19 year old breakout sensation Alfie Templeman has announced his joyous, heavily-anticipated debut album Mellow Moon – out 27 May on Chess Club Records/AWAL – and shared his brand new single & video “Broken”.
“Broken” also comes accompanied by a music video directed by Jack Turner and produced by Blood Films. Speaking about the new single, Templeman says: “It’s a bit of an anthem for people my age really, all the wobbles of being a teenager and figuring yourself out. It’s about realising that analysing yourself is an important part of growing up.”
Alfie Templeman will embark on a UK headline tour this spring – with support from labelmate Pixey – which includes long-since sold-out shows in Manchester, Bristol, Brighton, and his biggest UK show to date at the capital’s Shepherds Bush Empire. Tickets for all shows are available HERE.
When Alfie Templeman started to work on his long-awaited debut album in early 2020 he could never have predicted the turbulent path that lay ahead for both him personally and the rest of the world. Two years later and the young prodigy has emerged with Mellow Moon; an album that feels like something of a miracle, landing somewhere between an otherworldly trip and a joy-filled ode to life back on earth. As Templeman, himself, puts it; “It feels like I’m on a different planet. I’ve gone somewhere new and I’m discovering fire for the first time.”
Templeman began the earliest period of the pandemic shielding due to a respiratory issue first identified in childhood. Having found himself feeling “very low” he sought help and began taking antidepressants as he attempted to deal with his anxiety. Alfie hasn’t spoken much about his mental health in the past but felt that to ignore such a significant moment in his life, finally seeking help for the anxiety he’d contended with his whole life, would be hiding something of himself. “I think people assume that I’m this easy, outgoing person but there’s actually a lot more layers to me and this record shows that,” he says. “Writing songs like “Broken”, “Take Some Time Away” and “Mellow Moon” were like therapy. It was me asking “What’s wrong with me?” and “How am I going to get better?” Just figuring things out in real time. I had therapy but there were still things unresolved in my mind. So I turned to music for the answers.”
The result is an easily accessible comfort place. Across 14 tracks Templeman closes his eyes and imagines another world, one where he’s at ease and not distracted by life’s many challenges.
It was only by embracing honesty and moving past the fear of failure that one of the U.K.’s most exciting and distinctive new songwriters could move forwards. “I’m being really open for the first time about where I’m at mentally. Overcoming that felt life changing.” He was also able to call on regular collaborators Tom McFarland (Jungle), Justin Young (The Vaccines), Will Bloomfield, and Rob Milton.
Inspired by modern influences like Steve Lacy, Khruangbin and Leon Bridges, as well as Templeman’s constant cosmic guide Todd Rundgren, Mellow Moon flows with an ease that belies its difficult creation. Acting as both an intimate diary entry and a communal call to arms, Mellow Moon is Alfie’s most complete work to date and a platform from which he will surely use to propel himself further into the stratosphere. If ever proof were needed that music is a salvation or a transportive force, this is it.
See Alfie Templeman live in 2021/22:
Mar 2 | The Cluny, Newcastle* SOLD OUT
Mar 3 | Saint Luke’s, Glasgow*
Mar 4| Brudenell Social Club, Leeds* SOLD OUT
Mar 5 | Gorilla, Manchester* SOLD OUT
Mar 8 | Leadmill, Sheffield*
Mar 9 | Rescue Rooms, Nottingham* SOLD OUT
Mar 10 | O2 Institute, Birmingham*
Mar 11 | Thekla, Bristol* SOLD OUT
Mar 12 | Patterns, Brighton* SOLD OUT
Mar 16 | O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London*
Mar 18 | The Academy, Dublin*
Mar 24 | Le Pop Up!, Paris^
Mar 25 | YUCA, Cologne^
Mar 26 | Paradiso, Amsterdam
Mar 28 | Ancienne Belgique, Brussels^
Mar 29 | Molotow, Hamburg^
Mar 30 | Kantine am Berghain, Berlin^
Mar 31 | Kranhalle, Munich^
Apr 30 – May 1 | Sound City Festival, Liverpool
Jul 21 – 24 | Truck Festival, Steventon
Jul 28 – 31 | Kendal Calling Festival, Penrith
Jul 29 – 31 | Y Not Festival, Derbyshire
Aug 11 – 14 | 110 Above Festival, Atherstone
*with support from Pixey
^with support from Karin Ann