Labrinth is Hackney's hitmaker

David Smyth
10 Sep 2010

London, meet Labrinth, whose spelling abilities may not be so hot but whose talents as a hitmaker are significantly more reliable. Even pop's evil overlord, Simon Cowell, thinks so, signing him to his record label Syco despite the fact that the 21-year-old has so far steered well clear of TV talent shows.

Hackney singer and producer Timothy McKenzie, announced as a MOBO nominee for Best Newcomer this week, asks that we address him as “Lab”. He'll soon be on such familiar terms with the masses when his debut single, the heavily Auto-Tuned synth ballad Let the Sun Shine, becomes a major hit in a couple of weeks.

Those who've been paying close attention to the current onslaught of London urban pop acts (every major label has its own pet rapper right now, from Tinchy Stryder to Chipmunk, N-Dubz to Professor Green) will already recognise Labrinth as the robotic voice and co-writer of Plumstead rapper Tinie Tempah's hits Pass Out and Frisky.

His trick on those singles, a No 1 and No 2 respectively, was to provide melodic electronics and head-nodding hip hop beats that suddenly explode into thrilling double-paced drum 'n' bass at the last minute. It's simple and effective, but the former gospel choir member insists there's much more to him than that.

“I've done songs with JLS, Pixie Lott and Ellie Goulding, I'm helping Ms Dynamite with her comeback, and Damon Allman (sic) wants me to do some stuff for Gorillaz,” he tells me. “I think Simon Cowell saw that I can work with a lot of different sounds. A lot of producers have a style that they give to an artist. I pay attention to the artist and dress them in what they want to be dressed in.”

For most serious musicians, a relationship with Cowell would be the equivalent of having a large biohazard sign tattooed on your forehead. Labrinth is wary but ultimately impressed. “He's amazing at selling records but if you look at the attention to music, his reputation wasn't so sound. But he sees that I've definitely got the music locked down, so if he's got the marketing locked down, it's the perfect marriage.”

Of course, Cowell is a busy man — there are tuneless hopefuls to abuse, strange haircuts to be had, huge piles of money to be counted — so Labrinth has mostly been dealing with his minions so far. “I don't think I'm going to get the personal invite to his office until I come back with a No 1. I'm like the kid in the tribe who has to go out and kill a big beast and bring it to him before I'm officially a warrior.”

That shouldn't take too long. Let the Sun Shine is already on Radio 1's A-list, and the young producer certainly talks the talk. “I forget how many artists there are,” he says when asked who's joining him in his Wood Green studio next.
He's forced to admit that PR buzz about him working with Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud and even American superstar Rihanna has come to naught, but does say, “We've had Cheryl come our way,” which I think means his people have had a very preliminary chat with Cheryl Cole's people.

But just as I'm closing the door on the Cocky Pop Producer pigeonhole, he swerves with talk of his musical ambitions. One of nine musical siblings who include professional drummers and backing vocalists, he reveals that he plays the guitar to a high standard and is soon making a trip to Nashville for inspiration.

“I just want to go over there and experience it — this little ghetto boy from Hackney. You have to be a real musician down there. Auto-Tune is fun but it makes singers lazy so I can see why people think it's a bad thing.”

He tells me of his admiration for Bjφrk and Massive Attack as well as Parliament and Funkadelic. Then I find a YouTube video of him playing Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin' on acoustic guitar and am completely thrown. “I can make urban music, that's my home, but I can go further,” he says. When his debut album is released early next year, we'll see whether Simon Cowell has managed to pick a real winner without an audience vote.

Let the Sun Shine is released on September 27 on Syco. Labrinth performs as part of BBC Radio 1Xtra Live, on September 25, Wembley Arena (0870 060 0870, whatsonwembley.com)