For the young Dublin R'N'B singer AikJ, music is a way for him to express his creative impulses. We sat down with him recently to talk about his own music and where he sees himself and urban music in the current Irish music scene.

What are your earliest musical memories?

"I really hated music when I was a kid (Laughs) I was the guy that watched cartoons and that kind of stuff. My brothers would be the ones playing music. When I was watching cartoons on TV they would run in and switch it to MTV and I'd get pissed off. I suppose I found out I could sing when I was around 10 or 11, I started singing in a choir. I'd say I really started getting into music I was around 18 or 19 in college. I fell out of love with a lot of things, but I know I love creating stuff, so music is a way to create things."

Musically who would you say are your biggest influences?

"I listened to a lot of R’N’B so Usher. When Chris Brown came out I kind of copied everything he did. I copied everything Michael Jackson did as well - I haven't done much dancing in a while. Right now, from Ed Sheeran to Labyrinth to Chris Brown to Rick Ross it's a really vast pool. I really like Pharell as well. People want to try and box people into one sound or genre and you can't with him, so that's why I like Pharell."

How would you describe your sound to people?

"It's a mixture of a lot of things. Some people would say that I have yet to find a sound, but I'm not sure myself either. I guess you don't really know about yourself, I just think people want that familiarity with someone else’s sound so they can say "He kind of sounds like Prince" or whatever .But, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing."

A lot of your earlier stuff is more hip-hop influenced, while your newer stuff has a bit more soul and R’N’B to it. Was it a conscious decision to change your style?

"I guess it was sort of a conscious decision.  'Heights' I did because I wanted to showcase myself as an R’N’B artist. I did 'In My Soul' because I wanted to start off with something different, something unorthodox that the people in my circle wouldn't have heard before. 'Sweet Life' I just did it for the craic (Laughs)…It's very different from what you hear in Ireland today, everywhere really. I just wanted to do something fun and not be all serious and soulful all the time."

Do other things outside of music influence you?

"I'd say movies do, but I don't really read books, I haven't picked up a book since secondary school, reading Patrick Kavanagh (Laughs). I'd say for me outside of music I would be influenced more by movies and cartoons."

What do you think of the current Irish music scene at the moment?

"Which Irish scene like? (Laughs) There is an urban scene that is kind of developing at the moment. If you hear all the new artists that are coming up, the ones who actually have talent and not just the messers, they are really good. We're in a good place, we just need people to look at us."

So do you think festival organisers aren't really in touch with the urban scene?

"Yes, they're scared, they need someone to come into a room with us, so we can show them what we're about. At the moment I think they're a little scared and they want someone else to support us first before they can jump on the bandwagon."

There are some outlets that support the scene though right?

"Yeah true, but some people don't know who to contact with the likes of GoldenPlec. Like if I sent you an email out of the blue you wouldn't reply, because you wouldn't know who it was. Then second if I send a link there's a slight chance it could be good, there's a slight chance it could be shit. So it's a bit of a gamble that way and you don't know if you're going to get a response."

Why who have you emailed so?

"(Laughs), don't get me started, when I released 'In My Soul' I really wanted that to do well. So I went to everywhere I was trying to find producers from FM104, Spin, RTE etc. There was only one person that got back to me, he was really great and he actually agreed to have a meeting. One of the good things that happened was that Rick O'Shea from RTE retweeted the song, so that was really nice."

You played Knockanstocken recently, have you played any other festivals?

"No, Knockanstocken was the first I played. It was really great and it's great to have that stuff going. I've always wanted to play one of the festivals, especially Body & Soul… that's one of the ones that I’ve really wanted to play. Hopefully I will get that next year."

Are there any up and coming Irish acts that you think people should look out for?

"Yeah like, I have a few friends like Farah Elle who released 'Silk' recently and Two Fools. There's also Jafaris, Damola and Sam Ojo. There's a new person coming out soon I don't know if you have heard of him, his name is AikJ. He's done all this R’N’B shit, he's alright, you know he can sing and he does well for himself. Do check him out first, before you check the rest. But for real those people are the ones in my opinion that are going to take this thing forward. Don't pay attention to the haystack, because we're the needles."

This may seem like a job interview question, but where do you see yourself in the next five years, what are your goals?

"Eh, I dunno know, I have goals like, I'd say the ultimate goal is to tour the world. So that's probably where I see myself. I want to work hard enough to be able to go to a city and they know my name.... That's basically it. You can accomplish a lot in five years. I feel like if I was 19 doing this it would be much better, but, maybe it's because I'm finished college and It’s time to be a man (Laughs). I just need to put the head down I am young. Even if only a million people know me, I would be happy."