Soundgenerator were lucky enough to be on hand on Thursday evening to hear London's finest!
Soundgenerator were lucky enough to be on hand on Thursday evening to hear London's finest.
To be in a small room with barely two dozen people and experience a wonderful new artist is a rare occasion. A genuine all round talent is exactly what 20 year old London born
Amy Winehouse is.
Her voice draws comparisons to some of the Jazz greats from years gone by. At such a young age it is hard to believe that someone so young could sing so 'effortlessly' and to create such moods. Her songs are of love lost and the ups and downs of relationships. They are about everyday life, Grease 2... well just about anything. But somehow Amy makes it all sound glamorous and worthwhile.
Soho House on London's Old Compton Street was the setting for an Afternoon tea with Amy. A select few (yes we were invited) sat & stood around drinking coffee and Earl Grey tea and eating a wonderful array of gateaux, cakes and scones. The entertainment for a short twenty-minute set was Amy Winehouse. One guitar and one voice. With all the talk about her voice it is easy to forget to mention her equally extraordinary talent on guitar. She accomples herself, with an additional guitar for a few songs. But it is all Amy.
And what a week she has had. Her second single ‘Take The Box’; was released in the UK on Monday 12th Jan and also on Monday night she was nominated for two BRIT Awards. Best Urban artist and best female singer. I’d hand them both to her without as much as a thought. That’s because it’s plain to see and hear why she is garnering so much applause from both the industry and the general public.
She is nonchalant beyond compare, she takes everything in her stride and nothing seems to falter her. Her ease of performance is quite extraordinary and she is equally at ease with sitting down and chatting to the audience. After the great but short set Amy did indeed join the audience for a very informal Q & A. She spoke from the heart and with conviction.
There were various questions fired at her varying from the content of her songs lyrically and who the songs were about. It seems that the album was written in the majority during one particular relationship and that is who or what the specific lyrics are about. How does she measure success? She told us that she measures success based on how much time she can spend playing her guitar and when she can write a song. She said that that was the best thing in the world for her – writing a song. She insisted that her goal was never about the whole world knowing her name but more about her ability to have the freedom to play, perform and work with any musicians that she wanted to.
As mentioned before Amy’s guitar playing is pretty fantastic. We asked Amy what the process was for writing her songs as they work both in a band scenario as well as just with a guitar accompaniment. Amy told us that guitar was her first instrument and the majority of the time she wrote on the guitar. In most cases she will have a riff before she has lyrics. She also said that she only writes when she feels the urge. She could never just put time aside and try and write, as it would never flow freely.
Amy answered a host of questions from the enthralled audience before heading off to do a short set at Oxford St’s HMV store. As the anticipation builds leading up to the BRIT Awards and with Amy’s latest single set to hit the charts this coming weekend times are pretty exciting in the Amy camp.
Soundgenerator will be bringing you a full interview with Amy over the next few weeks.
'Take The Box' is currently out in the UK this week.
