New York musician and producer Spencer Miles Abraham Allen, the brains behind Spencer., has announced details of his debut album and shares a first taste of new music today, via 4AD / Remote Control Records.
Released on 10 September, the eleven songs that compriseAre U Down? blend R&B, hip-hop, funk, indie, pop, jazz and soul to create a sound that encompasses analogue and digital, past and present. Written, recorded and produced by Spencer., the album’s first single ‘Lonely As I Ever Was’ is available now “’Lonely As I Ever Was’ was the last song I wrote for my record, I even made the outro the same day. The theme of this one is basically from the song ‘Next Lifetime’ by Erykah Badu, and I even reference it in the lyrics. Kinda like being on the other side of her situation, begging someone in a relationship to consider a relationship with you.”
Born and raised in Rochester, NY, to chemist parents who presciently gifted him the middle name Miles (for Miles Davis), a career in music beckoned from an early age with 4-year-old Spencer. lobbying his Jamaican mother and British father for trumpet lessons in tribute to his namesake. Rochester’s rich and underappreciated creative scene nurtured his musical skills, and he won a place on a summer jazz programme at the city’s prestigious Eastman School of Music in his teens. A self-taught producer who has always recorded in isolation, he started self-releasing home recordings in 2018, and eventually dropped out of college when his EP Want U Back became a word-of-mouth hit.
Now transplanted to the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bed Stuy, itself a fertile ground for creative enterprise, Spencer. is a main player in a tightknit and supportive creative community that also boasts Clairo, Snail Mail, Claud, Advisry, Binki, Cautious Clay and Triathlon amongst its burgeoning talent.
Written and recorded during the pandemic, Are U Down?is about the struggle of a relationship and a sense of longing cuts through its 11 tracks. Featuring 4AD labelmate Becky and the Birds (vocals on ‘After The Show’), Luke Diamond (guitars) and Jake Aron (some additional production), Spencer. has integrated neo-soul vocal fireworks, hip-hop flow and pop ambition into an album steeped in all the feels of a New York summer.
Are U Down? is released digitally on 10 September 2021. Physical formats will follow in 2022.