Evan McGill
I’m Evan, a 19 year old concert photographer based and raised in Glasgow. Being from Glasgow, I’ve always been around music from a young age, either going to concerts with my parents as young as 5 or playing a variety of instruments throughout my childhood. Photography has also been a passion for many years and to combine both together and music has been nothing but great.
With the announcement of his second album ‘Doctrine of Love‘, Jalen Ngonda continues to carve out a space that feels both timeless and distinctly his own
Following the success of his debut ‘Come Round and Love Me’, the upcoming release sees Jalen Ngonda refining his songwriting while staying rooted in the soul traditions that first defined his sound. Ahead of the album’s release and a run of his biggest UK headline shows to date. Jalen took the time to speak to me as he reflects on the process behind the record, revisiting older material, and what lies ahead.
Evan: With the upcoming release of your second album ‘Doctrine of Love‘, Do you remember there being a moment you knew the album was finished? Was it a specific moment, song or feeling?
Jalen: Yeah, I mean, I suppose to be frank, I knew the album was was finished or like writing for the album was finished when I started getting emails about recording sessions. The process was, I wrote around a little over like 25 to 30 songs in that whole period of writing for a couple months. Then chose to record 17 of them and narrow it down to, I think 10 or 11 songs for the album. I think it’s 10 songs on the album. So it’s just a process of elimination, really. It was never really clear knowing because it was always like, right as much material before the first recording you know. Once we had like, 10 songs that we felt were formidable, we felt like, yeah, at least we have these songs, but it was just like right as much as you can before the recording sessions, really.
Evan: With the release of your single Doctrine of Love, did you always know it would become the album title?
Jalen: Well, the single came first. It was just simply the name of the song. I didn’t know what to call the album at the time when I wrote ‘Doctrine of Love’. It, could have been anything from Volume 2 to another track from the album or some poetic statement of the title. It kind of sounded cool, which is, ‘Doctrine of Love’, I guess I thought about it as a title and I think just kind of fit well.
Evan: You’ve previously mentioned artists like Sam Cooke and The Beach Boys as inspirations. Do they still influence you going into this new album, or has anyone or anything else shaped your sound this time around?
Jalen: Well, no, not really. Sam Cooke’s an early influence. But honestly, It’s not so much like yeah, this artist or these artists inspired me to write the second album is just, I write music. I write songs all the time. I have lifelong inspirations, you know, like Motown artists. Just a vast vast range of musicians from that period. There wasn’t necessarily an artist or a song or an album that influenced this album. You know, this was a matter of these are selections from the bulk of songs I wrote around late 2024.
Evan: Were any of these songs originally intended for Come Round and Love Me, or is it all fresh material for ‘Doctrine of Love‘?
Jalen: The only song that was intended for album one, I would say, was ‘Love is Gone’. We didn’t record that until last year, but I wrote that song 6 years ago and it was considered to be recorded for my first album, but we couldn’t work out a good arrangement at the time. So we shelved it and I reproached the song. I thought, you know, why not? Because I’ve always really liked the song. Everything else is fresh stuff.
Evan: Did you have to change that song at all to match the sound of this new album?
Jalen: No, no, not necessarily.
Evan: You’ve also recently collaborated on ‘The Mooncave’ with Damon Albarn. How did that come about?
Jalen: Well, Damon Albarn was working on his his latest album. I think he’d been a fan of my music and he asked if I can be a vocalist on ‘The Mooncave’. Asha Puthli and Black Thought. Some recordings of Bobby Womack are on that recording. I’m just a sort of another vocal on that.
Evan: With that in mind, are there any features on ‘Doctrine of Love‘?
Jalen: It’s my own work. Yeah, I don’t have any features on it. I mean, what’s featured are the musicians who are playing on the track you know, of course. I’ve co-written, you know, 9 of the 10 songs. I mean, there’s one song around on my own is ‘Good Good Love’. Everything else wrote with other people and stuff.
Evan: As an American artist living in the UK, how do UK crowds compare? Did you expect your music to connect this strongly here?
Jalen: I moved to the UK 11 years ago and a lot’s happened since then. In terms of coming back to the US, especially after the first album got released, well we went on tour, probably just before the first album got out, but around a year after that, the only difference is, I guess, the sort of the vibe of each city that you go has. I mean, it’s kind of relatively the same. Everyone just woos the same and claps and kind of looks the same, you know?
Evan: I’ve been to your Glasgow shows, including your first at King Tut’s. Does one stand out as a favourite?
Jalen: I never thought of about a favourite, you know. I’ll, say, King Tut’s I liked the atmosphere of that gig it was really nice.
Evan: Did you know, King Tut’s write on the staircase the best selection of artists to play in their venue each year and your name is on the 2023 stair after your performance.
Jalen: Oh is it, oh wow. I mean it will probably be painted over sometime in a few years haha.
Evan: You’re about to play your biggest UK headline shows yet, it’s great to see you go from the likes of playing King Tut’s in 2023 to the O2 Brixton Academy towards the end of the year. Which shows are you most looking forward to, and do you have a bucket list venue?
Jalen: I don’t have a bucket list of venue that I really want to play. I think out of gigs that are coming up. I’m excited to play in Brixton because i’ve lived around Brixton for so many years. I’ve never been into the O2 too. I was always curious what it looks like inside, so this year I’ll be able to actually see.
As ‘Doctrine of Love’ approaches it’s release, June 5th, Jalen’s focus is clear seems to be the same as it always has been, the music. With a new record on the horizon and his largest UK tour to date set to follow this Autumn, the next chapter looks less like a reinvention and more like a confident continuation of everything that’s brought him here so far.