Singer Rhodes talks about fighting off the demons of doubt

I had diligently prepared my questions though – based on the scraps of information floating around the internet about the Hertfordshire-born singer who was born David Rhodes and has toured with Rufus Wainwright and Ben Howard – and picked up the phone prepared to pin him down.

We start talking about his summer, which has included gigs at Glastonbury, Blissfields, Barn in the Farm and touring with George Ezra: “That was a lot of fun,” the Radio 1 Live Lounge session he was nervously preparing for the next day (July 7) and his upcoming performance at the new Citadel Festival in Victoria Park.

He drifts back and forth across his own timeline, talking about growing up in the rural town of Baldock in Hertfordshire, moving down the road to Hitchin as a teenager and starting to play in bands.

“Music has always been my main thing but I had never sung before or written my own music. I was always in bands but it was always bluesy, jammy things at open mic nights.

“Then I moved to London and played bass in a band for two years. That was about five years ago now. Since then I have moved back to Herts for a year and a half to live with my parents when I ran out of money and I live in Islington now.”

I finally begin listening to his music as I am writing up the interview and I instantly regret not having pressed play sooner. I am blown away by his voice – finding it hard to believe that just a few years ago the 26-year-old was too scared to sing in public.

These days he is gigging around the world, has supported Sam Smith and London Grammar and is preparing to release his début album in September.

When I ask if it has felt like a fast progression he says: “It doesn’t feel like ages but I have done so much and you don’t always think about it until you look back on it, things I never dreamt I would do. But I still have a long way to go and as long as I keep working really hard then hopefully it will just continue to grow.”

His musical timeline began back in Hertfordshire where he grew up listening to early blues music, Led Zepplin and Motown and was “obsessed” with mod bands such as The Kinks. He looked to Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens for their songwriting skills and Eric Clapton and Rory Gallagher for their guitar-playing expertise. He learned guitar watching his father play and then sneaking the instrument into his room at night to practice.

As a teenager, he gigged around Hitchin and then Camden but then about five years ago decided the time had come to try his hand at going solo and so moved into his sister’s spare room in Dalston and purposely confined himself from the familiar, to give himself the time to find his voice.

“I felt like I detached myself from all my friends because I wanted to be on my own for a while and write some songs. That sounds silly but I separated myself off and wrote about how that made me feel and how it made my friends and family feel.

“But I also very much wanted them to know that I was there for them and am always very much there for them but sometimes we just need to do things for ourselves and we can’t spend our entire lives trying to please other people.”

He adds: “Overcoming my fear of singing was also part of me wanting to be on my own. It gave me a chance to get used to how my voice sounded and to get comfortable with it. Then slowly the bad thoughts disappeared.

“I still get nerves now but good nerves. It’s taken a while but I feel now like I’m excited to play and not scared of it.”

About three years ago his dad bought David a microphone and interface for his laptop. Rhodes moved back home to Hertfordshire and started uploading his music to SoundCloud. From there it was picked up by Phil Taggart from Radio 1 and he started doing shows and in January 2014 signed with Hometown Records.

He is now preparing to release his début album Wishes, which he describes as cinematic with lots of soundscapes, thoughtful and dynamic with moody moments and also influenced by ‘80s pop ballads. He will give the Citadel audience an early preview of some of the songs.

“My natural environment is to be in the studio and record and write,” he admits, “but I’m really excited about playing live now. I want the whole room to feel the mood when I play it live. That to me is really exciting.”

The nature of his journey into the music industry has been all important in his success.

“It was very natural and organic and nothing felt rushed or forced. I look back now and I really see the journey and the evolution of where I was and where I am now.

“Time is such an important thing and I have noticed a lot of artists don’t get that, they are thrown in at the deep end. Even though I maybe was as well, I think I signed to a record label who were very understanding of me and gave me a chance to experiment and find out exactly what it is I want to do.”

He adds: “A lot of people seem to go in and write with some smash-hit songwriter and I’m not sure that’s the most honest way of portraying your music. I think it should come from the heart and you should take time out to figure out how you want to do it.”

Time, it’s a funny thing. Before I didn’t have enough of it and now I’m wishing I could fast-forward to hear Rhodes’ album right now.

Rhodes will play Citadel Festival, Victoria Park, on Sunday, July 19. Details: citadelfestival.com

Wishes is out on September 1. Details: rhodesmusic.co.uk