Note: Interview by Mitchell Kreitzman
Imagine combining the soulful crooning of John Legend, the sexual swagger of Rihanna and the raw magnetism of Prince, and you get none other than Milwaukee’s Lex Allen. A member of the rising collective New Age Narcissism, Allen has been wowing Midwest crowds for years now with his neo soul style. His pure energy on stage and relatable, humble personality have made him a fan favorite throughout brew city. He has even started to get national recognition as a pop artist, with his latest track “Cream and Sugar” being featured in Afropunk. I got the chance to sit down with Lex and talk with him about his life and career.
MK: What kind of music would you say influenced you the most as an artist?
LA: I gravitated a lot towards pop music like any other teenager, I loved mainstream music. But I got more into the more underground music scene as I got older. But growing up, pop was a very big part of it, like I did routines to old school NSYNC and Backstreet Boys in my bedroom. But I would say I have a lot of different influences, I love to dabble.
MK: Would you say that your influences are pretty distinct in your music, or do you try to stay as separate and unique as you can?
LA: I kind of mix and mold it to my own sound. Like everybody is at least a little influenced by whatever they’re listening to at the time. So I’d like to think that people could hear my love for Whitney and Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. I’m a sponge, I’m constantly inserting my influences.
MK: How did you first get into making music?
LA: I used to be in choir, and I would do small features for different hip hop artists around the city when I was in high school. And then one day when I was 19 I was sitting in my house with my brother and I made this song called “Sorry”, and that song was a HIT! It was way before its time, I think it’s still on my YouTube. So I just recorded the song on a whim and it got good reception.
MK: When did you first meet the other members of NAN and start to collaborate?
LA: It was actually pretty scattered. A friend had showed me footage from the video for “Desperate Youth,” and I knew I wanted to collaborate with him. From there, it felt like everything was happening really quickly. We got together and recorded “Renaissance,” and from then on we knew we wanted to do more. Then I did “Chill on the Hill” with what was Fresh Cut Collective at the time, and I when I met all the guys they said that they saw me perform and that just felt amazing, which is where I met Kiran and Chris. I met Lorde Fredd33 at Locust Fest that year and everybody tore up that stage. From there it all blew up, and I met Bo and Jay and it honestly feels like we’ve all known each other for so long now, even though it’s only been a couple years.
MK: What do you think makes NAN so special as a group?
LA: Everyone understands their own individuality, and once you understand that you can add to someone else’s life and a whole collective perfectly. If you’re not balanced, if your mind isn’t right, then you fuck up a flow, and everyone knows and respects that, no one hides shit from each other.
MK: Tell me about the process of making “Cream and Sugar,” the song and the video?
LA: I was driving with a friend and he said, “Brown sugar is kind of like cream and sugar all in one,” and the hook just came to me right then and there, I saved the voice memo and sent it to Q, and he played a piano riff for it, and it just compiled from there. Bo put in the bass line, which is sick as fuck. Once we were done recording vocals, Web wanted to jump on so he just wrote a verse right there and recorded it. From there, we ended up at Wire and Vice, run by Daniel Holter. I felt so comfortable in that studio, he makes you feel like royalty there. When I heard he recorded with Rihanna I was really feeling myself. He just really made the song come together and just made the vibe feel so sexy. The mood was just right, everybody was there supporting each other. For the music video, I always knew I wanted a “breakfast in bed” sexual type scene where I just felt open and myself. It was how I felt and I wanted to show that side of me and be as transparent as possible. The whole video is about being accepted for all sides of yourself, and not being shunned for it. Lyrically, I think I want to leave it up for interpretation. Like you can explore, you can love and give equally and be genuine. There’s innocence in there, with the naughty side.
MK: I know this isn’t a very fun question but I’m always curious to hear the answer. How would you best describe your sound? I’ve noticed people really don’t like categorizing themselves.
LA: I consider myself to be in the realm of soul pop. The soul part allows me a lot of experimentation because of jazz and blues and everything else, but yet I’m still taking elements of the current world of pop. I would say that’s me, but really I’m all about freedom of expression and being a free spirit and letting go of the labels and constrictions that stop you from being your true self.
MK: So what can you tell me about your new single “The Wanderer”?
LA: It’ll be released on Tuesday, May 17. It’s produced by Josh Napert, and mixed at Wire and Vice by Daniel Holter. The song is loosely inspired by Sabrina the Teenage Witch, like most things in my life, but I was more so inspired when writing by recent events that have been going on in my life. This is easily one of my most personal songs, it’s a much needed release in my life. The song is all about losing a part of yourself through the .loss of someone close to you, and feeling like a nomad, dealing with the fear and anxiety of that. It’s for every lost soul in search of themselves, who just want to be saved and want to know it’ll be ok. “The Wanderer” is just the beginning, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.
As Lex said, “The Wanderer” will be released on Tuesday, May 27 on Spotify, SoundCloud, BandCamp and iTunes. His music can be found on his SoundCloud page, and his videos can be found on his YouTube page.
Photo credit: Cody LaPlant, Amanda Mills
