On Thursdays Del sits down with an artist on the FOTN radar and gets them to tell their origin story over a cup of tea and biscuits. This week singer songwriter and fellow Fresh On The Net moderator Alan Dreezer is in the hotseat and he brought chocolate covered custard creams from M&S.

Hello Alan how are you?
Hi! I’m good thanks!

Congratulations on the release of NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES how does it feel now it’s out in the world?

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen Del. It’s honestly a surreal feeling finally having it out in the world. I’ve lived with these songs for such a long time, almost 5 years in fact and there were a number of moments during the process where I genuinely felt the album wouldn’t actually get finished. So there’s a strange mix of relief, excitement and vulnerability to finally have it out, but I’m incredibly proud of what we created.

What’s your favourite track from it?

That’s such a difficult question because each track represents a different emotional chapter for me. Right now I’d probably say BITTERSWEET which will be a future single. The finished recording is exactly how I imagined it when I first came up with the idea and that rarely happens. I also feel it’s one of my best vocal performances too. But APART is also very special to me because of how emotionally raw it is. I think favourite tracks change depending on where you are emotionally at the time.

It’s your third, what did you learn about the process since recording the first one?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to live with songs for longer before committing them to a project. On my first two albums, the writing and recording processes happened almost simultaneously, which meant songs were being captured while they were still very new to me. Once you’ve started recording and invested financially in a track, it naturally becomes much harder to step back and question whether it truly belongs there. Looking back now, there are definitely songs on both of my first two albums that probably wouldn’t have made the final cut if I’d given myself more time and distance to reflect on them. This album benefited massively from patience and perspective, and I think that’s made it a much stronger body of work.

What’s your favourite memory of recording this album?

One of my favourite memories was hearing certain songs fully come to life in the studio for the first time. There’s always a moment where a track suddenly stops sounding like an idea and starts feeling emotionally real. Working with Elliot my producer and co-writer is always exciting because we’d often discover little production details that completely elevated the mood of a song. I also loved the long conversations we’d have around the themes of the album — those moments shaped the record just as much as the actual recording sessions.

It’s a ten track project, what was the easiest and most challenging part of the process?

The easiest part was probably the writing process, because these songs came from very real experiences and emotions. Lyrically, everything flowed quite naturally and I never felt like I was forcing ideas or chasing concepts that weren’t authentic to me. I allowed myself to write at my own pace, which made the songs feel honest from the beginning.

The most challenging part was definitely the remote recording process. Elliot is based in Essex while I’m in Eastbourne, so face-to-face sessions were limited because of the additional travel costs. A lot of the album was developed remotely, which can make it harder to tweak melodies in the moment or bounce ideas off each other naturally when you’re not in the same room. That instant creative back-and-forth is difficult to replicate online.

At the same time though, I think those limitations actually helped the record in some ways. Working remotely forced us to trust our instincts more and stay connected to the original emotion of the songs, rather than endlessly overthinking or drifting too far away from the ideas that made us excited about them in the first place.

You’re a UK based artist how did it all begin for you?

I began writing songs at 18 with my best friend, Russell Aylett. By our mid-twenties, we were touring with 80s pop favourites Brother Beyond under the name TARA 2, had signed a management deal, and it genuinely felt like we were standing on the edge of something real. Looking back, it was one of those moments where everything seems to be building towards the future you had dreamed of for yourself.

But for reasons that still don’t completely make sense in hindsight, that moment slipped away. The band dissolved a year later, and with it disappeared my first real experience of the music industry. At the time it felt devastating, because when you’re young you believe opportunities are supposed to arrive in a straight line. What I understand now is that those experiences never really leave you — they shape the artist and person you eventually become.

What did you listen to growing up?

Growing up, The Police were everything to me. They were actually the reason Russ and I became best friends. We knew each other at school, but we didn’t really become close until we discovered this shared obsession with Sting and the band. Music became the thing that connected us and, in a lot of ways, shaped the direction our lives would take afterwards.

From there, we fell heavily into the whole New Romantic movement, especially Spandau Ballet. Then artists like Go West, Tears for Fears, and the early work of George Michael really opened the door for us creatively. Those records made songwriting feel aspirational but also achievable — like pop music could still have emotion, sophistication, and something personal to say. That was probably the point where we stopped just listening to music and started wanting to create it ourselves.

You’re also a moderator for fresh on the net describe being part of the team in three words.

Supportive. Passionate. Inspiring.

Who are your top three artists that you’ve discovered in the time you’ve joined the team?

That’s incredibly difficult because there’s so much talent in the independent scene, I’ve genuinely loved discovering artists who are creating music without chasing trends and who have a real emotional identity. One of the best things about Fresh On The Net is constantly hearing artists who deserve far bigger audiences. It reminds you how much incredible music exists outside the mainstream industry. Ok if I’m pushed I’d say Nuit Ocean, Llinos Emanuel & Aloric.

What are you listening to at the moment?

On repeat right now are James Blake – Trying Times, Monica – Jack Harlow, Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally – Harry Styles

What are you looking forward to doing next?

Right now I’m excited to continue building the world around this album. There are more visuals to come and single releases, plus we are also starting to plan some live performances for late 2026 early 2027 plus more projects connected to it that I can’t wait to share. I also want to keep pushing myself creatively and evolving with every release and keep trying to get out of my comfort zones. Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes right?