Interview
Interview
simon a. “We’re going to go so crazy I can’t even overstate it”
Rising star simon a. talks inspirations, tie patterns, and rewriting the rules of emotional storytelling
If you’ve been paying attention to London’s independent music scene, chances are you’ve already felt the quiet impact of simon a. – a genre-blurring artist whose work sits somewhere between R&B, hip-hop, soul, and indie, but never quite settles. His sound is fluid, emotionally rich, and unmistakably his own, drawing inspiration from artists like Sampha, Tyler the Creator, and James Blake, while carving out a lane that’s refreshingly distinct.
simon a.’s most recent album the show was supported by Youth Music and earned him nominations at the 2025 Youth Music Awards for both Best Original Track (FERMI) and Best Music Video (Taxidermy). The project was celebrated with a sold-out headline release show at Next Door Records 2. Earlier this year, he pushed boundaries even further with I CAN’T SELL THIS, a visual rap mixtape released entirely outside of streaming platforms; the accompanying short film featured 13 original music videos.
Live, simon a. has built a reputation for intimate, emotionally resonant performances, from major festivals like All Points East and Tramlines. His name has appeared in NME, GUAP, Notion, and Wordplay, and his last EP premiered on COLORSxSTUDIOS. He gas been long-listed for Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition and named by Youth Music as one of their official Ones to Watch.
Now entering a new phase of his sound, simon is leaning further into R&B, with upcoming singles set to release in early 2026. Whether through visual mixtapes, shows, or emotionally layered songwriting, simon a. is an artist who invites you to feel deeply, and pay close attention.
We caught up with simon ahead of his performance at LARMES to talk process, vulnerability, and what’s coming next.
Love your visual mixtape I CAN’T SELL THIS. What was the creative process in bringing that to life?
Well, the project is not on streaming, by definition. However, we’ve still got to get this project in front of people somehow, so we decided to make it a fully visual project to give it another “selling point”. This was a huge collaborative effort by six directors (each with an open brief), talent, crew members and everyone involved to make 13 videos that flow from one to the next… And a lot of editing for me!
The clue is in the title, and your thought-provoking lyrics go even deeper. What inspired the decision to release this body of work for free?
The idea came from wanting to rap over my friend DBlaxx’s beats, and those beats have a lot of samples so I quickly realised the logistics of trying to get it on streaming, but I leaned into the idea of making it “unsellable” and made it the topic of discussion in the project itself. It became a broader discussion on the value of art, and how it’s not easy to just give art a price, especially in the streaming era. I wrote in the description of the tape: I’m giving it for free, not because that’s what I think it’s worth, but because money is not the factor I’m using to judge the value of this particular piece. You’ll derive your own value from it, and that is what I love the most about art.
Don’t think I missed that excellent tie collection! Do you have a favourite, and where did you find it?
Ah it really depends on the fit tbh! I’d say the one I’m linking the most right now is the one I’m wearing in the visual mixtape 10-and-a-half minutes in when I wave up on the sofa. Red, with some nice ornate patterns.
We work in an industry obsessed with perfection, but let’s talk about the oopsies too. Can you share a moment when something didn’t go quite as planned, on stage or off.
Man, I’ve got loads of those! Songs not starting right, messing up lyrics. One time, I was on stage, and the cable literally just fell out of the microphone while I was singing. Insanity! One song off the tape, ‘Imposter…’ is actually just a raw look at a moment in time where my self-esteem as an artist was incredibly low. Luckily my perspective on things changed slightly from looking for the value I’d bring to thinking how much value I get, and making music, rapping and singing brought me life.
You have a lyric: ‘I like to sing as I know it is an antidepressant’, what is your go-to song to sing or listen to when you’re having one of those days?
It really depends on what kind of mood I want to put myself into. If I wanna get hyped, I’ll put on Elizabeth by Westside Gunn, that’s one of my favourite songs ever, I don’t know what it is, but it gives me so much power. To calm myself down, I’ll put on a song like Suspirium by Thom Yorke, it’s so entrancing.
What is next in the world of simon a.? What are you most looking forward to?
Speaking of singing, I’ll be back to doing a bit more of that. I’m kind of going in a little bit more of an R&B direction, so expect some bangers. I’m just super excited about it all to be honest! The great songs, the exciting collabs, the new era! We’re going to go so crazy I can’t even overstate it.
