Interview with Dubstep/R&B Trio Encore

Posted on April 13, 2011

Encore are stepping into the limelight and are ready to unleash themselves into the UK market. Having toured with Jessie J and now touring with N-Dubz, they have received a great response from the UK crowd! We had a quick chat with them while they were on their way to their next destination of Grimsby. Their single “The One” is released on April 25th.

What’s the story behind Encore? How did you guys come about?

Pierre: Well we knew eachother before and used to get together for writing session on a regular basis. It got to a point where we wrote songs and thought that we worked pretty well together and decided to carry on together and 16 months later we’re here. It’s been a mad roller coaster for all of us.

How did the name Encore come up?

Pierre: Well it was actually Cairo’s idea. He said he’d been listening to Jay-Z’s album and thought of a great name and when we heard it we thought we could roll with it and it’s stuck with us ever since.

Where do you get your inspiration from musically?

Pierre: Mainly from discussions and conversations with eachother. Like we’ve had issues with people in our lives; girlfriends etc, and we’ve just been talking and say “Why do girls have to go and do that? Why they such a wind up?” and that’s a track right there and that’s where we got the name for our single “Wind Up”.

So you’d say that all your tracks have a personal touch to it?

Pierre: Definitely

Obviously there’s a lot of acts out there in the UK market at the moment. What would you say makes Encore standout?

Pierre: I think it’s the pretty side of it. We haven’t got a clean sound as such. It’s the rough, edgy side to us that I think makes us different.

Who would you most like to do a collaboration with?

Cairo: It would have to be Jessie J. Obviously there’s the likes of Wretch and others as well and in terms of the US, I’d love to do something with Drake and get Nicki Minaj involved in that somewhere to but we’re still little fish in a big pond so we’ll wait for that to come in the future.

So you’ve just finished touring with Jessie J where we saw you. How did you find that?

Mark: We enjoyed it very much. We got a great response from the crowd. They enjoyed the set and it felt good. We learned a lot as well watching Jessie perform. We learned certain things about the stage, how to connect with the audience etc. It was a real good experience.

And now you’ve just started touring with N-Dubz, your first performance being yesterday. How would you say the response from the N-Dubz crowd has differed from the likes of the Jessie J crowd?

Mark: Well it’s a younger crowd first of all so there isn’t as much pressure in a way as we’re not that different from what they know. Touring with Jessie J first made it a lot easier as we now have the experience needed to connect with a crowd and get them interested.

Cairo: I think that the Jessie J crowd definitely appreciate the accapella side of it so that gave us added pressure for us. For example I lost my voice 2 days before the show in Shepherd’s Bush so there were added nerves but we managed to pull through.

Are you guys nervous at all for the N-Dubz tour?

Cairo: I think the nerves kicked in at the start of the Jessie J tour as it was a big thing for us. But the crowd were great and we got an incredible response from the crowd. Also with the N-Dubz tour, we’re one of about 5 support acts, but with Jessie J it was either us, Jessie or Liam Bailey on stage so there was a lot to live up to on that tour.

And you have the 02 Arena at the end of April?

Cairo: Oh yeah that’s going to be a big one for us. We don’t start the arena’s until 21^st April but with London being mine and Pierre’s hometown, it’s our chance to really show London what we’re about and what we have to offer.

So you’re looking to release your album around September time. What can we expect from it?

Cairo: There’s nothing particular in terms of the sound to expect from the album as we are a dubstep/R&B group and we’re able to amalgamate the sounds together, but it should be something pretty amazing and we’re looking forward to it.

Are you guys looking to support any other acts in the near future?

Mark: We’re not too sure about that at the moment. We don’t know too much about who we may be supporting in the future, but we’ve got some festivals lined up which we’re really looking forward to.

Any festivals in particular that you really want to be able to perform at?

Mark: Definitely Glastonbury as it’s massive as well as Wireless.

Anything special that we can expect from you guys in the near future?

Cairo: I think you can expect some good features coming up soon. We’re still working on it but the features should be pretty good ones once they’re done.

Encore are currently on tour with N-Dubz (dates below) and we wish them every success in the tour and thank them for taking the time out to chat with us. We look forward to seeing them again soon!

11th April                      Ryde Arena Isle Of Wight
12th April                      Winter Gardens Margate
13th April                      Grimsby Auditorium Grimsby
14th April                      The Dome Doncaster
16th April                      Waterfront Hall Auditorium & Studio Belfast
19th April                      The Royal Centre Nottingham
21st April                       SECC & Clyde Auditorium (The Armadillo) Glasgow
22nd April                     Metro Radio Arena Newcastle Upon Tyne
23rd April                      Bournemouth International Centre (BIC)
24th April                      Plymouth Pavilions Plymouth
26th April                      Brighton Centre Brighton
28th April                      Manchester Evening News Arena (MEN Arena)
29th April                      LG Arena Birmingham
30th April                      The 02 Arena London

Have a listen to Encore’s mixtape ‘Encore: The Mixtape’ mixed by BBC 1Xtra’s CJ Beatz!