We love hearing songs that transport us somewhere new and exciting. So on a blustery winter day like today, we're delighted to introduce new London artist Jonathan Jeremiah. His most recent single 'Happiness' combines content soulful vocals with a hint of Balearic guitar that transports us straight to the Ibiza coastlines and gets us dreaming of summer. We caught up with him to say hello.
Hello Jonathan. You're a London boy, whereabouts do you call home?
I was born and raised in Wembley, North West London just two streets away from the stadium. As a kid you could sit out in the garden and listen to the stadium rock or if England were playing you knew when they'd scored by the amazingly loud jubilations.
Have you always stayed in the capital?
A few years ago I went to live in New York and got a job playing piano in a hotel in mid town. I felt nostalgic towards London having lived there my whole life and so decided to come back and produce my music back home.
What London location has been the most significant in your life so far?
The recording studio in Dollis Hill is probably the most significant location in London for me. I'm always in there. There used to be a small fish market every morning on Church Street and the studio was tucked in behind it. The smell of prawns and crab sticks was enough to put you off your lyrics. Thankfully the market moved location and I was able to open the studio windows for the very first time.
Nice! Anywhere a bit less fishy you like to play?
I recently played a short acoustic set at the Royal Albert Hall which has to be my favourite place to play. The changing room alone was bigger than my flat and had an original Renaissance art hanging in it.
That sounds pretty grand. Is there anywhere unusual you'd transform into a venue?
The Cutty Sark docked down at Greenwich would be a great venue. The show would start with a twelve canon salute and take us down the Thames towards the South Bank. Just imagine the acoustics down in that hull.
I think that's probably the best answer we've ever been given! Well done. What about somewhere a bit more grubby - have you ever busked?
Busking seems a little too gruesome an experience for me. Passers by only get to hear about four words and three chords before they've walked off. I generally require at least 8 words and seven chords changes before an audience start throwing cash at me.
Shall we look out for those chord changes in 2010 then?
My debut album will be out in Spring 2010 so expect a lot of live shows around town and beyond. I'll be playing the Wimbledon Watershed on Sunday and then Broadway Market's Cat & Mutton every Monday until Christmas.
What's your favourite clubnight in town?
The club I've always gone along to is Tapestry at St. Aloysius. All the guys look as hairy as Wookies which is a sight for anyone.
What other new London bands / artists should we be checking out?
I went to see She Keeps Bees a little while ago and they'll be ones to watch out for. Enjoying Wolf People too.
And finally what's your London secret?
The Royal Oak on Columbia Road in Hackney is a lovely cosy little pub especially on winter evenings. I also really enjoy walking Lilly, my dog down, around the Lea Valley canals as the building site for the Olympics is really changing the landscape and I like the sense of evolution. It's feels surprisingly lonely around there. If I'm after late and loud I'll go down to the Ye Olde Axe and listen to Andy Weatherall DJing and dodge the strippers.
