Dan Caplen is here to make your summer a little more victorious with his new single Trouble. We meet the newcomer for this week's Internet Crush.

Social media has changed the way we interact with our favourite artists. More than just musicians, they’re now personalities, people we can interact with on the daily. Now more than ever we’re aware that musicians are pretty normal people, they just have a weird job. Every week we get to know one of our favourite SoundCloud heroes, internet dating style, in our new column, Internet Crush.

 

There are certain songs that just belong in the summer. Tracks that radiate sunshine and triumphalism, songs with victorious choruses and blaring horns, tracks that seem to reach out from the radio and tap you on the shoulder to say ‘hey, this summer is yours’. These proper summer pop songs roll around every year and in 2018 the best of them belongs to Dan Caplen.

 

Having already worked with Jess Glynne and Rudimental on their chart-topping ‘These Days’ today Caplen releases his follow-up single ‘Trouble’ featuring MC of the moment Ms Banks. Layered with horns, staccato guitar and enough pop sensibility to send it shooting up the charts hot on the heels of ‘These Days’, it’s a true summer pop track, elevated by Caplen’s soulful vocal. In honour of the track’s release, we caught up with Dan for this week’s Internet Crush.

Where would you take Macklemore for his first time in Brixton?<

Brixton Grill, a Mozambican restaurant in the market – It’s the ONE.

 

What the biggest trouble you’ve ever been in?
I nearly got kicked out of university for being drunk and getting into a fight, definitely not my finest moment.

 

Who do you roll with?
The same people since I moved to England when I was six.

 

Describe your sound in just a sentence:
Confessional soul ‘n’ pop.

 

Favourite colour:
Purple all day.

 

Favourite movie:
Goodfellas.

 

What’s your star sign?
Aries baby.

 

Have you ever been in love?
Yep, a couple times.

 

Have you ever had your heartbroken?
You haven’t really lived if you haven’t had your heart cut up into little tiny bits.

How do you deal with a broken heart?
The lad/man way is to go out drink and try to forget. I don’t think that works, but if someone had a proper solution it would be worth a lotta money.

 

Last book you read:
Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah.

 

First single/album you ever bought?
Either ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ by Jay Z or ‘It Wasn’t Me’ by Shaggy.

 

First band/act you ever went to see live?
Mos Def.

 

Earliest memory?
I lived in Hong Kong for a bit and my first memory is playing in a playground there.

 

What do you do in your spare time?
People watching in bars/pubs, watching films and going to decent restaurants.

 

Are you a morning or evening person?
Evening for sure.

 

First song you ever wrote?
It was called ‘Like The Beat’. I still like it, but I don’t think it will ever see the light of day.

 

Favourite song of your own?
‘Badman’, I still love singing it.

 

Favourite lyric?
“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.” – Bob Marley.