The British singer-songwriter Rhodes has released his second studio album, “Friends Like These“. The album was recorded during lockdown with producers Rich Cooper and Ash Workman. It’s a collection of personal tracks that speak of love, loss, friendship and hope – enhanced and amplified by Rhodes’ soothing voice.
KALTBLUT caught up with Rhodes to chat about his second album, why he is sick of men, toxicity in the music industry and how his relation to success has changed in the last seven years.
KALTBLUT: Let’s start with the early days of your career. What is your earliest memory with music?
Rhodes: The earliest memory with music: My dad playing the guitar. It’s a Saturday morning, I hear him playing in the kitchen, and the music is travelling up through the house into my bedroom. Since then, my dad and I have that thing with music together.
KALTBLUT: This is your second album, since your successful album wishes in 2015. How does it feel to be back after such a long time?
Rhodes: It feels incredible. It’s been such a long time since the first album, even though it doesn’t feel like it. Obviously, we had the pandemic, which already feels like two years of our lives that just didn’t happen. Everyone has this strange concept of time now. I was really busy for all of that time and released some music. I also recorded a couple of EPs, some collaborations and things like that. I wrote a lot of songs – most of them were very bad, some of them were good.
I also experienced a lot of toxicity in the industry during this time. That’s not a general industry thing that I feel like the industry needs to change. There was a lot of trying to manoeuvre my way out of complicated contracts and things like that. That took a long time, and was really stressful. All this stuff formed my music, though. I was able to channel a lot of the pain into both music and art.
Now, being back, I feel amazing. I’d forgotten how much I needed it. I’d forgotten how much I need to play the songs to people. You realise that playing on stage in front of a crowd is what you’re supposed to do.
KALTBLUT: The last couple of years were turbulent for everyone. A couple of years ago, the UK has left the European Union. How was that for you?
Rhodes: When Brexit happened, it made me question so much. I thought no one would vote for Brexit. And then everyone did. That made me question a lot of things. I was like, hang on a minute: The majority of the people in this country don’t stand for the same things I stand for?
The majority of the people in this country don’t stand for the same things I stand for?
KALTBLUT: How did that influence you as an artist?
Rhodes: Touring became way more complicated. Just travelling across the borders takes so much more time. I know a lot of artists who had to cancel their tours, because they can’t afford to do it. I just feel so lucky I can do this.
One of the advantages I have as an artist is that I can pretty much perform on my own. I’ve only got two people with me on this tour. I don’t have to have a band and a big crew. That’s probably the reason I’m able to play it in these really cool little club venues. But in general, Brexit has made everything a lot harder.
KALTBLUT: For this album, you’ve chosen songs that represent your journey of the last few years. Can you give me a glimpse into this journey and pinpoint a situation that had a big influence on you?
Rhodes: It was very chaotic, and I had a lot of mixed emotions. Amazing things were happening: I did become a father, which is a miracle and exciting all the time. Then, all these traumatic things were happening, too. Additionally, I was away a lot. When I was in the US, I was feeling homesick and lost trying to find my way through all the chaos going on around me. I ended up meeting some really cool people who carried and helped me through that.
KALTBLUT: Your album is called “Friends Like These”. I have the feeling there is a reference here of the time you just mentioned and the album title. Am I right?
Rhodes: Yes! It is about friendship, about being there for one another and about recognising your own faults. I have my vices and I kind of deal with things in the wrong way. I’ve always done that. I’m constantly running away from problems, which affects everybody else around me. That was something I had to realise.
But above all, I want to elevate hope through my songs, so my listeners can hear it’s OK to have these moments Now, it’s about changing, trying to move forward and fixing things.
KALTBLUT: How did you know that the title of the song will be the title of your album?
Rhodes: When you write a song, and it’s important to you, that’s when it really hits. I’d spent a lot of time just doing writing sessions in like LA, New York and London – writing for the sake of writing. That’s the worst thing to do. Just being in a room told to write a song about anything. Sometimes it works and write a cool song, but ultimately, it doesn’t mean anything. You’re left with this situation where nothing really means anything. When I wrote “Friends Like These”, it really meant something to me.
KALTBLUT: There’s a line in the same song where you say “I can be whatever I want to be with friends like these“. What do you want to be?
Rhodes: That changes. I want to be good – a good human being – I want to be somebody who is respected and have recognition for my work that I do. Getting some recognition is what it is all about. I just want to be able to be a good human, and stand up for the things I believe in, without being afraid of stuff. I want to be a good dad to my kid and a good man to my partner, because men are so shit.
They really are and I’m sick of them. I’m a man, and I’m sick of men. My wife is also in the music industry. When I see what she has to deal with, what she is going through – as a woman and a mother – it is heartbreaking. When I first started in music, women didn’t necessarily speak out as much as they do now. Maybe that’s one good side of social media? Now, we can hear them and their stories now. I’ve experienced toxicity in the industry from men with a bit of power. Fuck knows what women have been through, you know. I just want to stand up for equality.
KALTBLUT: How are you trying to stay away of toxic behaviour?
Rhodes: When I think about my friends and the people I surround myself with, that’s where it starts. When you are starting out in music, surround yourself with people you trust. I’ve had to distance myself from friendships because they were toxic.
There are a lot of drugs in the music industry and generally a lot of things I don’t want to be around. It’s sad, because there are so many good people, but you cannot just meet up for a coffee or go for a walk. You will always end up in a pub for the whole day, then go to a party and end up staying awake for two days.
I am a father now, I have responsibilities. It’s really important now to take things more seriously.
KALTBLUT: In which situations do you wish that you took yourself more seriously?
Rhodes: In terms of the way I have handled certain situations, I would definitely go back and handle some things very differently. Most of that is speaking up when I’ve been too afraid to and had too much fear of rejection.
I have a neurodiversity of ADHD, and grew up with anxiety and depression. My fear of rejection has led me into some very complicated situations. I’ve let people speak to people badly, I’ve also let things go unsaid. I wish I could go back and change some of those things to stop them before they happened.
What’s really cool though is being able to move forward and not making those same mistakes again. You can grow and move forward. That’s my way of accepting it. There are a lot of things to be sad about in the world, but you have to try and be positive about things. It starts with you.
There are a lot of things to be sad about in the world, but you have to try and be positive about things. It starts with you.
KALTBLUT: In the past, how did you deal with success and pressure?
Rhodes: I think that was what kind of led me into this spiral. Everyone talks about the difficulty of the second album. I never found writing songs particularly hard, but what I did start to find hard was the rejection. Why does no one like the thing I like? It enhanced my self-doubt. It’s more about the pressure we put on ourselves as opposed to the pressure that everyone else puts on you.
When you’re a musician, you’re signed to a major record label. It’s obvious they’re going to want you to do certain things. They care about sales and making money. You walk into it knowing that, which means there’s really no reason to get upset when they want you to do a certain thing to sell records – ultimately making you successful.
My feelings about success now are mixed. Yes, I do, like nice things. I like going to nice places, staying in nice accommodations, doing fancy things and spoiling people. I love that. You have to manage what you perceive to be successful. And for me, it’s finishing a piece of work and releasing it into the world. If you can get paid for doing that, that’s even better. For me, success comes after finishing the work.
I was just trying to take everything in my stride. But then I very quickly realised I was treading water in the deep end. I was like shit, I can’t swim.
KALTBLUT: Would that have been the same answer seven years ago?
Rhodes: I’m not sure to be honest. When I was starting out, I never ever really wanted anything. I just wanted to play on stage. When I started to do well in the UK and people were talking about radio, big shows and going on tour with big artists, I just had no idea how this would be possible. I was just trying to take everything in my stride. But then I very quickly realised I was treading water in the deep end. I was like shit, I can’t swim.
Stream Rhodes’ second studio album “Friends Like These” on your preferred streaming platform here and follow @rhodesmusic on Instagram to keep up to date with shows and upcoming releases.
