Joel Compass - The Top 10 of me: “Working with Cheryl was unlike anything else”

Joel tells us about the first single he ever bought, an album that changed his life and what we can expect from his debut album next year.

Earlier this year, London R&B singer Joel Compass released Forgive Me; a modern take on R&B-soul that became his first track to crack the UK Top 40.

Back with his new single Girlfriends, we called up the rising star to get ourselves better acquainted.

1. Last night I was in the studio with MNEK, Becky Hill, Shift K3y and a lot of other people.

We were all going in on this track, and we finally finished it at 6am. I’m so pleased with it though – it sounds amazing. I’ll probably go back to studio and do the same thing tonight.

2. My new single Girlfriends is a very different sound for me.

I feel like it’s different in the right way, though. I think people have decided this is what I’m going to sound like from now on, but it’s just part of my sound. I like the idea of coming out with a broad spectrum of sounds. For me, genre is in the voice.

3. The first single I ever bought was Dance For Me by Sisqo.

I bought it from Woolworths. According to my mum my happiest times were dancing in my room to Sisqo. He was a big influence on me!

4. An album that changed my life was Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon.

My mum bought it for me and it really stuck with me. I remember her playing me the song The Great Gig In The Sky – she was belting out the lyrics and I absolutely loved it. As a kid I really appreciated their music and I still love the atmospherics of their sound. That’s something that’s stuck with me.

5. Kanye West is someone I inspired to be like as a producer.

As a singer, I love Jamiroquai and Queen. I’ve had an epiphany in the last few weeks. I’m not about writing vibes anymore – I want to write big songs. Queen are someone you look to for inspiration on that! I’m new to Prince’s back catalogue, but he’s already up there as one of my all-time favourites. He’s someone who’s tackled every sound possible, which I’d love to do.

6. One of the best gigs I’ve ever been to is Rudimental.

The atmosphere at their shows is absolutely incredible – everyone is jumping around and singing along like crazy. What they’ve managed to do is incredible.

7. The best song I’ve recorded so far was a track I finished last week called Dance.

It was a moment where I felt like I’d finally made a song that actually sums up what I love about music. I made it with someone really skilful who has similar tastes in music to me, which helped. It’s definitely going to be on the album.

8. My dream collaboration would be with Drake.

I’ve also got a track with Aqualung coming out soon. I’d never even heard of him before but he’s absolutely incredible. It’s on his new album, which has a load of great features on it. I want to start writing for more and more big artists as well, especially some US rappers. Pusha T previously featured on my track Run and I want to do another song with him, which should be happening soon.

9. There’s something coming soon with Cheryl Cole.

“I can’t say too much, but yes I have some involvement in her album. It’s going to be good. I’ve heard her new album, and it’s a lot more to my tastes than anything else she’s put out so far. I’m interested to see how this album does and how people respond to it. Working with her was unlike anything else I’ve done so far.”

10. I’ve also been writing with Nicola Roberts.

I’m hoping to get in the studio with her at some point. We’ve spoken about it, but we’re more friends than collaborators at the moment. We'll definitely get around to it at some point soon - she needs to put out another album.