If Tom Tripp isn’t on your radar, he should be. Since releasing a demo of his single “Aurelia” on Soundcloud last year, he has amassed over 80,000 streams, grabbing the attention of NAO who heard the track, loved it, and asked to release it via her record label, Little Tokyo. If this unmixed version is anything to go by, he is destined for some incredible things. We managed to catch up with Tripp as he headed to LA to talk about the single and how he got into music.

What kind of music did you listen to growing up?

Growing up I listened to a lot of Grime. That’s what was being played all day on my block and all day in my school. On the side of that I was really into the RnB pop hits coming from the Timberland era. When I got into my late teens I got more into electronic music.

You taught yourself music production using Fruity Loops. What made you become interested in music production?

I got involved in music production because I found as a young kid that whenever I’d listen to music, I was always drawn to the melody and instrumentation of a song. I’d almost block out the lyrics and specifically try and figure out what synths and sounds were being played. Again Grime played a key part in this because a lot of the beats were orchestral based with violins, strings and brasses. This was the music that got me excited and it always brought out an emotional response in me. So I set out to try and replicate the music I was hearing to evoke the same response.

Being Nigerian and based on Caledonian Road, North London, how have the two cultures influenced your music?

Being from Cally road hasn’t had a direct influence on my music. Mostly because there aren’t many other musicians from here. Not that I know of anyway. But what it has done is add a bit of rawness to the way I approach my songs because of the amount of time I spent on the blocks when I was younger, and the stuff that still goes on ‘til this day. I’m trying to push Cally road because nobody really knows where it is. It’s kind of a dead road. And if you look it up it’s got a bad rep for stabbings and gangs. So I’m trying to bring a positive outlook to it and change the way people look at it. Being Nigerian means that my parents have blessed me with an amazing archive of great cultured music that I’ve sprinkled and sampled though a lot of my own music.

Tell us a bit about your track “Aurelia”.

Last July I was up one night going through music on Spotify when “Adore You” by NAO came on. During the middle 8 there was a chord change that struck a song idea in my head immediately. So I opened up Ableton and made the beat in about 2 hours, hummed the vocal parts in and went to sleep. Woke up the next morning and recorded the actual words. I sat on the track for a while because I’ve never really sung on a song before so it was basically my first time actually trying to sing. And I’m not the biggest fan of my voice. 4 months later I got tired of sitting on demos so I drank a bottle of red wine and uploaded the song around 4am.

It was picked up by NAO and released on her label Little Tokyo Recordings. How does it feel to have such an acclaimed R&B star loving your work?

Having NAO pick up the track was sick because she makes great music and she was the main influence of the track originally so its mad that she was the one to actually want to release it.

You recorded “Aurelia” using bedroom equipment. Can you tell us a little bit about your songwriting and recording process?

I get inspired by a bunch of things whether it be a song I hear in a bar or a movie soundtrack. I’m constantly Shazzaming. If I do get an idea and I’m not with my computer then I sing rough melodies into my phone then when I’m in my room I open Ableton, lay down the idea and just go with it. A lot of them never really turn into anything but the there are always a few ideas that end up developing into something dope.

It is an amazing song, completely self-produced and still unmixed. How has it felt getting such an overwhelmingly positive reaction to it?

The response has been crazy so far. I’m just happy that people are really feeling the music despite not knowing much about me. That’s what it’s about. Making people feel something. I feel blessed for all the support and love people have been showing. All from a demo I wasn’t even sure about. It’s mad.

What have you got lined up next for 2017?

For 2017 I’m just gonna continue moving the same way. Laying low and letting the music talk. I’m gassed to drop some of the new shit I’ve been working on.