Stevie Appleton

What was the inspiration behind Supposed To Do?

I got pulled in by a girl over the summer and basically fell in love with someone who wasn’t good for me but didn’t realise at the time. She reeled me in, messed with my head and then spat me back out. I spent my summer really investing in it and all of a sudden it was over and I had no idea what to do.

How do you want people to feel while listening to it?

Not necessarily happy or sad, just whatever you’re feeling at the moment. You could be on a flight coming back from somewhere, walking down the street or on the way to a night out. The main lyric of the song ‘what am I supposed to do’ is quite open-ended so you can almost associate whatever you want with that tag, it’s just that my particular story related to that lyric.

What’s your creative process?

The lyrics come right at the end for me. I build the song up, produce it, and once I have all the melodies then I’ll write the lyrics. The vibe of the song will usually dictate what the lyrics will be about.

Have you ever produced a track for it to end up being something completely different to what you envisaged?

Almost every song changes considerably since its conception. I’m really bossy because I’ve only ever worked on my own, and now I’m doing a lot more creative writing with other people and I forget that its not just me. I’ll be pushing the guy off the computer and running it, that’s just the way I am when it comes to music, I know the way it needs to be. Obviously if I’m writing for someone else, I’m very conscious of that and won’t try and put my stamp on it but will always come from a pop-y, catchy direction.

If you could collaborate with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac, my favourite band of all time—the best band of all time.

What was it like working with Mike Williams in Ibiza for Spinnin’ Records’ Project Next?

He’s one of the music industry’s young good guys. He’s a real do-it-yourself talent and a lot of people aren’t in the industry, so it’s really refreshing to see. We had such a fun day in Ibiza with A*M*E who’s another friend of ours and who I share my manager John [Black] with. Me and A*M*E were messing around on the piano with some chords and came up with some top lines which Mike loved. He started experimenting with it, me and A*M*E went for a swim, came back half an hour later and this song Give It Up had basically been finished. He’s so quick; all the piano he’d turned to synths and drums were in there too, I was just amazed. We wrote the lyrics after that and were really happy with it.

What do you love about Ibiza the most?

There’s a genuine magic to it; the culture, the vibe, there’s something really special about the island. It’s so friendly, it’s really hard to describe unless you’ve been. It’s such an unbelievable place, the parties are only one part of it.

Any ‘pinch-me’ moments during your career so far?

When I was a lot younger, my song Dirty Funk reached number one on the airplay charts in Japan. I was in Mexico travelling when John called me up and told me that the song was at number one in the midweek charts, but I actually ended up being number two as The Backstreet Boys knocked me off the top on chart day so obviously we had a big tabloid fall-out…! I didn’t really do any promotion, the song just self-promoted and so when I went back to Japan and was met at the airport by 50 or 60 people, it felt like Bieber or Beatles hysteria or something. I’d just stepped off an overnight flight with a sleep mask still on my head and they were calling my name and asking for my photo.

Do you think your music has changed a lot since then?

The concept is still the same in that I used to mix drum and bass with singer-songwriter music back in the day because I used to go to Fabric and I liked Jack Johnson so my style grew organically. Now I like dance music because I work with Spinnin’ Records a lot and am influenced by them, but I also love Fleetwood Mac and blues and I’ve always been into marrying two genres that aren’t necessarily similar.

What’s coming up for you next?

My single, Supposed To Do, is out on April 6th, and that’s my first release in a long time so I’m really excited about it. It’s getting released in the UK and the Netherlands so there’s going to be a lot of press trips and gigs happening in Holland as well. I’m so excited as Holland is my second home now since I’ve been with Spinnin’. The Dutch are the best, they’re just incredible people. One of my best friends lives out there and I stay with him all the time, so it feels like a holiday or a home away from home but I’m being really productive when I’m out there. Every time I step on a plane there I get that ‘life is good’ feeling.

What are the top three things you always have with you when you travel?

I always take a guitar if I’ll be somewhere for more than a week as a lot of the friends I travel with are musicians. I also take sunglasses and headphones—the essentials.

What’s the most played song on your Spotify?

Dreams or Second Hand News by Fleetwood Mac.

And the one you’d be most embarrassed about?

Probably Hakuna Matata from the Lion King. I also worked with Peter Andre so there’s probably a lot of his music on there which isn’t necessarily embarrassing but might be surprising.