CYNDI LAUPER

Over the last three decades music legend Cyndi Lauper has sold over 30 million records worldwide. On top of writing music for an upcoming Broadway adaptation of Brit-flick, Kinky Boots, Lauper this month releases an album of Blues covers on September 27th.

Obviously there is a big difference between your last album, Bring Ya To The Brink, and the new album, Memphis Blues.
It was completely like day and night. Bring Ya To The Brink, as you know, was dance music and was pretty high-tech and I was sitting at a computer all the time. Whereas for Memphis Blues I was working out of Memphis with these old guys and it was recorded totally live.

Did you enjoy recording the album in Memphis?
It’s a great little city. The first thing I did was go to the Human Rights Museum because that’s very much a part of the music because the original artists were oppressed but they still wrote uplifting music.

How long have you wanted to make the album for? 
I had a dream when I was on the road a long time ago in 1988 or ‘87 that Oscar Peterson came to me and started playing on the piano and said he really liked my version of What’s Going On and that I should re-do the old songs and make them new.

So what made you decide to make this record now? 
The songs that I chose reminded me of the times in which we live – it’s pretty much you read the news it looks like the Blues so I felt it was the right time.

What music are you listening to at the moment? 
There’s a lot of great things on the charts.  I like The Clicks, I like Beth Ditto – I like women singers a lot. I started listening to a lot of Gospel too – it’s been inspiring for writing for Kinky Boots.

How is that going? 
That is a blast! I don’t have to worry about anybody saying “you’re singing dance music, I don’t know about this” because it doesn’t freakin’ matter. You’re writing for the spirit of the play and each character has their own style which is exciting for me because I get to use all of  my voice, not just half.

You’re touring North America as we speak, will you be bringing the Memphis Blues Tour to the UK?
Yes, but I don’t know when. I don’t know where I am right now – I swear. I’m somewhere in Nevada.

We’ll look forward to your arrival.  As a last question – we have to ask – do girls still just wanna have fun? 
Well, honey, I’m having it! I think this record proves it.

[Originally published in Wonderland Issue 23, September 2010.]

NATALIA KILLS

Gaga watch your back. There’s a new lady in town.

Bradford-born 23-year-old Natalia Kills (aka Natalia Keery-Fisher) has been building an image of herself through both music and a series of online webisodes that capture her imagination and creativity.  Although musically there are elements of Rihanna and Kanye West (Zombie) or Eurythmics and Depeche Mode (Mirrors), the musician has managed to achieve something remarkable – her tracks sound influenced yet original.  Despite this, comparisons to Lady Gaga only seem inevitable.
    “To be compared to someone who is certainly talented, very hard working and is quite liked by most people, is just one massive compliment,’ Kills retorts. “And it’s a compliment to the record label that we both come from because it shows our label to really be reviving “the true artist” rather than just picking attractive people and then getting a bunch of song writers to write a load of stuff. If you were comparing me to someone generally hated and renowned for their laziness, then that would be unfair!”
    For her debut, Kills has taken perfectionism as a theme (the album is titled Perfectionist) and describes her work as a concept album. “It takes you through the different emotions and neurosis of being a perfectionist.  I wanted to make something that people could find an identity with and emotionally vent to and I really believe that [perfectionism] is something that can be the source of all of our ambitions and desires.”
    With the inclusion of the online Love Kills mini-films (that can  be viewed on YouTube), the musician grants early followers an insight to her influences, dreams and nightmares while they can also hear samples from the album. The webisodes also seem to establish the Natalia Kills character.
    “Natalia Kills isn’t a character,” she objects when we make the suggestion. “There is nothing artificial or calculated about it.  The name Natalia Kills is nothing to do with killing – my whole point about perfectionism is what do you do if you want to be the best at something?  You kill it.  If I’ve been working for this all my life and this is who I’ve been all my life – then I am Natalia Kills.”

[Originally published in Wonderland Issue 23, September 2010. Phtography Taea Thale.]

KELLY ROWLAND

Kelly Rowland is back and commanding the dance floor with her third solo album

Blending American R ’n’ B with Euro-dance beats has been a winning combination for Kelly Rowland (along with David Guetta) since hitting the top of the charts with club anthem When Love Takes Over last year.  Having been in the studio for most of 2010, her third solo album is near complete but finding a title has proved a bit of a struggle.  “I said Freedom,” the singer says of one of her suggestions.  “Then I researched and, of course, Alicia Keys put out her album The Element of Freedom.”
    Title block aside, Rowland is on incredibly confident form and looking forward to sharing her new music, which she feels is her most personal to date and has a fresh, but familiar, sound. ‘I remember coming back from Europe after I finished When Love Takes Over and bumping into Pharrell and he was like, “You’re on something!  Don’t loose that momentum.”
    “And then another writer here was like: “We’re so used to hearing you sing R ’n’ B and Urban music. You’re not going to totally lose that, are you?” And I said “No, not at all. I’m passionate about R ’n’ B as well, so why can’t we marry the two?”’
    Marriage is the term Rowland uses when discussing her relationship to music which she reveals is her only commitment at present. Having always kept her personal relationships out of the limelight (“You have to keep some things to yourself”), Rowland has recently opened up about her body issues – specifically a procedure on her breasts. “The only reason I decided to say something is that I live on the beach and one of the bathing suits that I absolutely love I wore before I got the surgery. Then afterwards I wore the bathing suit again and it looked completely cuter!” she laughs. “People make impulse decisions, and for me it is important to let young women know I wanted to get this done when I was 17 or 18 years old, but I waited 10 years and let my body develop. I thought long and hard about it, I thought about every single thing that could’ve gone wrong – everything!  And I finally just made the decision for myself.”

[Originally published in Wonderland Issue 23, September 2010. Photography Jonas Bresnan.]

PRIMARY 1

A varied upbringing has produced a varied album for long-time-arriving newcomer, Primary 1.

Solo outfit Primary 1 (aka 26-year-old Joe Flory) is soon to release his debut album, Other People – a record that has been near a decade in the making.  The creative process of the album has been as sporadic as Flory’s varied upbringing – taking him from Ipswich to Singapore to Norway and London, writing and recording the album in tiny rooms in various locations.
    “I mastered it today,” he beams when we meet in an east London café. “I just came from the studio, so that was a pretty good feeling.  What I realised was that my music is a bit of a mess – but that is its strength.  It’s very eclectic.  I like to try a lot of different stuff.’
    Assisting with the “eclectic” feel of tracks is an impressive roster of collaborators including Paul Epworth (Plan B, Florence and The Machine) who co-produced recent single Princess, John Hill (who has worked with Santigold and Shakira) and Nina Persson of The Cardigans who lends her vocals to duet on The Blues.  The end result is an album of varied sounds including pop, folk, blues and all with an undercurrent of electronica. “Ironically it has ended up being quite a collaborative record, which is great,” says Flory of the album. “When I started out
I didn’t want to be on my own – I wanted a band, but I just couldn’t find anyone and so I just did it on my own.  And now I have got a band and the album is called Other People.”
    Vocally, Flory has a voice that some have likened to David Bowie – a comparision that finds no complaints.  ‘I don’t mind that!’ he laughs. ‘He’s cool. Bowie’s music definitely wasn’t an early influence, but maybe [it was] later on when I started trying to sing. For the early stuff I was singing tonnes of vocals on top of each other – really messy and fucked up. With The Blues [before becoming a duet] it was just my vocal and it’s very clear and direct.  I think I was trying my best just to sing well and that must be the closest reference – a very clear voice.”
    Having lived in various parts of the world, music served as something as a constant growing up. ‘I lived in Singapore for most of my life from when I was seven until I was 17.  The thing about that was that I didn’t get to see much live music and there wasn’t any NME.  Wherever I went I was interested in finding music that I liked and there wasn’t any guidance like: ‘oh, check that out’. I just went through CDs looking at the cover and thinking: “That’s going to be good.”  When I started, I would make music that I wanted to listen to.’ With the album now complete, Flory is looking forward to hitting the road. ‘I always loved playing in bands in school but we never went and did gigs.  I’m really enjoying it now with the band I’ve got.  That’s my main focus – I’ve got to make a really good show.

[Originally published in Wonderland Issue 23, September 2010. Photograph Kristin Vicari]