A Q&A With Emerging Pop Artist Londen Ross

Londen Ross is an American singer, songwriter and musician from Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Born into a musical family, Londen is a self taught guitar player and music producer. Londen’s music can be described as the “Future from the Past.” His music is a seamless blend of elements ranging from Pop, Funk, Soul, R&B and Rock. What sets Londen apart from the current landscape of Pop artists beyond his genre bending sound, is that he writes, produces, records and mixes all of his music.

Londen cites Michael Jackson, Prince, Jimi Hendrix, Phil Collins, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Police, Lenny Kravitz, Timbaland and Pharrell as some of his biggest musical influences. He describes their music as “Fearless and Innovative,” which is a blueprint he’s adopted for his musical career.

With the recent release of his new single “Joyride” close to reaching 100K+ combined digital views/streams and a new EP coming later this year, Londen is poised to become one of today’s biggest Pop artists.

I had a chance to sit down with Londen & chat about his new single, his influences and what he’s been up to during quarantine.

We’re loving your new track “Joyride”. Tell us about the inspiration behind the song and your ideas for the video.

I appreciate the love. Joyride was inspired by both cinema and personal experiences. I tend to have a narrative writing style, which I attribute to my love for films. Sometimes, my creative process starts with a guitar chord when I’m just vibing out, a scene from television, or my naughty mind.Being a movie fanatic, I like to emulate that cinematic approach in my videos. I wanted Joyride to be one of substance that has this sort of double-entendre. I also pull from action and sci-fi movies when creating the plot. Michael Jackson’s short film-like music videos inspired me creatively. Lastly, my self-growth journey played a major role in my vision for Joyride.

Your music is a unique blend of genres; who are your musical influences and how did they affect your current sound?

Prince, Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Phil Collins, Pink Floyd, and Lenny Kravitz in no specific order. The combination of these artists has formed who I am today. They’ve inspired me sonically as well as my writing style, fashion, and humanities. I am always in search of new sounds and melodies, so I listen to various genres of music to blend them and create my own unique sound.

You write, produce, and record all of your music; was it always this way or did you learn to do everything yourself out of necessity?

I have a constant flow of ideas and its excruciating if I don’t express them completely because they come from my soul. Being an only child, I had to learn to entertain myself. That’s when I learned how to play instruments and write songs… and I was good at it. I guess you could say there was a bit of necessity in that because nobody can begin to fathom my inner thoughts. It’s easier for me manifest my thoughts into sound instead of relying on someone else to interpret them.

Tell us about your creative process; do you write lyrics before you hear a beat or vice versa?

My creative process is a bit sporadic. It depends on my mood, the time of day, and what comes to mind first, i.e., a drum pattern or melody.

What music do you like to listen to in your spare time? Do you have any favorite new artists right now?

I listen to a lot of classic rock, 80’s R&B, and funk. Truthfully, I’ve been focused on creating and haven’t been up on current music.

How are you staying busy during quarantine? Do you feel like it’s made you more creative?

I’ve been trying to maintain my mental health by meditating and acquiring knowledge about things I have always wanted to learn but didn’t have the time to. Not exactly… I have an overflow of creative ideas all the time. It has given me time to process some of those ideas.

What do you have planned for the rest of 2020? We’d love to tell fans what they can look forward to!

They can look forward to another single in the near future and more cinematic videos.

Be sure to follow Londen Ross on Instagram today.