British-Nigerian avant-pop producer Tony Njoku's prolific and consistently excellent output has been an innovative force in South London's underground electronic scene for a while now. Daringly walking the lines between musical genres and soundscapes, his seemingly limitless palette of influences has resulted in 3 immersive albums, In Greyscale, H.P.A.C and YOUR PYSCHE'S RAINBOW PANORAMA respectively. Picking up praise from tastemakers Giles Peterson, Tom Ravenscroft, and Huw Stephens towards the end of last year Njoku continues to strike while the iron's hot with the arrival of his brand new EP JUSTINE. Slightly less abstract in its approach than YOUR PYSCHE'S RAINBOW PANORAMA, JUSTINE deals with matters of the heart through Njoku's uniquely creative lens and we couldn't wait to find out more. 

[Photo by Jordan Woods]

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TMR: Your most recent album YOUR PSYCHE'S RAINBOW PANORAMA landed in October last year and your brand new EP JUSTINE landed a week ago. How long did it take you to write, record and mix the new EP?

I was writing the songs in bits from around the time YPRP came out last year. I think I had the foundation for all the songs done around December and finished it all in January. So about 3 months or so.

TMR: You mentioned at the time of its release that you collaborated with cellist Lucinda Chua on your stunning recent single '100% 4 Beauty'. How did this come about and do you regularly collaborate with other artists?

Well I met Lucinda a few years back, I forget exactly how we met but I recall I was (and still am) really into her work and I wanted to hang out + collab on things with her. I asked if she’d do some work on ‘100%’ and luckily she loved it and was gracious enough to do it. Collaborating is sadly something I haven’t done a lot of, I’m keen to now though, but I always get in my way. I fill up my recording schedule with so much of my new work, mixing jobs and remix jobs and once I start something it’s hard to let that time go to someone else.



TMR: If you could collaborate with anyone in the world (dead or alive), who would it be and why?

Right now in music probably Nils Frahm. His musical choices really resonate with me. There’s so much beauty and romance in the chords and sounds he uses. And his records always sound so plush and rich. I’d need to know how he gets stuff sounding so good.

TMR: One of the incredible things about your work is its ability to push the boundaries of what pop music can be. Could you tell us more about your songwriting process in general? 

My writing process changes quite frequently. I go through phases where most of the work I do happens before I enter a studio to record. Where I form ideas of what I want to talk about and what sounds I want to try out in my head before I go in and lay the ideas down. So that process is more purpose driven and I suppose more philosophical, but then some other times I take the writing process like a workout and so I just see how many reps I can do in a day. So like how many lyrics can I come up with or how many beats can I make in a day, just churning out ideas on the fly with no end goal in mind. And then I’d look back at everything I created over a period of time and start mixing ideas together to make what the audience hears eventually. So yeah it changes a lot, I find the former to be the superior method because, already having an idea of what I want helps me flesh out a full song with speed and ease.

Also I think that song-writing is a sort of problem solving exercise, where your instincts and your emotions give you an insight into whether or not you’re getting closer to solving that problem. So song-writing or music making in general could be seen as the mathematics of feelings. It is the abstract science of the human condition.

TMR: Were there any non-musical influences that shaped JUSTINE? 

Not really on this one. On ‘100%’ I made a kind of music lyric video artwork that was inspired by the artist Douglas Gordon. I reference his piece “24 Hour Psycho”. And on that track as well I reference Giovanni Bragolin’s ‘The Crying Boy’ painting series. That one has a legend about the paintings being cursed and I used that as a metaphor. So actually I guess I did have some non-musical influences that shaped JUSTINE.

TMR: Have you got a favourite instrument or piece of equipment at the moment, that you wouldn't mind telling us about?

I haven’t invested in any new hardware in a while, everything’s on the laptop at the moment. But in terms of my all time favourite instrument really nothing beats a well treated piano. I’m in awe of the Una Corda by David Clavins at the moment actually, Native instruments do a really good virtual version of that. It’s a brilliant piano!

TMR: Your production style is really fascinating, especially your use of effects and approach to vocals. When did you first become interested in that world?

That’s a good question, I’m not entirely sure but I guess it was a natural progression from when I started producing and playing around on music software around 12 years old. I really started producing out of necessity, I only wanted to write songs initially but didn’t have access to other producers to help flesh out my songs, so I started teaching myself and fell in love with it. I fell in love with sound design and embodying a future forward mind set; and having control of the entire recording process meant that I could experiment with all elements in the recording process and make producing and engineering more of an artistic endeavour.

TMR: Are there any particular producers or artists that you've learnt or drawn inspiration from?

Aphex Twin, Arca, Flylo, Bjork, Radiohead, Madlib, Nigel Godrich, Kanye, Nils Frahm, Justin Vernon, J Dilla the list could go on.

TMR: Do you have any advice for anyone that might be feeling daunted by the technical side of recording/producing/mixing their own music?

I really believe that the most important part of the entire recording process is the artist’s conviction. If you believe in the idea you have, be it one line of a lyric or a chord progress or a sample or just having an understanding of what you want to sound like, I really believe that having the conviction to see that idea through is what will get you through any technical hurdles you’d eventually face. Plus the internet literally has everything you’d need to know about all of those things. So best advice is to just get going!

TMR: Whilst performing to an audience feels like a far off prospect at the moment, have you thought about how to translate your new tunes to a live setting? 

I was playing very simplified versions of these songs before the lockdown. They still need a lot of work but I’m slowly getting them ready for live. Hopefully I’ll get to test them out in front of people before the year ends.

TMR: The primary purpose of TMR is to uncover and champion brand new music by emerging artists. Could you tip us off about anything you've been listening to that you think we should know about?

I love 404 Guild the last record Sonny and Eliot put out is nothing short of brilliant. I’m really into New World Ray as well. His voice is really unique and alluring. Kasien as well and Maison2500. I’ve been mainly listening to rap stuff so that’s why, and all these guys mentioned are doing great things in that space.

TMR: If you could recommend an environment for people to listen to your own music in what would it be?

Definitely on the move, preferably on a long train ride going through a beautiful country town. Something scenic like a train going past a large colourful mountain or going past a long pearly white beach.



TMR: Finally, can you tell us what you're working on at the moment and what your plans are for the next few months?

I’m keeping active with writing. I’m also doing some remixes for other artists. Also, I’m starting to work on a new live set for my tour with Ghostpoet later on this year. So yeah busy enough :)

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JUSTINE is out now via Silent Kid Records.

-Holly Mullineaux