Hailing from London, by way of Manchester, Daley has emerged on the music scene with a sultry falsetto that is primed to leave a lasting impression on soul music. His latest single “Alone Together,” featuring fellow UK artist Marsha Ambrosius, is a testament to the delicately sexy ambiance that Daley creates with his voice. If you have heard any of his covers, then you’ve been privy to that experience. ESSENCE.com caught up with the Mancunian to see what’s now, what’s new and what’s next.
Who are some of your musical influences? Donny Hathaway definitely. He’s one of the most amazing voices to ever have existed. I also take a lot from Prince. Prince was the first artist that I really connected to. I felt like I saw his creative vision and the way that he makes music. I’m an R&B fan as well. The R&B that came out in the late ’90s and early 2000s was great. I used to listen to it a lot to when I was a kid. I was a big Usher fan. I also love a lot of soul music and neo-soul from the late 90s. There is also the British side which is slightly more experimental and different. Radiohead is an amazing band who is sonically amazing. Imogen Heap as well. I’m influenced by very interesting and quirky music. There’s also the whole British soul music movement from the early ’90s music like Mica Paris, Terrence Trent D’Arby and George Michael.
Tell us about your debut album, tentatively titled Days and Nights. Are you close to completing it? It’s nearly done and has been a while in the making. There’s no specific release date, but it’s probably going to be out January of 2013. Before the album comes out, there’s going to be an EP called The Alone Together EP which will have six new songs on it. That will be out on October 9th. It also has the next single, “Blame the World.” I’m really excited about that song. I’m really trying to refine my album and get the sound right. The songs are done and I’m really happy with the kinds of song I have, but I’m just trying to get the overall sound exactly how I want it. I think when people think of blue-eyed-soul, a term that gets thrown around a lot, or soul music in general, they think of a certain thing. While I want to give people what they want, I don’t want them to think they already know what it’s going to sound like. I’m just trying to pull from all the influences I have and things that interest me sonically.
If you had to describe your sound in three words, what would they be? Future throwback soul.
If you could work with anyone dead or alive, who would it be? I would say Prince would be the ultimate one! Even if he just played a bit of guitar in the background. Anything! Recently I’ve been watching some live performances of Freddy Mercury (of Queen). I never really knew their music before recently, but he’s a phenomenal musician. He would have been great to work with. There are so many people in The States as well. I’d would really love to do something with Jill because I think she’s just…the one.
She’s on our September cover looking gorgeous! Oh yeah! She was in London about a month ago and she did two shows at the beautiful Somerset House where I supported her. She’s also brought me on stage for one of the skits that she does during her live shows in between songs. It was hilarious! After the show, I got to meet her and she was just wonderful. I was really nervous meeting Jill because she’s someone whose music I love, and when I really respect someone’s music that’s when I start to feel a bit self conscious. I always want to give the best impression. Jill was completely wonderful and she turned out to be completely human.
Check out Daley’s video, “Alone Together” and let us know what you think: