“I mentioned Nile Rodgers on the radio. The next day he messaged me to get down to Abbey Road right now”: Meet Alfie Templeman, the rising Gen Z guitar star inspired by ’70s prog and ’80s Bowie

Alfie Templeman is using his polymathic approach – including prog, jazz, pop, R&B and rock – to create sounds that are not just highly listenable but diverse. The 21-year-old from Bedfordshire, England, has achieved 300 million streams for his 2022 debut album, the pop-banger-meets-indie-rock Mellow Moon.

Templeman says he has one single goal: “To be an unpredictable artist.” He explains: “The only way to do that Is to go outside of my comfort zone. I just love creating and trying new things.”

His passion for music blossomed as he listened to his dad’s Yes, Rush, Genesis and King Crimson records – not the usual fare for Gen Z guitarist; but neither is his output, including his funky, poppy, boundary-pushing sophomore album Radiosoul.

“I’ve always loved pretty much every genre of music there is,” Templeman says. “I’ve messed around recently with more sounds and styles that I’d wanted to explore in the past, rather than doing a 180.” He adds: “I’m a lot jazzier now. When I solo, I take bigger risks rather than sticking around pentatonic a lot.”

While songwriting and production are leading interests, it’s fundamentally about playing. “Guitar came in thanks to my dad,” he says. “I was about seven or eight; I didn’t care for it all at first – I just wanted to play drums! But guitar quickly became the most important thing in my life.”

He kept at it with a budget-friendly yet handsome turquoise Squier Strat, getting his first professional booking in 2018. “I can’t even tell you how much that Squier changed my life,” he beams. “Strats have always felt perfect for me to play.” He doesn’t limit himself to one style of guitar, though. “If it sounds good, I’ll muck around with it,” he says.

Templeman is jazzed about new songs like Beckham, which he says is “unique” and “true to the way I write songs. I wrote 75% of the songs before running into the studio, but we really made them explode by recording spontaneously and preserving the energy in the studio”.

He doesn’t overthink his solos, though. “A good solo in a pop song is wicked as long as it’s written well,” he says. “Shredding for the sake of it is a bit rubbish; but a melodic solo that you can hum note for note is what I’m all about.”

What’s the toughest part about being a young gun in the game today? “Social media,” he says. “I just want to create, and sometimes, the anxiety from the internet is a buzzkill.” He’s amassed nearly 150,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok – not that he’s especially enthused about it.

“I don’t like the amount of time I spend making TikToks; I don’t even do much,” he admits. “One positive is it means anyone can promote themselves without having to pay tons of money. But as someone who came up on the scene pre-TikTok, it doesn’t really work for me too much.”

Another selling point on Radiosoul is a guest appearance from Nile Rodgers on Just a Dance. “Nobody does rhythm guitar like Nile,” Templeman says. “I went to Miami to put it together with the man himself, and I learned so much about his process and how he writes hooks that never escape your head.

“I met him for the first time in early 2022. His music had been a massive part of my life growing up. I mentioned him once on Radio 1 to Clara Amfo, and the next day he tweeted at me, telling me to get down to Abbey Road right now.

“I got on the train from Bedford, and we hung out in the studio eating Nando’s and listening to my tunes. He was so incredibly humble, and I was so incredibly nervous I could hardly eat my peri-peri chips!”

He continues: “A year later, I flew to Florida to link up with him again. I’d had this bassline brewing in my head for years and wanted to show him. We had a few days to mess around in a studio and put something together.”

The impact of Templeman’s collaboration with Rodgers remains to be seen; for now, it’s already a career highlight. “Just A Dance came about thanks, partly, to Bowie. Nile and I talked about his album Let’s Dance, and how the title track, on the surface, was designed to get people moving – though the song was actually about covering up your feelings.

“Just A Dance became such a nice, short song full of energy,” he says. “It has such a simple message: enjoy the now for a while; everything will be alright – it’s all just a dance.”

• Radiosoul is out now.