Inspired by reggae and soul greats, Syron‘s soulful blend of R&B slow jams and 90s garage are causing quite a stir. Championed heavily by Mercury winner The xx and hailed as the freshest talent of the year by 1xtra, the South East Londoner’s quickly becoming the name on everyone’s lips. Wonderland grab a mixtape off her and sit down for a chat.

Syron, please – introduce yourself.

I’m Syron. I’m a 19 year old singer-songwriter born and bread in south east London, who makes soulful garage/house and r&b inspired music.

You have a very soulful voice. What kind of music were you listening to whilst you were growing up?

I listened to lots of R&B and hip-hop when I was really young. I’ve always listen to bashment, dancehall, reggae and soul and as I got older I started listening to house and garage. All of these genres have influenced me in one way or another.

Was it a natural progression to head towards to soulful future garage sound that you have created?

Yeah, definitely. I just want to make music that reflects all of the music I listen to. It’s not all garage though! I think people will be surprised when they hear some more tracks.

You’ve been championed by Mercury Prize winners The xx. Are you at all concerned about living up to the industry ‘hype’?

No not all all, its great that everyone’s been so

supportive but I’m having fun at the moment and just doing what I enjoy, so I don’t feel too much pressure for now. I’m just enjoying everything and making as much music as possible!

What can we expect from your live shows?

I love performing live. It’s pretty low key at the moment – just me and my DJ who mixes all my songs live while I perform. We have loads of fun on stage together and it’s great to see everyone dancing and getting involved.

You’ve got a pretty distinctive look – how fashion-conscious are you?

I wouldn’t say I’m fashion conscious but I’d say I’m style conscious. I try not to take anything too seriously!

What are your favourite brands? What can we see Syron reppin’?

My favourite brands to wear are, Nike, Meat, Bitching and Junkfood and Bolshie.

You’ve said you’re influenced by females such as Sade and Tanya Stephens, can we expect your full-length LP to sound very diverse in style?

I think spring will be when the album will be out. The album will be diverse but it’ll definitely have common threads between songs. I want it to be like a journey. I’ve been working with some amazing people on the album, including, Hackman, MJ Cole, TCTS, Great Skies, Wookie and Huxley. They’ve all been great to work with. At the moment I’ve just been making loads of tracks, so that the album is just natural and not just made because it’s time for it to come out.

Here is released by Ministry of Sound / Black Butter on March 15th. syronofficial.tumblr.com

Words: Shane Hawkins