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Multi-talented: Labrinth

IT’S NOT always a success story when folks decide to change from one profession to another. And in the case of UK talent Labrinth, the thought of the hugely skilled music producer deciding to have a go at a singing career, might have caused cynics to scream, ‘stick to what you’re good at!’

Thankfully, the 22-year-old, who shot to fame as the producer behind Tinie Tempah’s number one smash Pass Out, is genuinely multi-skilled.

Having worked as a producer with a range of artists including The Gorillaz, Ms Dynamite and Emeli Sandé, Labrinth, born Timothy McKenzie, re-emerged onto the music scene last year as an artist in his own right, with his feel-good hit, Let The Sun Shine.

Did the rising star have any reservations about stepping out of the studio – which had earned him critical acclaim –to try his hand at singing?

“Not really, because I’m not chasing fame,” he reasons. “I’m looking to make a business out of what I’m doing, so it didn’t really matter how it happened for me. Initially, I wasn’t too bothered about being an artist. But a lot of people started seeing the artist in me and encouraged me to pursue a career as a singer.

“Before I knew it, Let The Sun Shine was put out and it was really well received,” continues Labrinth, who is signed to Simon Cowell’s label Syco. “It made me realise that you can’t always wait until the light is green; sometimes you have to just go for it. It took me a while to really develop and find myself as an artist, but I’ve really grown in that time.”

With his seemingly speedy rise to success, one could be forgiven for dubbing the London-born talent an overnight celebrity. But Labrinth’s musical journey began long before commercial success beckoned.

“I was initially inspired by my older brother, who’s a producer,” says Labrinth, who also plays the keyboard and the guitar. “He used to create beats in his room and when I was younger, I used to sit in his room and wait to have a turn on his computer. I never really knew how to use it, but I always wanted to have a go!

“As I got older, I started writing my own lyrics and I started rapping and making beats myself. I then learned how to play instruments and use my singing voice in the studio.

“I spent about four years really developing myself as an artist and a producer. And at the end of 2008, I got a publishing deal with EMI. I then produced the album A.D.H.D. for [UK MC] Master Shortie and from there, I met Tinchy Stryder, Sabrina Washington, JLS – loads of artists that I went on to work with.

“Then at the end of 2009, I met Tinie Tempah and the first song we worked on was Pass Out. From there, it really kicked off! Before that, I guess you could’ve called a bedroom producer. But after that, more people became interested in what I was doing and that led to me getting signed by [Simon Cowell’s] Syco label, which I felt was a great move for me as an artist.”

Now gearing up for the release of his new single Earthquake, another collaboration with Tinie Tempah (for whom, he also produced the hit Frisky), the track is sure to, once again, create music gold for the multi-talented artist and producer.

Having also proved his versatility, creating tracks that sound gritty and ‘urban’, as well as songs that are commercially-friendly, does Labrinth mind how he’s viewed as a producer?

“I really don’t mind how people take me,” he says. “If you’ve got a lot to give, eventually people will see that you’re just into music. Prince makes music. He doesn’t make urban or commercial music; he just makes music. Michael Jackson did the same. Many of our music legends were like that.

“I want to be like that; creating my own trail and just making good music. Of course, it does go through your mind sometimes; are you cool enough or credible enough? But really, I just want to make good music.”

Interestingly, it’s not part of Labrinth’s immediate plan to create his own sound. While it was once the thing for producers to create their own distinct and unmistakable formula (think US producers The Neptunes and Teddy Riley), Labrinth is more into versatility – though he acknowledges that might not be favourable for everyone.

“You know what? It’s a gift and a curse. It’s called the music business and when something is a business, people want to know what they’re getting from that business. They want to come back to the same experience. When I go back to BlackBerry, they don’t give me a Nokia phone, you know what I mean? So, as a producer, I understand that people may want to get a certain type of thing from me.

“But for me, especially being quite young in the business, I want to stretch myself and not give people the same thing over and over again. Maybe as I get older, I might learn to do a bit more of what people like from me.

“But I would never want to become like a production factory; churning out the same thing time and time again.

I’m not really a fan of that. I love mixing styles and trying to do something different every time.

“For people who just love music, they’ll understand what I’m about, so I thank all the fans for supporting me and supporting what I do.”

Earthquake featuring Tinie Tempah is out on October 24 on Syco