Today, London-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and performer Alfie Templeman teams up with the legendary Nile Rodgers for ‘Just A Dance’, the final preview of his forthcoming new album Radiosoul - out this Friday, 7th June via Chess Club Records / AWAL Recordings.
Speaking about his experience working with Nile, Alfie says: “Nobody does rhythm guitar like Nile Rodgers; his music has been a massive part of my life. I went to Miami to put this one together with the man himself and learned so much about his process and how he writes hooks that never escape your head. Nile is obviously the king of all things ‘Dance,’ so to do this one with him feels like a badge of honour, a stamp of approval to join the list. The song came about thanks in part to Bowie. We got to talking about him and his album ‘Let’s Dance’ and how the title track on the surface was all about getting people moving for a while, though the song was actually about covering up your feelings. ‘Just A Dance’ became such a nice, short song full of energy with such a simple message. Just enjoy the now for a while, everything will be alright. It’s all just a dance.”
On working with Alfie, Nile Rodgers said: “I love this new song ‘Just A Dance’ that I wrote and produced with Alfie Templeman. He’s such a fresh and exciting guitarist and songwriter and I love working with him. He came to see me in Miami and brought the heat!”
Radiosoul is an ambitious suite of tracks that showcase a bold new acid-pop direction for the Bedfordshire-born polymath. The record features production from Templeman as well as Nile Rodgers, Dan Carey, Karma Kid, Oscar Scheller, Will Bloomfield, Justin Young, Josh Scarbrow and Charlie J Perry. It is an album of self-discovery, one that zips between genres at whim and showcases a newfound incisiveness and acerbic humour to Templeman’s lyricism, whilst retaining the sense of joy that defined his previous releases. It is the work of a prodigiously talented songwriter truly coming into his own.
Templeman says, “In February 2023, I planned a small trip to the USA and fell back in love with recording music. I visited Nile Rodgers in Miami and Oscar Scheller in LA, then came back and hung out with a bunch of amazing producers in South London: Charlie Perry, Karma Kid, Dan Carey, Will Bloomfield and Josh Scarbrow. During the next 5 months we’d make my next album together. I’d go home and craft songs; taking from ideas I had dating all the way back to 2017. Then we’d meet up and make things spontaneously. There’s an exciting energy that gets captured when you don’t know what’s coming next.
Every song is intentionally different from the last. It’s about the weird and the wonderful, the big, bright, bursting moments and the quiet, raw, reflective moments. Back when I started out, what really excited me was using music as a way of documenting my life. Each EP felt like a little diary entry, taking the last half a year of my life condensed into a few songs. This album really reminds me of that, but this time it looks back at my whole life. I finally feel a little more confident about fighting the darkness that will inevitably lurk around from time to time. This album is about turning 20: entering a new decade of your life and figuring out how you guided yourself to where you are now even if you don’t really know how.”
‘Just A Dance’, ft. Nile Rodgers follows the widely celebrated singles ‘Hello Lonely’, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ and ‘Beckham’ in asserting Templeman as one of UK indie’s most beloved multi-hyphenates. Introductory single ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ was named BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record In The World upon release, appeared on 27 Spotify New Music Friday and 47 Apple New Music Daily playlists around the globe and ushered in the new era of Alfie Templeman. Followup single “Hello Lonely” was also playlisted on BBC R1 as well as being included in dozens of Spotify playlists around the globe.
