Femi Koleoso is our first guest on The Listening Room, presented by Bowers & Wilkins

On the same day that Ezra Collective become digital cover stars of Rolling Stone UK, we’re delighted to reveal that the band’s leader, Femi Koleoso, is the first star of The Listening Room, presented by Bowers & Wilkins.

The Listening Room is Rolling Stone UK’s new video podcast, which takes a deep dive into the story behind the music of an artist’s greatest works.

For the first episode, Rolling Stone UK’s Content Editor Nick Reilly sat down with Koleoso at the House of KOKO in Camden to discuss the band’s genesis, the story behind their rise and the tales behind some of their most beloved work including their Mercury Prize-winning album Where I’m Meant to Be. Koleoso also looks to the future and discusses their upcoming record Here Because of Hope, and how he secured eclectic collaborators for the album such as Pa Salieu and Leona Lewis.

Koleoso also reflects on his friendship and collaborative partnership with Blur icon Damon Albarn.

“[Damon] is the single most impactful musician on my life, by way of songwriting and making things,” explains Koleoso. “I spent a few weeks at his house making tunes with him and it was the most impactful thing ever. Up until that point I didn’t believe in myself as a producer and a songwriter. There was a slight imposter syndrome, but I saw him making Gorillaz music and they’re my favourite band.

“To sit there and watch him make stuff, he’d make something on GarageBand, then he’d put on a loop, and then he’d get a toy gun and record it. It stripped away everything I’ve learnt. You just make, you live in the moment of the tune and I had a baptism of that way to make music. From that point on, I was genuinely never the same musically again.”

You can watch the first episode of The Listening Room, presented by Bowers & Wilkins, in full above.