“It’s like a mini motown going on in our own city!”
As part of our Artist of the Month feature, we like to try and get an interview with said artist. So I was lucky enough to have a little chat with October’s AoM HARLEIGHBLU about her impending album and the Nottingham scene…
In four words, how does it feel to have an album coming out this month?
Exciting, nerve wracking, hopeful, thankful.
There’s a definite old-school Jazz lounge vibe to your music. Who are you biggest influences?
My biggest influences are people like Gil Scott, Erkya Badu, D’angelo…And timeless classic singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday & Nina Simone! I also listen to a lot of hip hop… I love singers like Mary J Blige and Lauryn Hill that manage to blend Hip Hop so well with their Soul music. My lady of the moment right now is Marlena Shaw… her vocals are just incredible.
It all feels very authentic and quite organic. Is there a particular song writing process you go through?
Thank you! I usually am given a sample or loop of an idea to write over by my producer, Joe Buhdha… the writing process is quite Hip Hop. He’ll think of an idea and make it there and then. I’ll play it on a loop until I’ve written the basis of my song, and sometimes it doesn’t come together until I’m in the booth recording it. Layering up the harmonies and giving the take some attitude. Nearly all of the songs on the album are from one take. It’ll finally click a few hours into the session and we’ll just lay it down. I love working that way, it keeps the ideas really fresh and throws you in at the deep end.
So what can we expect from the album?
I hope I’ve created something fresh, a new take on classic soul…We wanted to create a record that you could listen to all the way through without skipping… Something special in every track. Hopefully we’ve done that.
You’ve been a key player in the Notts music scene for some time now, and you were one of our Future Sound of Nottingham judges this year – How big do you feel the scene could get?
I know! That was special; it was great to have been asked to judge that. I’ve been around in the Nottingham scene a while now & I’ve seen it grow into what it is and I’ve got to say, I feel so privileged to be a part of it. There are so many special musicians in this little city in the middle of England, and we’re like a melting pot of sounds too. From JAKE BUGG to LIAM BAILEY to SAINT RAYMOND, everyone’s a little different and everyone’s doing their own thing. It’s a special time right now – everyone is finally breaking through and making their own little splash nationally and internationally. This is just the beginning, I think. The more artists that break through the bigger the spotlight becomes for all of us. I love it.
The soul scene is really something else here too…
Yeah I’m so proud of that too. People like LIAM BAILEY kicked it off for us, smashing it… then we had NATALIE DUNCAN break through and now there are people like myself and ADY SULEIMAN coming along and creating our own wave. It’s really exciting to play alongside and get to work with these artists, we’re all coming from the same place and all doing such different things. It’s like a mini motown going on in our own city!
Joe Buhdha aside, which Nottingham artist would you love to collaborate with?
NATALIE DUNCAN used to be my backing singer when I was starting out gigging in Nottingham. She was amazing to work with, such a talented vocalist and I still look up to her massively now. Aside from Natalie, LIAM BAILEY would also be my other choice… we sang a duet this time last year at ‘From Notts With Love’ and it was one of my highlights of performing in Nottingham, ever. They are both very special artists… Superstars.
And finally, is there anything you’d like to say to the music lovers of Nottingham?
Nottingham has such a lot to offer… So go to local gigs, support local talent, buy records! Whatever genre you’re into we’ll have someone from that genre of music smashing it – on your very own doorstep! In our city, we have real talent, with a real buzz, across the board. So be a part of it and go support x
HARLEIGHBLU‘s debut album ‘Forget Me Not‘ is out October 14th on Tru Thoughts Records. You can see a special performance in our ‘Nusic Presents Harleighblu’ mini-doc HERE.
