Setting a new Example

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Elektro caught up with UK-based singer, Example moments before his first-ever US performance at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC where he chatted with us about sad music that inspires, Ludacris and breaking the US market, as well as some serious travel plans.

Elektro: You are about to perform your first US show, how do you feel?
Example: I’m very excited. The weird thing is I first came to the US when I was 5 and I’m now 29. It’s like my 15th time in NY and I’m finally doing a show, so even though I never get nervous before shows, I'm kind of nervous this time because it’s my first US show and everyone’s like, “You gotta break the US!” ya know, so it puts you under pressure.

What do you expect to be different in US audience?
I don’t know man.  I was in LA recently, and I went to watch Skrillex a few times and Swedish House Mafia, and I saw the crowds react kinda the same as UK. So I’m hoping its just lots of energy, bouncing and you know, pure craziness!

How did you connect with Ludacris for the "Changed The Way You Kiss Me" remix?
I was just chatting to my record label and they said, 'look it’s a big record already, but we just wanna instantly get you on radio and help you to connect to the bigger market.' Quite frankly you  have to come here and educate them [Americans]. They said the easiest way to do that is to get a big rapper on it and they said who would you like? And I said the obvious guy who sounds great on dance records is Ludacris.  You know Luda helped break Taio Cruz, and he gave Bieber an edge to his record. He sounds great on every kind of music, whether it’s really poppy, underground, or dance records, his voice is so distinctive, it suits everything. This is a massive step for me!

What artists inspire you?
I’m lucky enough to have worked with some of the biggest names in EDM, like Nero, Skream, Laidback Luke and Dirty South. These are all people who’ve produced songs for me, so I’m inspired by their sounds just by being in the studio with them.

If you could collaborate with any artist right now who would it be?
I’d love to get a call from Jay-Z and have him say would you like a to sing a chorus on my new album... you can only dream! I’m really into my rock producers. I’d love to work with Rick Rubin; he’s made some amazing rock and hip-hop albums he’s one of my all-time favorites.

Describe your sound.
I like to go to people with a brief.  My new album is gonna be like old-school rave, big synth riffs, the lyrics are gonna be uplifting, but quite emotional. Most of my songs are quite depressing. The lyrics are about relationships, breakups, giving into temptation or addiction, partying whatever. All these things that both young people and gown-ups deal with on a daily basis. It’s kind of melancholic/bittersweet/emotional because  most dance music is so happy and like 'just get on the floor, we gonna party tonight,' and I don’t wanna make that music. So I listen to a lot of grunge and rock bands, and that’s where my inspiration comes from. It’s nice to be in a club and hearing music about partying because it suits the club, but for a lot of people that’s not really their real life because it’s so many levels above everyone else. I like to talk about what I know, what I know is emotional stuff, like real life, and real life isn’t always easy and perfect and fun. It’s quite sad, so if you can make some sad music but uplifting then that’s the key. I listen back to Nirvana and Pearl Jam-- those guys talked about some really deep shit, but somehow it didn’t make you sad, it was uplifting and that’s what I’m trying to do.

What’s next on the agenda for Example?
I go back to the UK, and I’m doing an arena (20,000 people a night) tour. Over the summer I’ve got about 50 festivals across Europe and England, and I'm going to Ibiza about 15 times, which is a massive part of dance music scene. Towards the end of the year I have a full US tour comprised of 20 dates; all the major cities and Canada. Then Australia again, South Africa, China Japan, Thailand... I’m basically gonna spend most of this year on airplanes and in hotels, I’ve only been in my flat in London like two weeks this year.

Images By Cliff Cooper.