1 day ago
2
London-based singer and songwriter Tyrell Trey is betting on himself—and you should, too.
In a sense, it really ought to be a given that an artist backs themselves, but that doesn’t mean the same thing in every case. It’s one thing to say you’re the best or even that you have a shot, it’s something else entirely to put your money where your mouth is and swing for the fences. In the case of Tyrell Trey, he doesn’t seem to have considered any other option. In fact, it’s not even his first shot.
Back in 2020, Trey was making his first tentative steps into the music industry, using all the lessons learned, connections made, and money earned to launch his career as a velvet-voiced R&B singer. It worked, too. He released a couple of well-received singles and things seemed to be going well. He was even looking at arranging some live shows. This was 2020, however, and you can probably work out how that went. Four years later, and he’s taken the time to calibrate and set up a much bigger opportunity for himself. In a way, that false start might have been a blessing in disguise.
The Tyrell Trey of 2024 has a much better plan and, by the sounds of it, a much bigger bank of songs ready to start drip-feeding us. In the time that’s past, Trey has used every available second of his time either in the recording studio, studying the careers of artists he admires or forging connections with the kind of collaborators who can make his dreams happen.
In his first comeback interview, Tyrell Trey tells us how he made the move from model to musician (via acting), how his mother’s love of turn-of-the-millennium UK garage influenced his sound, and the perspective and opportunity for growth that his hiatus offered him.
COMPLEX: The last time I wrote about you, it was in 2020 for TRENCH’s WHY I RATE series—what’s been going on since then?
Tyrell Trey: Essentially, I was with a manager called Kesh and a label called Ten. They were great. We had some great times but, obviously, I feel like it got to a point where I was wanting to push to higher heights, and I didn’t really have the backing from them that I’d hoped. To cut a long story short, I just departed from them, and I’ve got to a point where I just want to back myself completely, and so I’ve just decided to do it all on my own and just make things happen. I suppose it comes with growth and being a little bit more confident in what you’re doing. I’m just ready; I need to just push it properly now. So much has happened since 2020, in terms of modelling: I’ve been modelling a lot. That’s what took over because no one can do anything without money. That was where my bread was buttered: modelling. Music wasn’t really doing it, in that sense, but it takes for you to break away from your passion to actually circle back and really give you that perspective that, actually, no: this is where I’m meant to be.
You seem to have a new fire in your belly when it comes to music—it’s great to see. What have you got coming up, release-wise? What have you been working on?
I’ve got a three-track EP called The Price Of Love that was actually meant to be a summer release, but it’s being held in the vault for a little while. I’ve handled creative direction for the whole rollout; this is the first time I’ve done this by myself, with no help, so I feel like it’s very me. The first single is “Even If” and then there’s going to be a follow-up track called “I Got You”, which is a bit more playful. It's basically a three-track, UK garage-inspired project—it’s all going to be released as singles, and the third track will tie it all together. I’m still deciding how I’m going to do it because “I Got You” is a summer track, really. But I think what I want to do is maybe release the one that I was going to release last, second, and then release “I Got You” at the beginning of next year so there’s a bit of momentum… I’ve literally got four years’ worth of catalogue that I’m ready to share with the world. I just need some time to sort out the visual side of things and also the branding aspect, but 2025, I’m going hard.
You’re clearly too young to have been caught up in UK garage’s first wave, so where does your love for the genre come from? Did you grow up with it being played at home?
Yeah, man. It’s my roots! It’s where I’ve come from. My mum would always play garage, R&B and soul, so it makes sense to roll with my influences. It flows a little bit more. But most of the stuff that I was making beforehand is R&B. There are little hints of experimental stuff, but it’s mostly R&B. I’m going to just see how this goes because this is the first time that I’ve probably rapped on tracks as well—or at least spoken words. It seems to be something that people like from me when they hear it. UKG is definitely a strong pillar within everything that I do, even just the way that I write, the flows: it’s actually alluding to a lot of stuff like Craig David, that era and the things that my mum used to listen to. It’s only when you analyse your stuff and have four years to really sit and listen back to everything you’ve created that you see the continuity. I’ve really noticed that my mum is all over these tracks.
You mentioned Craig David there, but which other artists would you say has had a lasting impact on you?
Shola Ama is a huge influence. Do you know Vula? I went to go and see her at Ronnie Scott’s the other day. I met up with a friend I hadn’t really seen for a long time and it just so happens that he hosts Ronnie Scott’s now. He said to me, “I’d love you to come down to this show,” and it was fate because I went there and it was actually a whole night of Vula performing loads of garage tracks. It was everything my mum would listen to so I knew every single song. It was fate. Mad! Honestly, she’s everything. She’s part of Basement Jaxx as well. It’s funny, because she isn’t the typical artist; she doesn't always necessarily sit at the forefront, but when she does step forward… Wow! She was truly incredible. D’Angelo is another big influence of mine, and a new influence is a guy called KiLLOWEN, who I think is incredible! His spoken-word stuff is what really influenced me because I wrote the first verse of “Even If” as a verse that was sung, but then I turned it into spoken word because it was so poetic. I was like, “You know what? Let me see how it would come off if I tried it just in more of a sombre, spoken-word style.” And, yeah, it came off really nicely.
You mentioned Vula’s live show—what’s going on in your live schedule? Because I know, for a while, you were hamstrung with various things. Is that on track now?
Absolutely. There’s a difference between studio voice and live voice and I wasn’t ready for live shows, so I think what I’m going to do is I’m going to get a little help from my vocalist. My best mate, Jules, is a vocalist. He’s going to help with arrangements and just make something really, really special. I started off as a musician, playing guitar and piano, so I want to bring those elements into my live show as well. But I want to do something different rather than just acoustic sets now. I want to work on some movement, but not full choreography.
A bit of stagecraft.
Exactly! I feel like I’m in such a different place from where I’ve been before. When I was with Ten, I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t believe in myself and I didn’t back myself—or my art. It’s like they say: comparison is the thief of joy. And I was comparing myself to everybody that was coming up at the time. The reason I felt like I didn’t really fit anywhere was because I didn’t—and that’s a good thing! It’s just about turning it on its head and looking at it as a positive.
I agree. It’s good to hear that you’re really working on your stagecraft. As an independent artist, that’s a really important thing. Even the major labels are overlooking it when they start to work on an artist. There are lots of issues in live music.
It’s something that I really value: being able to put on a good show, and being able to translate the music that you’ve made to a whole new audience. There are people who are going to find you online and they see what you’ve built up in terms of branding and in terms of the visuals—all of that stuff. But then when it’s just you in front of the mic, you don’t have all of that to fall back on. What you have is that moment and just being able to translate your music over. I think it takes a team, personally. That’s why I’ve really worked on my connections. People have just fallen into my life where I think it’s going to create something that’s really, really special. We’re going to have a band and I’ve got someone who’s going to do movement for me. I think it will probably be me on guitar, maybe for the first one. We’re going to do a listening party for the EP as well, probably in January.
Nice.
I’ve got the vision in my head... The ball’s rolling!
English (US) ·