*The month of October carries more than a namesake for October London. The Indiana-born vocalist has reemerged on the scene with a new album (“October Nights”) a year and a half after dropping his debut, and continued mentorship under Snoop Dogg at his label Death Row Records.
Building off hit singles such as “She Keeps Calling and “A Beautiful Woman,” London is carving his own niche with “October Nights.” The album, released Oct. 11, features Ledisi and Tyrese as well as traditional R&B influences spread across it and London’s voice
“A lot of times, I just do a lot of stuff by myself,” London tells Billboard. “I mix, I master, I produce, and I write, so to speak, on my own. That’s where I gained [the] peace to write the records. I don’t even write records anymore, really. It all comes off the top, from my head to the microphone.”
And as Billboard put it, “… everything begins and ends with his voice; he effortlessly balances sensual warmth, starry-eyed self-reflection and a vibrant streak of ‘70s R&B-steeped vocal effects throughout the record’s exploration of the various women and relationships that decorate his October Nights.”
Chatting with the music outlet, London shares his view on R&B in its current state as well as the benefit of being under Snoop‘s wing and how he brought shades of his last musical offering (2023’s Marvin Gaye tribute, “The Rebirth of Marvin”) in to make new paths musically for fans and non-fans alike for his latest project.
When did you start working on October Nights and when did you decide on the title?
The title came from Snoop [Dogg]. I had a couple of other titles in mind, and we were just hanging out in the studio, and he was like “Yeah, it’s an October night… I think that should be the album title.” And I was like, “That sounds like a great album title!”
We have some good October nights ahead of us, so [laughs]. The album didn’t take long. Just like Rebirth of Marvin took one week, October Nights took about two weeks to make. I can’t recall what time I started to make it, but I know it went pretty fast.
It took two weeks for the first version of the album and then I sent it to the legendary producer Soopafly, and he wanted to add little bells and whistles to it.
You’ve spoken before about the different styles and genres that you like to play with, and there are tastes of that sprinkled throughout October Nights. Overall, why did you choose to remain in that straight R&B crooner lane?
With this album, I wanted to do something different, but I also wanted to kind of give a sequel to the last album. When you’re listening to October Nights, you’re getting a little bit of Rebirth of Marvin. October Nights blends a little bit of Rebirth, and then it turns into a whole other movie and changes throughout the middle.
There’s the record I did with Jeff Gitty called “3rd Shift,” there’s “Kill Shot,” and then you have me and Snoop doing “Put You On.” This is really a transitional album for me. By the time you get to the end, you have “Time” and then you have this song called “Momma.” You’re getting into how I feel and you’re getting more of me with a few slices of other artists – just like any artist. You don’t wanna swagger-jack, but we’re all influenced by so many artists.
How hands-on is Snoop at this point in your career? How has your relationship grown since you two first crossed paths?
We have a great relationship. We’re both Libras, so that helps. For this album, he’s the executive producer, so he’s very hands-on, but he doesn’t hover over my shoulder. He’s like, “Go in the studio. Call me when you’re done with the album. Once you’re done with the album, we’ll all listen to it, gather the right people around, and figure out what’s missing.” “Touch on Me” didn’t have horns until Snoop said it needed a little bit more flavor. It’s like macaroni and cheese. You got to put several kinds of cheese in there to make it thick. Our relationship is really great. We’re both creatives and we both give each other space in the music realm.
What’s your take on the state of R&B, especially when it comes to male crooners? There’s so much talent out there, but it feels like industry support is wildly inconsistent.
R&B is lacking. There was that time when everybody wanted to be Migos, even R&B artists. They wanted to change their whole thing and rap. The state of R&B is just lacking a lot of love. It’s lacking feel-good music. Nothing makes you feel good more than Frankie Beverly coming on. We don’t have that anymore, but we do have R&B artists out there. We still have Tank, and TGT on the road right now. Even 112 is still on the road. I think R&B artists need that push. Somebody should be in their corner to be like, “It’s okay to be you.” Like I said, I was going to do a whole different thing. I was going to be on some Bryson Tiller/dvsn/Drake s–t. Snoop had to just be like, “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Just put it out there.” If I didn’t have him do that, you would have never gotten Rebirth or October Nights.
I think artists are afraid to do R&B because they don’t see a lot of people in love anymore. They’re going after the bag. It’s like they don’t have time to do love songs. They want to be in the club, or they want to be in their Hellcats. But hopefully, that’s changing now, and R&B can finally come back and just take over for a little bit. I’m going to try to do as much as possible, but I also bounce around other genres. That way, I don’t get bored during the journey.
For more of October London’s interview with Billboard, click here.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: ‘Rebirth Somebody Else’: Zeola Gaye Takes Issue with October London’s ‘Rebirth of Marvin’ Album | LISTEN
