Example reflects on his latest album and a decade of musical success

Multi-platinum musician, singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer Example recently took some time out of his chaotic summer festival schedule to reflect on his early days in the UK rap game, his approach to writing and recording, and the creation of his eighth studio album, We May Grow Old But We Never Grow Up – a record that has been described as the ‘ultimate’ Example album, and a throwback to some of his earlier work…

Having just played five shows in three days at the time of interview – including Latitude and a huge opening gig at Silverstone – Headliner could tell that Elliot Gleave, AKA Example, was buzzing to be back out on the road: “We worked out that I did more steps on stage than people do in a marathon,” he begins with a chuckle.

While he first found success following the release of his second studio album Won’t Go Quietly in 2010, peaking at number one on the UK Dance Chart and ushering in a new era of electronic dance music, the significance of Example’s musical journey to date simply cannot be understated, and as the industry has changed over the last decade, he has in turn changed with it.

His love for rapping bloomed as a young teenager, writing his own rhymes “as a bit of protection in the playground” and setting him on a path of discovery that continues to this day:

“I was a massive geek at school, but for me, being able to recite other rapper’s lyrics gave me some credibility, and the acceptance that you’re desperate for at that age,” he tells Headliner. “Rapping in the UK was more of an underground thing back then, so when you had Dizzee Rascal and Mike Skinner coming through rapping in their British accents, I realised it was something that people could do for a living.

“People often think of me as more of a singer these days, but with everything I write, I think about it like a rapper. It’s all storytelling and it comes straight from the heart. I only talk about my own experiences, and I’ve always tried to be clever with the wordplay.”

Example’s latest record, his eighth studio album We May Grow Old But We Never Grow Up, has been described as the ‘ultimate Example album’, encompassing many of the musical elements that he has become known for throughout his career:

“It’s got guitars, it’s got synths, it’s got loads of different tempos, it’s got lots of fat bass, it’s got lots of features,” he says. “It’s a rollercoaster of an album that does flow well, but also pulls you in many different directions.”

Work began on the album not long after the release of his seventh album project, the hip-hop and rap laden Some Nights Last For Days, which was written and recorded in lockdown: “I just stuck it out almost as a sharpening of the tools exercise for me lyrically, for songwriting, for rapping and emceeing,” he reveals. “We took a lot more care with this latest one, so I feel like the quality is a bit higher, but I feel like this album wouldn’t have been as good if I hadn’t done the seventh one, which for me was almost like training in the gym, you know what I mean?”

Most of We May Grow Old But We Never Grow Up was made in Brisbane, Australia, where the London-born Example now calls home. The album serves as an enticing concoction of genres and styles covering drill/hip-hop, drum and bass, house and UK garage, but each of its songs of course have something in common.

“Because I’m rapping on nearly every track, a lot of people said it feels like my early stuff,” he considers. “The tone of this one is quite cheeky, yet self reflective. It’s quite self deprecating, but also hopeful. So I think it reminds people of what I was like 10-12 years ago when I was doing similar upbeat stuff, because I went a bit darker on my third, fourth and fifth albums in the middle of my career.

“DEEP is amazing to perform, because drum and bass just really gets the crowd going loopy. Sometimes the best music is made when it’s done simply, and completely organically with little fuss.”

To produce the track DEEP, Example teamed up with DJ and d’n’b specialist Bou, who has become arguably one of the scene’s hottest talents in recent years.

“Another track that I haven’t put in a live set yet is Original, which is probably the fastest, most complex rapping I’ve ever done, and talks about some pretty deep subjects,” he continues. “It’s a bit of a self analysis, and I’m probably going to put it in the set for my next UK tour.”

Example admits that he feels like his singing and overall tone has become a lot more relaxed, making it more palatable for audiences, and while his rapping has also improved – and remains complex – it’s also less aggressive perhaps than it has typically been in the past. His laid back approach to the creative process is largely to thank, it seems:

“I like to be in a studio where I’m comfortable, or that I’ve been to before, and I usually like to be in and out pretty quickly because my ADHD doesn’t allow me to sit still for very long,” he says. “More often than not I’ll get to the studio and a producer will have a guitar riff, or a synth riff, or a piano riff, and I’ll come up with a baseline. That seems to be my thing; writing hookey baselines. I’m pretty good at helping finish the tracks, looking through Splice to grab a load of samples, and I’m pretty good at structuring songs too, so I’ve become a lot more hands-on.”

It’s fair to assume that working with the likes of Calvin Harris, Skream, Chase & Status and many more over the course of his career has helped Example hone his skills over the years, having learnt something different from each of his like minded collaborators. With eight albums, four mixtapes and two compilations under his belt, he also possesses an archive of over 800 unreleased songs, each of which he describes as “a sharpening of the tools.

“Every one of them is an experience that – even though you may feel the song was wasted because no one’s ever heard it – is actually really quite useful, because you learned something in that session or you had a lyric idea that wasn’t quite right, but then you came back to that idea either consciously or subconsciously.

“We booked in 40 festivals this summer – my voice is just about holding out; my legs aren’t. Everyone knows that coming to my shows, it’s all about the energy, but I’m pretty sure we might have to slow the energy down,” he adds, albeit sarcastically. “I may have to just start travelling with a whole team of physios. You know like when you watch the Cristiano Ronaldo documentary – to operate at the highest level this guy’s got a masseuse, he’s got a sports therapist, a psychologist, a nutritionist, all of that. I’m gonna spend all my money on all of those things. Yeah I’ll be broke, but I’ll still be able to jump around on stage!”

You can listen to the full interview with Example on Headliner Radio, here: