Loyle Carner has spoken to NME about how he made his latest album into “the closest representation” yet to himself as an artist, and shared if fans can expect new music any time soon. Check out the interview in full above.
The London singer, songwriter and rapper caught up with us on the red carpet at the 2026 BRIT Awards, where he was nominated for Hip-Hop, Grime and Rap alongside Central Cee, Jim Legxacy, Little Simz, and Dave, with the trophy ultimately going to the latter.
Speaking to us from the Co-op Live in Manchester, where the event was hosted for the first time – and the first time ever that the ceremony took place outside of London – Carner discussed the response he has seen to his fourth album, ‘hopefully!’.
That record was the first from the British-Guyanese rapper since he dropped ‘Hugo’ in 2022, and was praised by NME as seeing the artist “capture the complexities of adulthood, and enter an enlightened new chapter”.
When asked about what it felt like to see the warm response to the record, Carner explained that it resonated with him particularly because of the vulnerable nature of the LP.
“It felt really special, because, in any form of art, you’re trying to get closer to who you really are, and ‘hopefully!’ felt like this was the closest representation I’ve made so far of who I actually am,” he shared. “So for some people to like it and enjoy it and feel seen by it, it helped me feel like I’m enough.”
He also opened up about how the record saw him lean into clean vocal melodies more than ever, and told us about how self-doubt nearly led to those tracks not making the final cut.
“It definitely wasn’t the intention [to push myself in that way]. I was making a lot of music with other people in mind. I was listening to a lot of Elliott Smith and Adrianne Lenker, and writing a lot of stuff hoping that other people would sing it,” he shared.
“I was putting down rough vocals in the hope that someone else would come and save my back. Then, after a long time of going back and forth and seeing people not being able to capture what I wanted, I was like, ‘We’ll just scrap a lot of the songs’, until a friend of mine was like, ‘Why don’t we just keep it with you on there?’ Without him, none of it would be out, because I’m not sure about it still.”
Carner also spoke about his mammoth slot headlining the Other Stage at Glastonbury 2025 – which was given a glowing five-star review from NME – sharing that the moment strangely felt less daunting than his previous four times appearing at the festival, and shared whether or not fans can expect any new music soon.
“Who knows? Now I’m just enjoying the fruits of my labour,” he said. “I’ve turned over heavy stones in the process of making music, and now I’d just love to be doing some gardening, making some dinner, picking the kids up from school. I’m excited about that. That’s where I’m at right now.”
When asked if he had started writing any new music yet, he replied: “Yeah, a little bit. It’s with the pressure off though. I put a lot of pressure on myself for a long time, and I feel like I’m slowly starting to just chill the fuck out.”
Carner is set to perform at Boardmasters and TRNSMT this summer, and will also be headlining Love Supreme Festival 2026 alongside Ezra Collective. Visit here for tickets and more information.
At last weekend’s BRITs, Jack Whitehall returned to host for the sixth time on Saturday February 28, and performances on the night came from Harry Styles, Olivia Dean, HUNTR/X’s EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, Wolf Alice, Mark Ronson, Alex Warren, Sombr, RAYE, and Rosalía – the latter of which brought out Björk as a special guest.
Noel Gallagher was named as Songwriter of the Year, PinkPantheress was Producer Of The Year, and Ozzy Osbourne was honoured with the BRITs Lifetime Achievement Award following his passing last summer.
For the latter, Williams performed some of Osbourne’s songs alongside members of the latter’s band, including Adam Wakeman, Robert Trujillo, Tommy Clufetos and Zakk Wylde. Olivia Dean took home the most awards on the night, and you can check out the full list of winners here.
The post Loyle Carner at the BRITs 2026: “‘hopefully!’ was the closest representation so far of who I actually am” appeared first on NME.