I seem to be posting so rarely now that each time I write something I feel the need to comment apologetically on how infrequent it is. So there it is. Now I can get back to the normal business of throwing as much flowery language as possible into a piece about a musician who has caught my attention recently.
This time the musician in question is Southend-based Alfie Firmin, who’s just about to release his excellent (I think) fourth album, This Time Around, on 16th August. I’ll be writing my thoughts on the album over on the vastly superior Dead Good Music in the next couple of weeks, but the short of it is I really, really like it and I’d recommend popping on a pair of headphones and giving it some of your time when it arrives in the world next week.
I came across Alfie’s music a good year or so ago with the release of his last LP, Absentee. That one was a gem too, with heavy shades of Beatles, ’70s singer-songwriters, and in places a similarity to the massively underrated Goon by Tobias Jesso Jr. Just one year later, its follow-up has raised the bar higher. As with the last album, you can expect ten sweet, concise, highly-melodic pop songs laced with acoustic guitars, piano, brass, and pedal steel, capped off with relaxed crisp lead vocals and beautiful harmonies.
With Two Keys – the album’s penultimate track and very much a highlight of the record – released yesterday, I thought now would be as good a time as any to throw a few questions at Alfie.
• ISY: Hi Alfie. I’ve been enjoying the album… and not just the songs themselves, but the overall sound and feel of it. It’s pretty immaculate in its production, which to me has some echoes of solo Beatles, Neil Young, Bowie’s Hunky Dory, as well as more recent stuff like Thom Yorke and Grizzly Bear (Two Keys in particular). It’s a bit of a rambling paragraph masquerading as a question really, but I’m curious as to how you’d describe both the album and your music in general?
AF: Thank you. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the album and appreciate the kind words about the production. I’m definitely inspired by the references you’ve touched upon there. Early ’70s singer-songwriter records have some of my favourite sounds on them and that’s definitely the sound and atmosphere I was aiming for when making the album.
I would describe my music in general as simply retro-leaning singer-songwriter music, I’ve heard people use the phrase ‘heritage revivalist’ to describe similar stuff before as well which I also think fits the bill. I mostly see what I do as just trying to express myself through an established format without much concern for trying to hide what I am inspired by, the song itself and how it comes across is really what I try to focus on the most.
• ISY: I like the space in the arrangements, and your songs have these lovely little parts that weave in and out without feeling like anything is taking over. With a song like Sentimental Doubt, there’s something quite odd about the chord progression that feels like it shouldn’t work but totally does… and there’s that really cool moment where the drums fall in. How do you tend to write? What’s the process you go through…
AF: Thank you for the kind words about the arrangements and Sentimental Doubt in particular. That song came from messing about on the piano and using alternate bass notes in the chords I was playing, I am a massive fan of Brian Wilson’s writing with The Beach Boys and I’m fascinated by the idea of using complex harmony in a pop song in a way that isn’t immediately obvious to the listener, I think Brian Wilson is the master of that.
In general, I tend to write on either the piano or acoustic guitar, I’ll come up with the chords first and then usually the melody and lyrics will emerge in tandem. Then I’ll make a skeletal demo at home and touch up any lyrics after the fact.
Once I’ve accrued enough songs it’s time to make a record! With this album, it was tracked in April 2023 at SS2 Recording Studios which is a great studio here in Southend. Me and my friend & fellow Southend-based singer-songwriter Ted Groves went in and recorded the bulk of what you hear on the album over two days with him playing drums and me on either piano or guitar. They have this really lovely 9ft grand piano at the studio which you can hear all over the record.
Once the basics were done we then layered the vocals, keys, and guitars. I then took the record back to my home studio where I recorded all of the bass parts, then a friend of mine and another brilliant Southend-based singer-songwriter M.G Boulter recorded all of the pedal steel you hear on the album and Bristol-based musician Dave Huntriss arranged and recorded the brass parts on Make It Right. Ted Groves arranged the backing vocals which were sung by Hannah Wengård, Ted & I. We were striving for some Wings-esque harmony vocals throughout the album, I am very grateful for their contributions as I feel they really elevate the arrangements in places, especially on Two Keys!
After a couple more days of mixing with engineer Rees Broomfield the record was done and mastered by Julian Tardo.
• ISY: I’m forever curious about why people do what they do when it comes to making stuff, and also what ‘success’ looks like?
AF: I’ve had the urge to write and play music for as long as I can remember really, I’ve been playing in bands and writing my own songs since I was around 12 years old and it’s a large part of how I express myself and relate to the world around me. I fell in love with recording when I was in college and haven’t looked back since, writing is very integral to my life and songs just kind of pile up as a by-product of me going about my day-to-day life.
Success for me is being able to continue to make music that I enjoy making and am excited about, community is also something that’s important to me and something that I’ve learned the value of as I’ve gotten older. I’ve generally found that not only the more people involved in the process the more fun it is but it usually makes the music much better too. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by lots of talented and like-minded individuals here in Southend such as Ted, Matt & Hannah as well as many more that are involved in the local music scene.
• ISY: You mentioned being interested in music, and interested in making music, since you were around twelve. I remember buying The Beatles’ Anthology 2 when I was around that age and becoming obsessed with the version of I Am the Walrus on there, without all the strings and overdubs. I should also say that I bought Oh Carolina by Shaggy around that time too, so I’m not sure what to make of it. What music really stuck with you, and if you had to give a list of three essential albums or songs that shaped you, what would they be?
AF: That’s fun. I was around that age when The Beatles discography became available on iTunes for the first time in 2009 and The Beatles Rock Band video game was released, it really got its hooks into me and kick started my fascination with the band. It’s hard to pick just one Beatles related album as I pretty much love it all and it’s all been very formative in one way or another. As you picked up on earlier their respective solo careers have had a large influence on what I do currently.
I’ve had my moments with all the big records from each of their solo catalogues (even Ringo), but I would say that RAM by Paul McCartney is the one that I return to the most these days. I love the atmosphere of that album and the sense of freedom and fun you can hear on it, plus the songs themselves are just really well written and performed, I love the harmony blend of Paul and Linda singing together.
Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson is another big one for me, it’s such a great album and Harry is an incredible writer and vocalist. I love all his records but this one is a north star for me in terms of production and arrangement. To me Nilsson’s music is proof that you don’t just have to either be a lone singer-songwriter or a fully produced studio project. You can explore both simultaneously, which is something I aspire to do in my own work.
Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson is another big one for me, it’s such a great album and Harry is an incredible writer and vocalist. I love all his records but this one is a north star for me in terms of production and arrangement. To me Nilsson’s music is proof that you don’t just have to either be a lone singer-songwriter or a fully produced studio project. You can explore both simultaneously, which is something I aspire to do in my own work.
Lastly, I’d have to say Wild Honey by The Beach Boys. Like a lot of people my teenage obsession with The Beatles eventually led me to The Beach Boys and Pet Sounds. I love that album and it’s one of the greats, however I’d say the records that came out afterwards in the late sixties and early seventies are what fascinate me most about the band. Wild Honey has such a specific mood to it, an earthy homespun feeling that always feels great to listen to, I often find myself referencing the sounds found on that album when making music, especially the upfront dry vocals and slightly out of tune upright piano.
• ISY: I love the artwork for the album. Same with the last one as well. In fact I first listened to one of your songs because I saw the Absentee cover and thought it was great. Is that something that’s important to you, and at what point do you start thinking about that?
AF: Thank you! The artwork is an important part of the process for me, a lot of my favourite records such as the ones mentioned above have such iconic covers and I am often drawn to albums with eye-catching art when searching for new music as well.
I try not to start thinking about a title or artwork until the music is completed, at which point the title usually comes first and the cover is then informed by that. For this record and the last one I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Chicago based illustrator Shaun Miller (@weatherpress on IG) who is extremely talented and always knocks it out of the park with any idea I come to him with.
• ISY: What’s next?
I’ve got a few shows lined up to promote the record and see things through until the end of the year, some of which have already been announced and some that will be soon including a return trip to play in Sweden in September which I am looking forward to.
After that it’s back to the drawing board and hopefully another record for next year!
I stood up & I said yeah 
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