With highlights ranging from your performance at the Miss South Africa event to the lava-hot reception your first single ‘Sick Sick Sick’ has garnered, 2011 must’ve been a whirlwind of a year for you. How would you describe the transition from regular teen life to jet-setting diva status?
Its been wild, I get to do what I love every day, though I wouldn’t say that I have changed or am better than anyone else at all now that my vision has become a reality , I was as they say as cliché as it may be ‘in the right place at the right time’.
You’re fifteen again, and having a solo dance party near the pc speakers in your room, or vibing to your headphones whilst waiting to be picked up from school. What are you listening to?
Kyle Minogue, Amy Winehouse and at the time I was a sucker for Bjork – I would probably have her song ‘Its Oh So Quiet’ on repeat too.
There’s a definite shade of 60’s and 70’s soul and Jazz to your vocal stylings, which you’ve managed to modernize for a contemporary pop audience. Other artists to swim in these waters include the late Amy Winehouse, Adele and SA’s Lira. How do you feel about probable comparisons to the aforementioned songbirds?
Firstly they are all great artists so being compared to any of them isn’t exactly a insult at all, people don’t know my sound yet so I can imagine them to make comparisons in the early stages.
Your two singles out at the moment ‘Sick Sick Sick’ and ‘Walking Away’ display song writing finesse that dizzyingly belies your age. Lyrics like “My heart and my head are at war” and “I want to know what it feels like to be haunted by you” capture precisely the emotions present in both songs. How long have you been writing your own songs? And what’s your usual process, if you’ve got one?
As one gets older you learn to appreciate and understand so as I was growing up I really began to grow a mad passion and love for music I started singing at the age of 10 and writing from the age of about 12 I think. The writing process is actually very spontaneous , it starts from a different corner every time.
The music video for ‘Sick Sick Sick’ looks like it was fun to shoot. It both encapsulates and balances the stylishly sultry with the elegantly tasteful, and your sleek dance moves are sure to make some people forget what it was that they were in the middle of doing before they saw it. What was your involvement in the creative direction and general aesthetic of the production?
I definitely felt like a vixen in that music video, felt it right to the bone. I came up with the concept of the music video which is really simple , sexy , cheeky and intimate – basically an introduction as an artist. I also wanted a warm treatment and chose the retro hair and makeup , I was very lucky to have such a creative team behind me.
You’ve made ‘Walking Away’ available as an mp3 through your Facebook page. It’s no secret that the internet has forever changed the landscape of music distribution in the last few years, with many artists choosing to release online as it could possibly broaden their audience. Is this something you see yourself doing more of in future?
Yes , let’s face it social media is king at the moment – I plan to make my music available to the public online and I’m going to definitely make sure that they have a hard copy to sleep with at night too
Your debut album is scheduled for release in March. Could you describe it as if it were a movie?
A wild hot romantic that collides into a heart dropping thriller which slowly moves into a tear jerking drama then a quick sci-fi moment which makes you question the impossible and just before it gets too far-fetched it turns into a naughty naughty comedy which evolves into an independent women chick flick ending off with a scene quite similar to when Rocky finally climbed those hundreds of stairs like a champ ! Haha !
Your musical career aside, what else are you excited about in 2012?
Just seeing where all this chaos takes me I have a campaign launching this year with Woolworths, I am the new brand ambassador for the Jenna Clifford Wisdom and Youth Campaign, doing some great magazine spreads and saucy interviews, a London trip on the way, collaborations with other artists and I’m so excited to meet new people and artists.
INTERVIEW: Jayson Geland
