Annique had begun singing even before, she could even speak a word, but yet look at her now! She's come a long way, and has big plans with playing music festivals, shows, and touring in general, but on top of that, she will also be releasing her all new album, consisting of all new material due out at the end of this year! Expect great things from such a great artist such as Annique, because she herself has taken her time to discuss her trek of shows as well as her new material she's been working so hard upon.
1. First of all, who are you, and what do you do as Annique?
Annique: I am a London based singer who also writes alongside the talents of Koby Isrealite . Annique is a fusion or our influences; Jazz, Pop , Soul, Rock and World and we hope to inspire.
2. Tell us about your thoughts on your local music scene? Are there any new and upcoming bands that you are into?
Annique: I think there is a lot going on with music locally. Local free festivals have become a huge thing. I don’t always get time to go see gigs but did a Sofar Sounds gig recently and 77 Bombay Street were really cool. Lazy Habits are also an awesome band.3. Annique is the name you went with but why? Why and who is Annique?
Annique: I have been involved with a variety of singing work over the years. So when we started this project I didn’t want it to get confused with other stuff particularly online. I guess it made it easier for the fans. When looking for a name I didn’t have to go far as my middle name is Annique, although spelt slightly differently. It’s a French name and was my mothers first name given to her by my grandparents who were French teachers. Unfortunately I cannot speak French and I grew up in Essex.
4. Who are your musical influences that you look up to the most?
Annique: I have so many … Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Ella Fitz Gerald, Amy Winehouse, Roisin Murphy, Michael Jackson, Bill Withers, Freddy Mercury/Queen, Jonni Mitchelle, The Beatles, Jill Scott, The Noisettes, Maddona, Eva Cassidy, Sia and Edith Piaf. There’s tons more but they are the main ones. Some are based on performance, some on tone or song songwriting. Being a singer you learn a lot off of others that you meet/work with. I look up to those as much as I do the famous as you can learn a lot from being part of it as well as watching from the audience.
5. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Annique: LOVE is pretty much in every artists catalog and also mine. I think there are 4 songs about relationships on the album. I try not to write too much about love as it can be bit cliché. Other themes include the London riots, a bird, memories and life/death.
All generally are based on my experiences in the past 6 years. I would find it hard to write about something I have had no level of contact with. The album ‘Heads Up’ holds a collection of emotions, concepts and opinions. Some serious, some humorous, some written from my perspective and others tell a story or use metaphors.
6. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)Annique: Yes I do but Koby (my co-writer/producer) contributes massively. He plays most instruments and also does the production side of things. In a nut shell, I do the melody, lyrics and vocal arrangements, he does the rest. Our song writing process has changed over the years. At the start Koby would arrange an idea, a backing track if you like and then I would come in and do something over the top, (songs like ‘Never forget The Times’, ‘No mans Land’ and ‘Fallin’ were written like this). The rest were written from scratch together.
Now days we play around with ideas until something excites us then we develop the structure ie verse/chorus/ break down. During this process I focus on the melody and however the feel of the song turns out I pick a subject to fit it. For instance if it’s a busy fast song with a happy vibe I wouldn’t write lyrics about how sad I am and no one cares. All through out, I will be recording the ideas on my phone. There’s nothing more annoying than doing something really good and then forgetting it. After we are happy with the arrangement, I’ll start writing lyrics and Koby usually goes to the studio to record the arrangement. Once the lyrics are done, we then record my vocals.
7. Where are you in the recording process of the new material?
Annique: We have written about 9 songs we are proud of. Some of which have been put up as live recordings on my social media sights. I particularly love ‘Endless’ and its on YouTube for you to see now. It’s definitely going on the new album. We still have to write more but its enjoyable and extremely rewarding once its out.
8. How would you describe the overall sound of the new material? How does it compare to past works?
Annique: The new sound is more stripped back with less backing vocals , its more dreamy, romantic, jazzy but still has the world elements to it. There’s also a slight twist of folk in there too.
9. Can you go into one or two tracks on the new album? If so, can you give us the track title and brief description of how the track sounds and how it came about?
Annique: Ok so I mentioned ‘Endless’ earlier. It’s a waltz. It works best as a duo or trio and has been recorded like this. Sometimes songs speak more true with less production. For me it had to be empty as the melody and lyrics are focusing on a moment in time when you’re missing some one. Its child like, sounding simple but realistically a little complicated to play. The song climbs melodically changing from major to minor (I love when songs do that ) being theatrical and magical, painting a picture of thoughts with words. You can almost imagine a spotlight being put on for it. DRAMA darling!
10. When can we expect the new album to be released?
Annique: Ha! The golden question. Well not this year. It really does take time to get it all ready if you’re doing a lot of it yourself. You also have to do videos etc. All in all 2017 will be realistic but we’re always putting new stuff up on the Social media sights to keep you entertained.
11. What are the plans that you have in-store for this year?
Annique: We will be releasing the music video of London’s Burning soon . We are also waiting to hear back from the festivals for this summer but are definitely going to Austria and hopefully Latvia for mini tour. In between this we will be writing/recording more new material for album No2.
12. Any last words?
Annique: Yes, if you want to follow me on the social media sights; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest I am Anniqueofficial . I also got a website www.anniqueofficial.co.uk.
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