1. Hello, thank you for your time, please introduce yourself in a few words!
My name’s Benedict and I’m a singer-songwriter from London. My new EP ‘Secrets I’ll Never Tell’ is out now and I’m also very much a twisted male, so thanks a lot for having me!
2. Please give us an insight into the new EP Secrets I’ll Never Tell.
These are five songs all about vulnerability. I wanted to explore some topics that we sometimes shy away from, like mental health, sexuality, identity and the impacts of social media. It’s a collection of really personal songs, but hopefully with some lyrics that people can identify with and maybe find some comfort in.
3. Name 5 things we all should know about you as an artist?!
- I’m a little bit too obsessed with music, like finding a new song I love is like winning the lottery for me. I will play it over and over and over and over and over again.
- I write a lot of songs about emotional stuff. I find it way more interesting to explore those spaces. I think that’s why I love sad songs so much; I find the darkness in humans really fascinating.
- Maggie Rogers is queen. Also Emily King. Also Kacey Musgraves, Phoebe Bridgers and Lianne La Havas. Basically, any angsty female with a guitar makes me very very happy.
- I taught myself guitar in lockdown and I’m still pretty shit but I’m a little less shit than when I started a year ago.
- A big life goal of mine is to play a show at The Royal Albert Hall one day. It’s such an iconic space and I can only imagine how epic the echo is when you sing into a microphone there.
4. What fashion style or brand would best describe your music?
I’m a big fan of vintage markets in London. I love finding something that has loads of history, like an old coat or cardigan, anything that looks like the previous owner died in it, and then matching it with new cuts and designs that feel a bit more modern.
5. Do you have any bad habits? A guilty pleasure you can’t seem to quit?
My housemate left during lockdown and I was on my own for nearly fifteen months. To pass the time and find some distraction, I basically turned our flat into a jungle. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad habit, but I just can’t stop growing plants, and filling the space with every green thing I can find. Walking from the sofa to the toilet is now like an Amazon rainforest assault course but I don’t think I’m going to stop any time soon. Oh, also my phone usage went up about 427% too, but I’m guessing pretty much everyone’s did right?
6. Besides music, do you have any special talents?
I’m learning to throw a banging dinner party. I want to be one of those hosts that pulls together this amazing seven-course menu, while bantering with the guests and keeping everyone’s drinks flowing. It’s a proper art form and I’m slowly chipping away at it. I reckon I’ll have mastered it by the time I die.
7. Complete the sentence: Being on stage feels like…!
Euphoria. Is that a bit wanky? I don’t care. I haven’t been on stage properly for like a year and a half, so it is going to feel like euphoria next month when we finally get to do it all again. That or an existential crisis and a wild anxiety attack because I’ve forgotten how to sing live. But there’s really nothing like the buzz and the connection you get from a live show.
8. What’s a ‘must have’ and ‘no-go’ in your Wardrobe? What’s your favorite brand and fragrance?
I’ve actually just got myself a new cologne. I wanted to come out of lockdown 3.0 a new man. I trialled a few different Le Labo scents over the course of a couple weeks, and landed on Noir. Now I smell like heaven stepping back into the real world. A must have for me is a good pair of jeans. A simple Levi’s straight cut is a winner for me. Or Zara do some wicked high-waisted trousers that I’m loving at the minute. A no-go is socks and sandals which I also regularly wear and don’t give a shit that everyone hates it.
9. A question you’d like to answer, but never been asked in an interview before?! + Answer pls
Ooo I like this a lot.
Question: which Spice Girl are you?
Answer: Baby, of course.
Instagram: @benedictcork