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Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with unsigned UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with unsigned London based singer Rookes to find out more…

Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’m from Birmingham, but I moved to London about 6 years ago. Music was always in the house growing up. Both my parents sing, my father was a percussionist, my mother a guitarist. I first sang on stage properly when I was with them, at the Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham when I was 10 years old, but it took me a long time to separate my music taste from theirs.

Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
I grew up with Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel, but also Seal, The Eurythmics, Genesis. Very melodic, fantastic voices, interesting hooks. In many ways they are my influences still. These days I love artists with a taste for innovation – Grimes, The 1975, St Vincent, Hot Chip, Carly Rae Jepsen, FKA Twigs. I circle back to Bowie and Prince often, and Elbow, Phoenix, Justice and Gaga have had huge impact on my imagination where production is concerned.

How would you describe your sound?
I used to call it weird pop. In view of my latest offering, I suppose you could call it earnest pop. I love big production arrangements, so you could also call it big pop. Maybe big, earnest pop.

What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My latest release is called “Liminal”. It’s a four song documentary of my romantic life across 2 years after I started dating on the London queer scene. I wanted to explore those phases of romantic interactions that seem to be at the tipping points; you’re neither together nor single, neither here nor there, but somewhere in between.

What’s your local music scene like?
Rife with experiment (it’s East London, after all). There are a lot of musicians here, it’s a bit of a melting pot.

What do you have planned for the next 12 months? Any albums or festivals?
I have three more smashing shows planned before Christmas (Berlin, Birmingham, Manchester) and we’re currently planning more for the new year. I’m also half way through writing and producing the next record – which I plan on being an LP – so I have my work cut out for me. In addition I am looking to foster new collaborations and play more gigs outside of the UK; I like to have many irons in the fire.

Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
I keep saying Matty Healy (of The 1975) but sadly I don’t think he’s reading or listening to my interviews.

Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
Of course! I cheerily threw two very rude hecklers out of my show just last night (oh, the joys of a roving mic) after they were asked twice to tone it down, but this is a better story: my first gig abroad was last April – a show in Berlin at a wonderful DIY festival. Berlin is a wonderful city, and Berliners are very good at repurposing spaces, so this festival was being held in a bar that was once the top floor of a factory. I was following Google maps with my gear on my back, and wondering where the hell I was going when it led me onto an industrial estate, but then I saw chalk arrows on the floor. As I approached the building, I could hear a rave going on in the factory opposite that had been raging for about 24 hours. I made it up to the bar and I barely knew three people there, so I nervously nursed my beer when it was handed to me. When it was my turn to play, it was a tough set technically speaking but I was looking forward to the final song because it was my new single. So, I cranked it up and lost myself in it, and some people started to dance. A couple of people from the rave next door snuck in and joined the crowd at the front. High as kites – they started dancing so violently while as I was apparently singing the climax of the song, the line “… and I’m finally walking away”, they had to be removed by security. I was completely oblivious – vibing to my own music – and missed the whole thing. I only found out about it when one of the organisers approached me afterwards to apologise for the whole debacle.

What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
That I love it when people connect with me. If you like what I’m doing, let me know.

You can find out more about Rookes via Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify, Twitter or YouTube.