Name: Jon Allen
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Nationality: British
Current release: Jon Allen's new single "Down With The Tide" is out now. It is taken off his forthcoming full-length album Seven Dials, out May 2nd 2025 via V2.
Recommendation for London: I live in London, and since my new album delves into the murky underworld of Seven Dials, I’d have to recommend a visit to the Bow Street Police Museum in Covent Garden. Housed in the old Bow Street Police Station, it tells the story of the Bow Street Runners, London’s first organised police force, who once dragged in crooks, rebels, and maybe even a few rock ‘n’ roll types of their day. You can sit in a cell, soak up the atmosphere, and imagine the ghosts of the past - preferably with my album cranked up to 11 in your ears!

If you enjoyed this Jon Allen interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram.



When did you first consciously start getting interested in singing? What was your first performance as a singer on stage or in the studio, and what was the experience like?

Singing snuck up on me.

In the school band nobody wanted to be the singer; the next thing I knew I was howling through a keyboard amp with enough reverb to wake the dead.

The moment I belted out "It’s a Man’s World" and realized I could scream in key? Yeah, that was it. That was the lightning bolt moment.

If you're also playing other instruments, how does the expressive potential of these compare to your own voice?

Guitar and piano are great, but the voice is the closest thing to soul telepathy. No frets, no keys, just raw emotion.

I also play drums, which is pure therapy. Smack things, make noise, feel better. Highly recommend.

Singing is an integral part of all cultures and traditions. Which of these do you draw from – and why?

I started in school choir, like a lot of people. That was all very proper and polite.

Then The Beatles happened. I got obsessed. At birthdays and Christmases, the common refrain was, ‘just give me another Beatles cassette’. There was no greater heartbreak than realizing there were no more albums left to collect.

Then came Ray Charles, and Sam Cooke and suddenly, that rough edge in my voice felt like an asset, not a flaw.

What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer/vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or teachers were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

Had a few well-meaning vocal teachers try to "fix" my natural rasp. Turns out, the so-called "bad" technique was just my sound.

Best teacher? A record player and a stubborn streak.

What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

Character. Imperfection. Emotion.

Auto-tune makes me want to set fire to things. Give me Nina Simone, singing slightly off-key every time.

How would you describe the physical sensation of singing?

Like a well-placed penalty kick effortless when you get it right, deeply embarrassing when you don’t.

The key is to stay loose, stay relaxed, and the voice will hopefully go where it should.

We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum, or different in kind?

Mine are pretty much the same. If I ever get into voice acting, I’m either playing the grizzled detective or the guy who smokes too much.

How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm, and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?

Absolutely. Learning drums early on was the best accidental vocal training ever. Groove is everything. Too many people can hit the notes but sound like robots. No groove, no soul.

Melody is probably the most powerful emotional tool a singer has. But what really makes it work is the harmonic tension created by the chords beneath it. It’s all about tension and release that’s what makes a melody feel alive and emotionally compelling.

What are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

Another whiskey and there are no limits!

But seriously, voices change. Some high notes I had in my 20s are gone, but I’ve got more grit, more soul.

Some people tell me I sound better now. Maybe because I care less about control and more about feeling it.

As a singer, it is possible to whisper at the audience, scream at the audience, reveal deep secrets or confront them with uncomfortable truths. Tell me about the sense of freedom that singing allows you to express yourself and how you perceive and build the relation with the audience.

It’s all about dynamics. If you start at 11 and stay there, nobody cares. Even the heaviest bands know when to pull it back.

Sometimes, if an audience is rowdy, the best trick is to sing quieter. Whatever is going on with me, however my day has been, I get it all out on stage.

I'd love to know more about the vocal performances for "Down With The Tide" and the album - and the qualities of your voice that you wanted to bring to the fore.

I wanted to keep it raw. No polishing the life out of it.

Too much music today sounds like it was assembled in a lab. I wanted my record to sound like a band like humans playing together in a room.

Think Exile on Main Street but with my own brand of glorious chaos.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard on singing someone else's songs versus your own?

It’s easy to freak out when you are recording and start thinking you have to ‘get the ultimate vocal’.

The best way to get around this is to stop thinking that way and fall back on what you know. Some vowels just sing better than others. That’s why certain words feel right, and others make you sound more like a strangled cat.

As for singing other people’s songs it’s about finding yourself in them. If you don’t believe the words, the audience won’t either but I love find my voice in other people’s material.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are there recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

I should probably be more careful, but in-ear monitors have saved me from blowing my voice out on tour.

Turns out, screaming over drums and guitars every night isn’t great for longevity. Who knew?

How has technology, such as auto-tune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

Technology and music have always gone hand in hand. Look at the invention of the electric guitar, or the invention of the microphone that allowed a singer to be heard above a full band.  

Having said that, to my ears the excessive use of autotune has become a tired sound. If you’re going to use effects, do it with intention. Auto-tune isn’t evil but I’d rather embrace the flaws and imperfections that make the human voice human.

Rock ’n’ roll was never supposed to be perfect.

For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What are some of your favourite recordings of your own voice so far, and what makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?

Sometimes, the "accidental" takes are the best ones.

I recorded a version of “Mercy” (Duffy cover) with a Northern Soul project, The Third Degree. The vocal we used was me messing around at home not even trying for a take.



Another vocal I love is from the new album. “Down With The Tide” goes from a whisper to full-throttle.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression and culture in general. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

I know I sound like I’m quoting the lyrics to an Abba song but my mother swears I sang before I talked. Maybe I had my priorities straight.

Singing has always been therapy especially as a teenager, when everything feels overwhelming. It’s a way to let it out.

I’m not here to change the world, but if people hear my voice and feel something, that’s enough for me.