Southsidefinn releases‘‘Never Be This Young Again’’
On a rainy Thursday afternoon in South London, we caught up with Southside Finn as he gets ready to release ‘‘Never Be This Young Again’’ on SOTR. Known for a strong work rate and a wide range of sounds, Finn’s latest mixtape moves with ease between tracks like ARC'TERYX and BIRDCRY. The writing resonates with real life experiences, with lyrics shaped by growing up ‘South of the River’.
Southside Finn is the first artist releasing through SOTR. However, before diving into the music, we wanted to get to know the person behind it, from the places and routines, to the influences that have shaped his sound. About where the music comes from, how South London plays a part in his process, and how those experiences continue to feed into what he consistently creates.
Before getting into the details, we ran through a few quick questions to get to know Southside Finn outside of the music…..
SE or SW?
SW, every time.
Corner shop or big supermarket?
Corner shop.
Morley’s or Chicken Cottage?
Morley’s. 100%.
Late night studio or early morning session?
Late night. The vibes are better. Gets a bit of juice flowing.
Night bus or night tube?
Night Tube journeys.
First place you remember loving in London, preferably south lol?
Wimbledon. Good vibes there. Or Clapham, or Tooting.
Favourite takeaway order?
Chinese. Love East Asian food.
Place you go to clear your head?
The pub.
South London venue that deserves more love?
There are a couple spots by Morden, near the station. Little places like that.
Song you associate with growing up?
Any Gorillaz tune.
Football cage or basketball court?
I would say basketball court, but if you're from London, you know you got the basketball court and the football cage in one, so we're laughing.
Favourite trainer or all-time ?
Favourite trainers of all time. I used to have these red TNs in the summer, man. That was clean. But for now, I'm going to say the Bapesta’s.
Studio snacks?
A beer.
Headphones or speakers?
I'm going to say headphones. A good pair of headphones on a journey, can't beat it.
One word to describe South London?
Fucked… (Laughs).
Track you wish you’d written?
I don't even know, man. I got to think about that one. 10 seconds. I don't know. I'm jamming to, was it Daniel OG, Estate? Right now, I love that.
Go-to linkup spot?
The Pub.
Night out or night in?
Night out.
One thing people get wrong about South London?
One thing people get wrong about South London. That we're not popping.
In one word - what does “home” mean to you?
I'll probably say mum.
Snippet from our sitdown with SouthsideFinn below….
This mixtape feels rooted in place. How did growing up in South London shape the sound, themes, and energy of it?
‘I feel like there's just a lot of inspiration to draw from in South London, if we're being specific. Obviously we've got a lot of great artists coming out of this side of the river. And not just music artists, a lot of people doing whatever kind of creative thing, and that always inspires creation in a way.
And then yeah, just being around people, the experiences you have are different.
I just feel like it's different. I feel like a lot of people from London can relate. It's the same feeling, but with South London I'm a bit, what's the word, biased.
I feel like creatives, what's the word, it's a volatile thing. It's something that always changes. Whatever stimulus or stimuli is going on in your life is going to inspire the direction of whatever you're doing.
Obviously you might have a set direction, but certain things push you in a certain direction and that allows you to express yourself with what's going on now, with what you want, with what's happened.
So it's kind of like one of those revolving doors that just continuously pushes you. The tape is kind of like a lot of my raps are a chain of thought and that's just what it's been.
That's what it's been throughout this tape and hopefully that's portrayed in the tunes that are coming up’
Please click here to watch this interview in full!
