THE INTERVIEW with JALEN NGONDA

When Jalen Ngonda logged into his recent interview with HYFIN Music Director Anthony Foster, he was hiding out indoors, battling an uncharacteristic UK heatwave. But heatwaves aside, the Maryland-born, London-based soul powerhouse has been on a serious roll. Hot on the heels of his latest Daptone Records release, Doctrine of Love, Ngonda took a breath between tour dates to break down how a few years of relentless gigging—and a healthy obsession with James Brown, New Orleans soul, and ‘60s folk rock—completely shifted his sonic trajectory. Where his 2023 debut, Come Around and Love Me, was a cozy, lockdown-era homage to Marvin Gaye and classic Philly soul, his new record is built for the stage: higher energy, faster tempos, and packed with sweat-soaked grit.

The chat drifted easily into Ngonda’s unique path through the music industry—specifically his decision to leap across the Atlantic over a decade ago. Raised in Wheaton, Maryland, Ngonda bypassed the usual domestic route to New York, instead packing his bags for a performing arts university in Liverpool after the school stumbled across his SoundCloud. Twelve years and a move to London later, the UK feels like home. Yet despite his international address, Ngonda’s process remains grounded in classic American musical tradition. Recording live-to-tape with Daptone’s seasoned session players, he treats studio tracks as structured blueprints, leaving the true evolution of the music to happen organically in front of live crowds.

Beyond the tape machines and stage lights, the conversation captured the easygoing personality behind the falsetto. Ngonda admitted that tour life off-stage mostly consists of playing pool in local dives and embarking on low-stakes hunts for vintage clothes—though he joked that nine times out of ten, he just ends up finding “stuff my mom would wear”. Looking ahead to the future, Ngonda isn’t overly concerned with grand multi-year master plans, focusing instead on staying in good spirits and eventually taking his live show to uncharted waters in South America and Asia. It was an effortless check-in with an artist who manages to make timeless soul feel totally unforced, leaving fans with plenty to look forward to as he prepares to hit the road. The North American leg of his tour kicks off November 10th in Chicago at the legendary Thalia Hall.