That's 5 | ARTAN

Hailing from North London, ARTAN is at the forefront of a new generation of artists that have put personas to one side in order to share a genuine reflection of their true selves. With a signature style of heartfelt and personal lyrics over catchy, melodic beats, ARTAN uses his music to open about his battle with anxiety in the hope of inspiring others.

Growing up going to London raves, ARTAN discovered that he felt at home freestyling over beats his friends would make. That aptitude for vocal percussion took him from the playground to being on-stage with Boy Better Know and Krept & Konan.

He burst onto the UK music scene with his single “Falling”, which dropped late last year, and has amassed almost 1 million streams on Spotify. For the past few months, he’s been using lockdown to write new music, attributing this work ethic to his father, who moved to the UK from Singapore at just 11 years old.  We sat down ahead of the launch of his new EP, “Scattered Thoughts“ to find out more.

What influences you?

Growing up I moved 6 times and was forced to constantly adapt to different people and unfamiliar environments which really shaped my personality and the way I view the world.

Moving around so much forced me to build new relationships and find new passions in life, and I failed at a lot of them, which taught me a lot about dealing with failure and how to overcome it. It’s not easy having to rebrand yourself to fit in all the time, but as I got older, and I gained more independence and confidence in myself, I started to realise that I don’t need to conform to fit in. It’s better to stand out.

What’s the most overrated?

Other people’s perceptions of you. This generation is so concerned with everyone else’s opinion that they sometimes fail to form their own. I see lots of people read comments before they’ve watched a video on YouTube and that can make them skip it before they’ve even seen it. Make your own decisions and form your own opinions before you allow someone else’s judgement to affect yours.

What’s the most underrated?

Having a hobby that you enjoy. I think people underestimate the importance of doing something you really love and a lot of people never get to find what they really enjoy in life because they are too scared about not being good at it when they first start off. NOBODY is good at anything when they first start off! You just have to be willing to learn, and if you even for a second you think you really enjoy something, just do it and don’t look back!

What are you most excited about right now?

I’m super excited to perform next year, I want to meet my supporters and make some amazing memories through music. This year, like everyone else, I’ve been stuck in my isolated bubble at home and I’m desperate to get out and pick up the microphone again.

What’s next for you?

I’m dropping an EP this month called “Scattered Thoughts“ which is a project I’ve been working on for the past few months now and am really excited about. I’ve been making a lot of music in lockdown and I wanted to show people the many different mindstates I’ve been in during this time, both positive and negative. I have pretty bad anxiety and I wanted to share my mental journey with you all!

Bonus Question: Was that Five?

I think so!