New Songtress of Neo Soul
Five Questions With Corinne Bailey Rae
By Marcus Vanderberg, AOL Black Voices
Joshua Prezant , Retna
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Name: Corinne Bailey Rae
Current Release: 'Corinne Bailey Rae'
5 Questions Quotable: It’s weird being here and talking about that. Like I really like the late ‘60s and early ‘70s of America music. But here, it’s “You like Al Green, so what?”
Having already taken the United Kingdom by storm, sultry songstress Corinne Bailey Rae has set her sights on the United States. Hailed as the number one breakthrough act of 2006 by the BBC, Bailey Rae became only the fourth female British act in history to have their first album debut at number one on the charts.
In celebration of the U.S. release of her self-titled recording, Bailey Rae was recently in New York City. She stopped by to talk to Black Voices about the pressures of succeeding and the differences between the U.S. and the U.K.
What has the transition been like from singing at cafes to becoming UK superstar?
The transition has been really exciting actually. I still do a lot of small gigs as well so I don't feel like I have totally left that intimacy where you can look into everyone's eyes and direct certain things to different tables. It's been exciting to see the crowd that has grown from 80 people to 500 to 2,000.
You have been deemed an "It Girl." How do you handle the added pressure, if any, which comes with such a label? I think that's really exciting to have even been noticed and picked out. It's based on people having heard the music, at least, soit's kind of comforting in people knowing what you do. I don't feel scared about it. I'm not someone who is massively hungry for certain level of success. In that way it doesn't bother me if this amount or that amount of people are into it. It's always good to have people draw their attention to your record. I spent 10 years working in the underground where everyone who has your music does because you gave it to them or they came to your gigs because you personally invited them.
You recently did a cover of 'Venus As A Boy' by Bjork. You mentioned Nirvana was a musical influence growing up. If you had to cover one Nirvana song, what would it be?
That's an interesting question. There is a song that they actually covered called 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night?' I think that's an old country song, but I really liked the way Kurt did and I would love to have a go at that song.
What's the biggest difference between the U.S. and the U.K. in terms of the music industry and music in general?
I don't think I have experienced enough of the America music industry to know what the massive difference is between them. I think in the U.K at the moment there seems to be a lot of advantages and opportunities for people to develop their own thing and work on it and record it. Music technology has become so available to everyone. There are a lot of people who recorded their albums in the bedroom like The Streets first album.
I also don't know much about America but I would say the U.K is well integrated. You don't have things like this is a black area, this is a white area, this is an Asian area. In the late '90s you had bands like Tricky and Massive Attack, Roni Size/Represent. There were a lot of acts and bands where there are black people in it, white people in it. Everyone has affected and influenced each other. I think from the music we get from America, it might be different. It seems like there is more of a distant thing in America. Like this is perceived as black music, this is perceived as white music. And I guess for that reason I wasn't even sure how the album would go down here. I would love if people could buy it and not think of it as a black record or a white record. That's my background anyways. I'm a black person and a white person. My mom is English and my dad is from the Caribbean.
I think a lot of my musical influences are American. It's weird being here and talking about that. Like I really like the late '60s and early '70s of America music. But here, it's "You like Al Green, so what?" There is so much soul music that I like. I think Aretha Franklin is the best vocalist that has ever existed. I think Marvin Gaye has written some of the most sentimental albums there have ever been. I like the Isley Brothers; I like Donny Hathaway; I like Roberta Flack. Out of modern records, I like Erykah Badu as a performer and how she carries herself. I feel influenced by American novelists and writers. Someone like Alice Walker. She was the first author I latched on to and wanted to read everything she had written. As a teenager and when I was looking for the black side of my identity, I looked more at African-American literature and music than Caribbean music.
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