Who is Houston X?

Growing up in Slough, upcoming music artist Houston X began sowing the seeds for a fruitful future in the humble roots of his local church, from there he was nurtured, giving him the confidence to hone his craft and find his voice. Consequently, X branched out releasing his first single early last year with track “Blu Room”. Today, we caught up with the blooming artist to pick his brains on the recent release of his new melodic single 'CT (A Side)', his ambiguous moniker, ‘atmospheric’ sound and Prince inspired aesthetic.

Hey X, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

What's good New Wave, we in here. I’m Houston X and I’m an artist, I produce the most atmospheric music you’ll ever experience (something important to me), something for you to feel.

So, 'Houston X' is a very ambiguous name, tell us why you chose it and what it means?

See, I didn't even chose my name. What happened was I had a connection with one of my former classmates in University and we were playing around and talking about random chicks, getting in trouble and stuff. We were in the library, doing coursework and he was like “Yo, you should call yourself Houston” like “Houston, we have a problem” - also I f*ck with the space sh*t. Originally, was it Houston txs and then it evolved to just Houston X. The X to me always meant you get in a certain state.

You grew up in Slough and in the church - talk to us about the experience, did it influence your sound?

Church is fire man, that’s where I really learnt my vocal ranges and gained confidence. I was put on stage by my mum because she was the choir leader at the time. I used to get in these fly ass suits and sing in front of everyone and at first, I was shy and stuff but I kept doing it and the church loved it. I was taken on a church tour round the UK and I had to rap to a tune. It popped off, and I kept going round to church and learnt more ranges and vocals. I wouldn’t be doing what I was doing now without that. Church is very spiritual and your soul already know what it's going to be in life, that's what I believe in. So, I discovered who I am and what I am. That's why I’m putting everything into this, it's what I believe in.

Friday saw the release of your first solo offering: 'CT (A Side)' - could you give us a little context behind it?

Cutthroat is being able to follow through with your emotions. Following through with how you feel in certain situations and not being taken for granted. When you do a lot for others and they don’t do the same for you, emotions build up and you just got to a point where you got to be cutthroat - that's what ‘CT’ stands for. So, it means to be savage, to be ‘cut throat’. F*ck em.

Describe your sound in three words

Melodic, Atmospheric, Pure.

Am I right in detecting a US vibe throughout your music? Who are your influences?

Yes, I listen to a lot of American music, because I f*ck with the melodies hard. I listen to Kid Cudi, Future, Tame Impala, Bones, Matt Lavelle, my taste is so diverse. American’s are a lot more easygoing and I find them to be a lot different to the UK scene. But let's not get into that...

Looking at your IG, you definitely have a very distinct aesthetic - describe your style?

Prince inspired aesthetic. If you know, you know.

Finally, is there a full project on the cards for this year?

There's a reason why it's the single is called Side A, and there’s a reason why I’ve been quiet for a while. You know that phrase quiet before the storm...I’m that storm.

Stream Houston X's new single CT (A Side)