South London, UK artist, Gabrielle Sey describes her music as “like a round trip from London to Accra with a stop-off at a Cali Sunday Service” (though she prefers not to label her music as “Christian”).
She joins us to talk all about her latest EP release, Vapour.. A four track genre mix of Afrobeat, British Sounds and Alt-RnB, which was funded by a Kickstarter campaign and featured on Kickstarter’s ‘Projects We Love’.
A true songwriter, combined with unshakeable self belief, Gabrielle Sey has also been featured by the likes of BBC Introducing, Exile FM, Gal-Dem and AFROPUNK.
Gabrielle shares that the EP is “a journey of exploring the ever shifting lines of moral dilemma, the empty nostalgia that humanity can easily fall prey to, the boundless void between giving and following advice; and the disenchantment that comes with maturity..”
As you listen to the catchy tracks on the EP, you will be captivated by the completely original sound created within Gabrielle Sey’s music.. music filled with beautiful acoustic instrumentation, showstopping beats and the smooth and enchanting vocals of Gabrielle.
You can listen to ‘Vapour’ below:
Tell us a little about your background
I’m a singer-songwriter born and raised in South London.
I started singing from a young age and loved getting involved in anything that involved singing, dance and music.
From the age of 12, I fell in love with songwriting and that has stayed with me through studying musical theatre at the Brit School and music at University.
What does having a life in music mean to you?
Having a life in music is everything I wanted but not as I expected it.
It has been a roller coaster releasing music and sharing it with the world around me and I wouldn’t change that.
Every step of the way I’ve learnt so much and met incredible people who have enriched what I am and what I do; the way it brings people from different walks of life together is what makes me love music so much.
What is it that makes you, you when you’re not in the public eye?
I like to think that not much changes.
I try to bring myself to each performance but I guess there will always be certain realms of one’s life that people don’t see.
For me I love being active, love cooking food and eating food, enjoying the company of friends and learning new things.
Recently I’ve been pushing myself to read more which is a past love I want to reignite.
How would you describe the feel of your music?
I would say my music is quite raw which leaves room for emotive performance.
Rhythm is definitely a prominent part of my music, I think it comes from love of dance. I have also been told it has an “earthy” feel too.
I tend to describe my music with this phrase “it is what it is… just feel it”.
What I feel may or not be what the listener gets from my music.
If someone can get some form of connection from my music then I’m happy.
To me that is a beautiful thing.
You have released your EP ‘Vapour’.. tell us about what inspired you to create this EP.
The EP explores the hebrew word Hevel which is taken to mean “steam, vapour, breath, foolishness, nonsense, absurdity, vanity” or, my favourite: “merest breath”.
Each of the four songs explores a different kind of Hevel: the ever shifting lines of moral dilemma, the empty nostalgia that humanity can easily fall prey to, the boundless void between giving and following advice; and the disenchantment that comes with maturity.
What do the songs on the EP mean to you?
I think the songs on the EP mean and represent growth and reflection.
I learnt a lot about music during the making of this EP and through doing so I learnt a lot about myself.
This EP definitely required me to sit back and look in the mirror for a while which I always think is a good thing to do every now and then.
I also think the songs mean conversation-it’s allowed me to connect with others who can relate to the subject-matter which has helped to deepen the thought processes I had when I first started work on this music.
What is your creative process like when you are creating your music?
I tend to write most of the songs on my guitar first.
When I think they’re ready I then workshop them with my bandmates Rubén Vázquez Amos (guitarist), Keryl Brown (percussionist), Cariss Addy, Hannah Akor and Joshua Sancho (Backing Vocalists).
The workshopping process continues all the way through recording in the studio with Harri Chambers my producer who I’ve worked with on both EPs I’ve released.
This new release actually had lot more collaboration than the last.
It involved collaborating closely with my bandmate Rubén who helped compose “White Noise” and co-produced “Patterns”.
This project began as a Kickstarter campaign and became one of Kickstarter’s ‘Projects We Love’.. What has your experience been like with crowdfunding?
The crowding funding experience was amazing!
I was so surprised at how so many people were willing to support the campaign in the height of the Covid pandemic.
It was a humbling experience that left my heart feeling full of gratitude.
Plucking up the courage to put myself out-there like that was hard, but so worth it.
If all the stars aligned, where would you ultimately like to get to with your music?
I would love keep doing what I’m doing on a bigger scale.
I would love to play in bigger venues and on the festival circuit.
I also would love to collaborate with musicians I love and respect such as, Lianne La Havas, Laura Mvula and Angelique Kidjo to name a few.
My biggest hope is just to keep going with making music and sharing it with others.
From your experience, what advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
Trust each stage of the process.
Being a musician as I mentioned before can take you on such a crazy journey that can sometimes leaving you thinking if it’s all really worth it.
There is a time for everything, so giving yourself time to accept each stage of the process from writing to recording and releasing is really important.
This can be incredibly hard but it is worth it in the end when you achieve what you set out to do.
I also think trusting that you are on your own path and not comparing yourself to others is so important as well.
Where can people find your music?
My music is available on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music etc etc Social handles are @gabriellesey and @seyg
Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based singer/songwriter, founder of Sounds On The Couch, and founder and operator of boutique music PR service for emerging and independent artists, Rise Indie.