MNEK talks teaming up with Paul Woolford and Lewis Thompson on throwback new single 16 Again, work with FLO and second solo album: "I'm embracing everything that I am"
24.03.2023 - 15:35
/ officialcharts.com
MNEK has teamed up with Paul Woolford and Lewis Thompson for a brand new single, 16 Again.
A rampant banger all about that special kind of connection that takes you back to more innocent teenage days, it sees MNEK's sugar-sweet vocals mixed perfectly with the throwback production courtesy of Woolford and Thompson.
And it is something of a family reunion for MNEK, who has collaborated closely with Lewis Thompson (known best for his work with friend Joel Corry on all his UK chart hits so far) including on his first UK Number 1 single as an artist, Head & Heart.
"I'm really happy to be collaborating with Paul and Lewis," MNEK tell us from his studio. "Obviously, I worked with Lewis on Head & Heart with Joel. and that was obviously a really amazing moment for all of us. I always really enjoy working on fun dance music, and hopefully it appeals [to everyone] and they enjoy it."
We do offer to MNEK however, that when he sings that he feels 16 again...well, not many people had the same life experience as him at 16. When most people were studying for their GCSEs, he was already making a name for himself in the music industry and forging ahead with his production and songwriting.
"I can appreciate that," he tells us. "My experience of my teenage years was very unique. I was still in school when I got into the industry, and when I was 16 I got my first cut, it was The Saturdays, All Fired Up."
All Fired Up, as we know, is a classic record - just one of many brilliant singles by The Saturdays, in case you've forgotten - and in a sense, like many of his school peers, MNEK did kind of get an apprenticeship into his trade...it was just with Xenomania's Brian Higgins and Miranda Cooper instead of, like, work experience at your local