in the head, it helped me to appreciate her. I think he is the first poet I heard, long before Gil Scott-Heron or anyone else.
Would you define yourself an avid reader?
I am an avid devourer of audiobooks, I don't know if it is worth. I am dyslexic and I put a lot of time to read. I'm listening to a book that my mother read me when I was a child, Life of pi, And it is very well written, for me it is one of the best books ever, it is full of ideas. I try to hear it as much as possible especially when I drive.
What are the genres or types of books you prefer?
I rarely read the narrative. I prefer books I wouldn't say self -organic, but that explore certain aspects. I read one entitled Humankind who spoke of human nature and wondered whether human beings are kind or not. It is a very nice book full of hope, it has been of great inspiration for this album. I try to read things that interest me, that concern food or a band that I love, an autobiography or anything else. I read a lot of nonfiction. I think that is my area.
You said the book is titled Humankind?
Yes. It is of an Dutch, Rutger Bregman. In practice it is asking why, if people are so extraordinary, bad things happen? Starting talking about us as a community, of the fact that we were nomads, we traveled a lot and met many people. Now we are always surrounded by people, but since we no longer move we do not need them as in the past, with the result that you can also not know who lives in your own isolated. At one time, however, you asked: «What can I exchange with you? What do you have to eat? Is it edible? Have you tried it? » So yes, we are closer than ever, but also more distant than ever.
How do you think that reading this book influenced your way of writing songs?
I came across the book in a period when I was pessimistic and helped me understand that human nature, after all, is very beautiful. It is not that good people do good things and bad things do bad things. People are the product of their environment, of what they have experienced and what they have experienced. It is essential to give good example with empathy and understanding. He gave me a little more of hope in myself: I know what I'm doing, I'm on the right path, I'm not a bad person. When you grow up, think of all the absurd things that are happening in the world and how people can get to do certain things: I don't want my children to do that end.
Why do you get accompanied by a band?
To work together with friends. And then in the rap they usually send you some beat that you have to complete with your rhymes and involves a pressure that I sometimes find debilitating. I prefer to find myself in a room with other people while I am focusing on an idea. And then I like the anonymity that gives you a band, so it is not about me, but a collective. I really like having the opportunity to stay in the background.
Did it happen that they sent you the beat and you wanted a lot to finish the pieces?
It sent me a Madlib bag, which is my hero and probably my favorite living producer. It was that time I realized how difficult it was for me. It was stimulating and exciting, yet there were moments in which I thought: fuck, how much I wish it was here by my side.
What kind of sound did you have in mind for this album?
I was not listening to very rap, I haven't been doing it for a while. Not that I don't like it anymore, but it's just a part of the music I grew up with. With my children I listened to the alternative music that I have always liked, to give them an idea of the variety of things there are. And so I heard many more guitars than I had foreseen and this made me reinolvery of the guitar, a tool that at some point in my life I refused. The sound, in essence, revolves around the guitar in all its forms, from Elliott Smith to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
In this album sing: Did you ever think about it before? And why right now?
If I asked me last year, even after I had already done some of this music, I would have replied “absolutely not, it will never happen”. He counted a lot to be with my children. Again, it's an obviousness, but I sang for them by putting them in bed and my son sang in the car. And he made me understand that it is not so much about understanding if you know how to sing, but if you want to sing. I did what seemed right to me at that moment: I wanted to express what I feel for them and I could not say it in words. I kept trying to write elaborate verses on love for my children, but there are not enough words in the world. It had to be something that transcended the words.
Do you think you will do it more in the future?
In theory yes. I mean: it's a good feeling. I will see how people will take it. If everyone is now, then I will continue to do it.
In Lyin You say: “A man who tries to kill / I have never been able to love you”. Where does this verse come from?
People teach you that you have to be a tough. I did not find a single man who taught me to love. None of my close relatives, my father, my uncles and so on, is still with his partner. I have many examples under my eyes how not to face a relationship or love in any declination … to love children, partner or friends is not easy and requires constant commitment. Nobody really explained it to me. I felt like I were a soldier trained for one thing, but it is not the one that interests me.
In Time ago There is another verse that I would like to ask you: “The pressure on my brain / kills the legend of my name / I wonder if I will ever feel like this”. What is the process that leads to killing the legend of your name?
I think it should be interpreted like this: the more you do, the more you risk ruining what you have. And so you have to be very careful. I built a positive character, but sometimes I don't feel like that, I seem to be the opposite. They come to me and they tell me “you are a very positive type, optimistic and good”, but if I am passing a bad moment, I feel like I was destroying the illusory idea that people have of me. And that, in a sense, I have myself. I am a positive guy, but I don't feel such days. What effect does it have for others? And to me?
How do you feel in view of the tour?
I can't wait. It's the right time. I think I am lucky enough because the last time I was on tour I was in a difficult situation and the music we played was quite hard and aggressive: it was beautiful, but heavy. This album, on the other hand, seems lighter to me and I like the idea of returning to some cities with more tranquility, playing in a more relaxed way.
You will recite in a new series entitled Mint. What made you think it was the right project for you?
My role was not stereotyped or someone who resembled me. I wanted a sensitive and multidimensional character. Charlotte Regan, the author, is a brilliant writer. Her approach is creative, fantastic and childish, I could not help but work with her.
In the acting do you find things that you could not experience or express with writing or verses?
I think one of these things is a minor pressure on me, because they are just a car gear. At the helm is Cahrlie. So I can arrive, do my part and offer ideas, but without the weight of making crucial decisions and I like this freedom. Also, in music you sell yourself, while in this case I am another person. Whether people like it or not, have nothing to do with me, but with the character. At the end of the day I free myself and go home, while the music always takes it behind you, do you bring it into the bed, do you understand?
Would you like to play more in the future?
I'm thinking about it. I like acting, but I don't know if I can always do it. There are so many things that must return because it makes sense. For now I will do so sporadicly because I want to be sure I do the right things. It's like having a second chance, I don't want to ruin it.
From Rolling Stone Us.
