New Music: Alfie Templeman

Meet the hotly tipped Bedfordshire artist making righteous pop gems from his bedroom.

Ticketmaster New Music is a carefully curated selection, showcasing artists we are expecting to make waves in the live music scene. Working closely with record labels, live event promoters and talent agents, our in-house experts handpick the most exciting emerging music.

One of the biggest perks of being young is the absolute sense of fearlessness it gives you. You feel like you can give anything a go, and if you don’t like it or if it doesn’t work, you just shrug your shoulders and move onto the next thing.

At just 16 years old, Alfie Templeman is the embodiment of that youthful spirit; creating confident and brave songs from his bedroom.

His latest single, the floating Who I Am, is a hugely enjoyable slice of dream-pop that appears just as fun to write and record as it is to listen to. Here is an artist clearly making songs for the love of it, not simply chasing down a career.

The track is the latest to be taken from Alfie’s third EP Don’t Go Wasting My Time, which received glowing reviews from NME and DIY.

Alfie Templeman - Who I Am (Official Music Video)

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The EP also displays Alfie’s fearless propensity to experiment with new sounds and delves into his considerable influences, in particular his love of funk music. This is most apparent on the tracks Circles, Lean On My Shoulder and the must-hear Movies – an unabashed indie disco bop about dating.

Movies

Alfie grew up in the small village of Carlton, Bedfordshire, surrounded by instruments owned by his guitar-playing father and piano and trumpet-playing sister, sparking an early curiosity about music and how it’s made.

He began experimenting, and after teaching himself to use studio software at just 13 years old, the natural next step saw Alfie produce his own tracks.

His early demos piqued the interest of Chess Club Records (Sundara Karma, MØ), who went on to release his debut EP Like An Animal in 2018, with the musician – inspired by DIY heroes Mac Demarco and Kevin Parker – writing and recording everything himself.

Alfie then followed up the release with his second EP Sunday Morning Cereal in June 2019, and his latest EP Don’t Go Wasting Time in November.

Confidently carving his way as a performer, the multi-instrumentalist leads his own band live – taking on the role of frontman and guitarist – and throughout the past year has performed at festivals such as Reading and Leeds, Truck, Field Day and The Great Escape, with plenty more to come in 2020.