A former member of Jamie Woon's band and esteemed remixer in his own right, Jim Wood is now breaking out on his own under the name Royce Wood Junior. Guided by his soulful voice, his songs come alive with electronic embellishments coupled with jubilant keyboards that recall jams of the past, namely the bounce of some of Stevie Wonder's classic hits. There's comparisons to be made to fellow Londoner James Blake, but the songs of Royce Wood Junior pulsate in a whole different way. After releasing a pair of EPs and on the cusp of releasing his debut album The Ashen Tang in May, he's now ready for showtime.

Hometown: London, England

What's the transition been like going solo after being a member of someone else's band?

It’s been good but it’s quite an overhaul. You definitely miss the camaraderie of playing and traveling with the others, but the time came for me to do my own thing… I’ll miss the big crowds though for sure. 

What inspires you in terms of song-writing? Does a song just strike you or do you come up with an idea you want to communicate first or....?

The most important thing for me is harmonic content. If a song is rich with interesting melody and creative changes and movement it’s a winner. The lyric also should be innovative—boy/girl sentiment is definitely out from here on out. Style is a complete after thought for me.

When you were growing up did you anticipate being a working musician? If not, what did you see? 

I was hoping to be a professional footballer, still am ;) I think I might’ve missed my window. 

What's been one of your most memorable shows?

I did a show a few years ago in Glasgow as the third support act. The whole front row was made up of shirtless Glaswegian men holding cans of Stella who collectively flipped me the bird for the entire performance. We ended up giving them tambourines to try and win them over but they just threw them at us. 

Who are your musical heroes? What music did you listen to growing up?

Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, Nirvana, Radiohead, Rufus Wainwright, Nina Simone—I have quite a young mum so I was exposed to some pretty modern stuff as a kid. Things like Portishead, Massive Attack and Primal Scream were always getting played in the car.

What mark would you like to leave on the musical world?

I’d just like to create a catalogue that I can look back on without wincing too much—just want to write good, honest things that don’t pander to the music industry.

What's next for you?

Would really love to get back into the studio and start the next one, but I’d also like to do some collaborative stuff this year too… maybe as a singer rather than a producer.