Count Counsellor’s debut EP, Count Counsellor & The Childhood Heroes, is a musical compendium of how the 6-foot-8 twenty-something, half-Brit and half-Australian, spent his formative years listening to disco, funk, soul, house and garage. The result is an atmospheric collection of dream-pop tracks that Count Counsellor (whose real name is Henry — go figure) said was a result of, “trying to sound like a young Stevie Wonder, an old Cab Calloway, Mick Hucknall and Mike Skinner touring as a Talking Heads UK garage covers band, sharing a car on the way to a rave in the North East, after attending a Craig David songwriting masterclass in an illustrated film drawn by Maurice Sendak.” Count Counsellor talks to Myspace about his musical childhood heroes, why his dog is his favorite collaborator (for real!) and living by his father's words.

Hometown: Adelaide, Australia and London, England

Homebase: South London, England

What’s with the name Count Counsellor?

My mate Barry suggested it.

You’ve said that your debut EP is about the moments that shaped you and the heroes who elevated you. How did you discover music? And how did you realize that you wanted to make music a career?

I was played “boom shake the room” when I was in my mum's tummy, then my brother [a DJ] took the role of providing me with a world of music from his eclectic, lifelong collection. Then like all people I started to mimic things I enjoy. Years of playing live and writing, and bang! You have Count Counsellor.

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

It was a song for my old man, just a song for him.

Who were your childhood heroes musically?

As a kid I listened to a combination of my parents and my brothers’ love for music. Meaning a mix between Frank Sinatra and Kerri Chandler amongst other greats like Nirvana and Prince.

Who are your inspirations now?

Now my inspiration lies with a development of that foundation. I look at both music and worlds as inspiration. By worlds I mean the world of bingo hall announcers, or Clive, the model train enthusiast. They give me great inspiration. There’s allso my main man D'Angelo. I think any musician who has seen the vanguard play should be existentially inspired.

Why is your album called ...& The Childhood Heroes?

The idea came from establishing each song as a story book in a child’s life.The first song, “Cloud Calls," is about youthful optimism where anything seems possible. The second, “Disco Dodo,” is more ridiculous but also more real. The line “It takes time to see what we become, dodos who fly towards the sun" is trying to show human nature, that we have these dreams of flying and creating brilliance and sometimes trying to do what seems impossible helps us find who we are. And I guess on a darker level it hints at the ever-present possibility of failure (or extinction!). The next song is darker, meaning that the EP progresses as childhood does with the world getting realer and more complicated. “akidoutthere” is about taking a moment to remember the optimism of the childhood in “Cloud Calls” and to try to capture that feeling for a moment.

What instruments do you play?

I've played all the rhythm section instruments at some point with bands around London but my favorite to play is piano and drums, or MPC. And singing is always fun no matter how good you are. Everyone needs to sing more. 

What's your songwriting process?

It changes all the time but I think the best is collaborating with anyone and everyone, because you never know what you can get from a random session with someone who claims they don't do music but actually they're genius.

What do you like most about yourself?

I like that not a lot bothers me. My old man taught me that a man is measured by the size of the things that bother him and I try and live by that.

What's the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you?

Challenge me to hand fu. I slashed that fool up.

How do you describe your music to people who haven't heard it before?

Just a couple buds makin a time that's good, and trying to give others a slice of that fly pie. 

Who is your favorite collaborator so far and why?

My dog Frankie Knuckles. He made this amazing cry one time and I sampled it. Now he's on almost every track I've made.

Who else would you love to collaborate with/what is your dream collaboration?

There are a few people I would just like to see how they work and that is Kanye West, Michael Archer and Prince. There are a whole world of others I would love to collaborate with but those I would love to see their process. And I'd love to try and take them out of their comfort zone, which is something I take pride in doing.

How does living in London affect your music?

The beautiful thing about London is it’s just a big ole hotpot from all around the world, so cultures are just flying around. You can play with a whole manner of different characters and learn something new every time.