Straight No Chasing - A Chat With Mr Hudson

After gaining success with his band Mr Hudson and The Library, British crooner Ben Hudson has experienced a new level of fame with his introduction to Kanye West’s potent G.O.O.D. Music label. Honorary contributions to Kanye’s Graduation and 808 & Heartbreak as well as Jay-Z’s Blueprint III catapulted his status as a recording artist to incredible heights. The UK and the rest of the world had the pleasure to experience his debut solo album Straight No Chaser past October while his North American fans had to be patient for eight more months. After a hard test of patience, today marks the long awaited US release of Mr Hudson debut solo album Straight No Chaser. Reason enough for us to give you a reintroducion to this talented artist from Birmingham, England who is planning to continue conquering the music world with his soulful vocals in the future. Check out our interview with him after the jump.

Thank you very much for your time. Most of us don’t need no introduction to you since we are very familiar with your music. But for those that actually have missed the chance to experience your music, could you introduce yourself to them?

Hello there, I’m Mr Hudson and I’m a singer, writer and occasional producer.

Last time we heard from you was on your version of “Young Forever”. Tell us a little what you been up to the past few months.

The same routine as always basically. We’ve been touring the UK and doing a couple of shows with Jay-Z. I usually spend the rest of the time in the studio working on new music. Since I’m often away from home, I also tend to drive around seeing which bits of London they’ve knocked down in my absence.

Your album Straight No Chaser has been out now in the UK for more than eight months now. The US will finally see its release on June 29th. Mind if you give us a little insight on what actually caused this delay?

Honestly, we just waited for the right moment to release the record on the US market. We wanted to wait ‘til there was some real heat before we jumped in. Doing Saturday Night Live with Jay Z was definitely the catalyst and increased the anticipation for my album.

What can we expect from the US version of your album? Will there be any slight changes compared to the original release?

You’ll hear mostly the same songs as the UK album. We’ve got Kanye and Kid Cudi featured on there which is great Kanye is actually on two songs – one which most people in the US haven’t heard, called “Anyone But Him”. I’m looking forward to the fans’ reactions.

What is your favorite track on the album?

This is hard to tell. It actually changes quite often but at the moment my favourite track is “Time”. It has been a real highlight on the tour and the response was overwhelming. The unexpected sing-along really touches the audience every time.

Your sound seems to be quite universal, incorporating various genres. How would you describe it to our readers?

Sonically it’s a magpie approach. I collect sounds and ideas from all over and then try to glue them all together

How do you evaluate the current state of music – depending on internet, record sales plumbing? Many genres seem to lack creativity lately.

There’s definitrely a lot of talent and ideas out there. Money’s not washing around the music world as it used to. For most people it’s a hobby now. Also it’s a shame that no one can afford to have orchestras on half the album anymore!

What happened with the band Mr Hudson & The Library? Any chance to see a reunion in the future?

Funny thing is half The Library are still in the band. The other half wandered off to do other things. Also the name was about the whole concept of the first album. Straight No Chaser was different. Who knows where we’ll go in the future!!

Speaking of the future, what are your next plans? Any chance to catch you live on stage? Do you have any plans for the next album already?

Most definitely. Can’t wait to start touring North America and then the world. As for records, I’m always in the studio because it is a constant creational process.

This is a rather obvious questions, but people need to know, will you participate in Kanye West’s upcoming album, tentatively titled Good Ass Job?

I already have! In order to get the details to my contributions you will have to purchase his album though.

How is your relationship with him these days?

All good. We hung out w Jay-Z at Isle Of Wight festival the other day which was amazing.

Any last words to our readers?

Give ma chance to get it right! Take care, god bless, much love!