Over the past year or so, London musician Jay Brown (under the moniker Amaroun) has been unreeling a story of identity, sexuality, love and self-acceptance through a series of stylistically varying songs with their routes in shoegaze and dream-pop. Here at The Most Radicalist, our List Picks have been ‘Made A Fire’, a lively track that depicts the so-called aftermath of Brown’s coming out, and ‘Indecisive’, a more soulful ballad-style song that celebrates the joy, pain and confusion of falling in love.

While this narrative has still not reached a concluding chapter, we’ve decided to jump in halfway to ask Amaroun some questions about this personal project and what else is to come.

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TMR: You recently released ‘Indecisive’, the third single that portrays your emotions, conflicts, courage and experience of coming out. Is there a sense of relief with completing the story via song?

There’s always a sense of relief when I write a song, but the story is definitely not complete: every song is another page added to my diary. I’m channeling every experience I have into my music, and somewhere in the middle of it all I guess I might find some sort of truth. It’s too soon to see it right now, though.

TMR: ‘Indecisive’ was markedly different to the previous two tracks, as a much slower-paced, soulful ballad. Do you often experiment with genre boundaries and styles?

I’m influenced by a lot of different genres, from metal to electronic music, but growing up I definitely loved those amazing epic 90’s pop ballads. I could reminisce all day about singing in front of the TV with my brothers and sisters to ‘Gone’ by N-Sync and ‘Aerials’ by System of a Down. I ignore genre and I’m a sucker for a catchy melody: if it resonates with me when I sing it then you can count me in!

TMR: Before that, we heard ‘Made A Fire’, a real catchy, shoegaze-laced number reflecting the “clarity in the thrill of meeting someone new”. Can you tell us a little more about your mindset, feeling and impetus for writing this song?

I’m a person of many moods and my songs reflect that. The truth is that song didn’t really reflect the mindset I had at the time, because I actually wasn’t in the best of places. I’ve said previously in interviews that ‘Made A Fire’ is about that moment of connection when you meet someone new, but when I wrote it I hadn’t even connected with that person yet. The song came out of this one moment in Peckham when my mate and I gave each other the task of visualising a few basic things we wanted, and then spoke them into life. We even gave ourselves a time limit for them to happen. ‘Made A Fire’ is me deciding to be happy and allowing myself to be open to connection. Which in turn allowed love to come in and changed my whole life.

TMR: You described ‘Made A Fire’ as continuing the narrative from ‘Bed Bugs’, can you describe the moment that sparked this song?

I’d be lying if I could tell you the exact moment, but I was somewhere buried away in a bedroom clawing my way out of sadness. The emo is rife in me!



TMR: Speaking of songwriting, how and when did you first become interested in music?

Music has been a constant in my life. I started writing poetry as a teenager, and I was one of those kids that kept a daily diary. It was compulsory at my school to learn an instrument and my family is quite musical, and most conversations with my friends revolved around either music or football. Church must have had an effect to – all the singing and music I heard there growing up in a religious British Caribbean family - so it was probably inevitable that I’d start expressing myself through music. I was encouraged to play the piano, then discovered the guitar and started a band and the rest is history. I’ve (hopefully) been evolving like a Pokémon ever since. Level uppp!

TMR: Has your life in London, and in particularly Peckham, influenced your music in any way?

Definitely! London’s a training ground: playing to empty rooms, slow handclaps at the ends of songs, and no-one dares to pay a musician! Aside from the negatives, it’s fast paced, competitive (so you’re always growing) and there’s so many amazing people and influences flying at you. I’ve been pretty lucky in London, I’ve always received support and continue to do so. I’m thankful for that. You can’t continue without it. I love South London, and Peckham specifically, because It was the most at home I’ve felt in London. I really loved the people I was with and the space I had. It allowed me to escape into my music world. I’m moving around at the moment being a nomad and touring the UK and Europe opening for Laura Veirs, but my heart is in South.

TMR: Comparative to times past, race is increasingly transcending genre (although there are still some major correlations between certain backgrounds and types of music). Would you agree? And if so, do you feel a part of this development?

Race for sure transcends genre. Jimi Hendrix is a good example of this: he didn’t make ‘black music’, he made rock music. And I don’t think any artist goes into the creative process thinking ‘What music SHOULD I be making?” – we all carry our cultural history and influences with us, but it’s how you distil those down and what else you feed into the mix that makes you stand out. I love being a magpie. But yeah, we do still live in a society that feeds on stereotypes and there are still subtle pre-conceptions surrounding a person’s race to do with what they might sound like, or indeed look like. On many occasions I’ve been asked what sort of music I make: R’n’B or hip-hop? It can be annoying but I think in general things are changing. All I know is I’ve never made music based on my race or my culture. My music is based simply on what I like. I don’t want to be boxed in or classified: I just wanna create.



TMR: Your fans will have most likely listened to ‘Fear’ that you released a year ago, and so, does that also fit into the current narrative or is it a standalone?

The themes in ‘Fear’ are heavily ingrained in the narrative of all the other songs. I find that somehow the DNA of my writing gets woven all together. These songs are universal to me, so their themes often replicate and repeat. ‘Fear’ is about me pushing through the huge fear and stress of coming out, and moving on from a situation that was hard to get away from.

TMR: Looking ahead, your year is full of live shows and festivals, are you much of a gig goer yourself? If so, what was the best performance you’ve seen so far in 2018?

Last summer I went to so many festivals that I almost burned out! I tend to go to more electronic festivals. I love going to shows and I go when I can, but most of the time I’m shut away in my room writing. Favourite performance: I was on the same bill as my friends Charles Watson (Slow Club) and Benin City recently for Huw Stephens/Moshi Moshi Records – they’re all amazing creative people and their sets that night were so inspirational.

TMR: Aside from many gigs, what else does Amaroun have in store for fans in the coming months?

I’m excited to collaborate with some amazing artists for an EP I’m going to be putting out later in the year – I might have mentioned some of them above ;) -and I’m eager to get some new tracks out! We’re recording songs at the moment. And we’re also planning another headline show in London for the end of the summer, so keep your eyes peeled for that. We work with Communion on those shows and they’re such fun.



Catch Amaroun on tour this year and keep your eyes peeled for new music!

-Hannah Thacker