Alfie Templeman wants listeners to go on a journey with his new album — and not bring their cellphones with them.
On Thursday, the London-based musician announced that he’ll release his LP Radiosoul, which includes a song featuring Nile Rodgers, on June 7. He also dropped the video for the album’s title track, inspired by the “profound impact of social media.”
With Radiosoul, Templeman hopes folks learn to “just enjoy the smaller things a bit more” when they’re listening to the album and “come off your phone for a bit and have a breather!”
“Every time I’m in public, I look out for how many people are there just staring blankly into their phones. We only get roughly 75 years on this bloody planet and more than half of it is likely going to end up being on the internet, which is sad,” he tells Rolling Stone. “‘The radio stays on but nobody listens’ represents the previous era of life that your parents would always rave about.”
“Back then, everyone was a bit more carefree and didn’t have to worry about quote retweets or getting soft-blocked,” he adds.
Radiosoul was a project of self-discovery for Templeman. Much of the inspiration from the record came during trip to the United States in early 2023, during which he made a stop in Miami to visit Nile Rodgers, who’s featured on the song “Just a Dance.”
“Everyone that I worked with brought a different atmosphere to the album. It’s unrestricted, and happy to go anywhere and everywhere,” Templeman says. “Nile Rodgers, who was a massive inspiration to my music, was exceptionally humble, wise and giving. A beautiful human to create with and learn from.”
Templeman described his album as “very erratic” with many inspirations: the guitar riff on “Beckham” was inspired by Stereolab’s “Diagonals,” “Hello Lonely” goes for “a blend of MGMT and Dua Lipa,” and “Eyes Wide Shut” was “all about Prince and Talking Heads mixing with a diary entry of mine.”
Radiosoul follows the release of Templeman’s album Mellow Moon, which he released in 2022. The LP featured songs such as “Broken,” “3D Feelings,” and “Colour Me Blue.”
Radiosoul Track List
1. “Radiosoul”
2. “Eyes Wide Shut”
3. “This Is Just The Beginning”
4. “Vultures”
5. “Drag”
6. “Hello Lonely”
7. “Just A Dance” feat. Nile Rodgers
8. “Submarine”
9. “Beckham”
10. “Switch”
11. “Run To Tomorrow”