RIDING SOUL-O
“I feel like I’m ready to step out of the shadows and
into the limelight”
Above is what I am
planning to have as my Headline and Pull quote for the main cover story. Below
is the double page spread article written in draft which will require some if
not many changes to be the best quality it can be and to resemble other
professional and famous music magazines in the country:
Strolling through the infamous Leicester Square in West End
London on a cold and icy December afternoon, her entourage consisting of only
four security guards, Annalisa Ambros is a face many are surprised to see.
Flanked by fans of the Grammy-award winning girl group Liberal Ladies of which
Annalisa is a former fifth member, iPhones are held up left-right-and-centre
and anxious press are shouting over one another to get their million-dollar
question answered first. Annalisa continues to stroll at a faster pace until
raising her head ever so slightly. She flicks a long strand of her freshly
trimmed Jet Black weave behind her shoulder to reveal the most innocent of
smiles. I sit anxiously in the foyer of Asia De Cuba, this musician’s favourite
restaurant on St Martin’s Lane, anxiously observing her arrival through the
glass wall entrance.
In she comes, brushing the remains of frost and sleet off of
her Lipsy London brown, suede coat and on seeing me, she flashes me that wide
grin that almost every newspaper and magazine had captured in group
photographs, but who had never gone into depth about the character behind it.
As I stand up to greet her I notice this songstress is rocking a hip, fresh and
modern style sporting Dark Levi jeans with heeled thigh boots and a faux fur
waistcoat, paired with oversized hooped earrings and that signature rich, red lipstick.
“Your hands are cold”, she says giggling as much as the cold air allows her to.
I smile and feel warmed by her easy-going nature making it easier for me to
begin my first question.
“Well, what a
jam-packed year it’s been for you!”
“Indeed it has hahah!”
“First of all the allegedly
sour splitting up of Liberal Ladies, then your signing up to a new record label
as a solo artist and now the release of your Debut Album SENTIMENTAL is
approaching! What are your thoughts about the events this year has brought to you?”
“Well when you put it like that it’s been a long and winding
tale of twists, turns, set-backs and achievements. But to be honest I wouldn’t
change a thing - even the really grey areas hahah. I’ve learnt so much about
myself this year it’s been like a sort of self-discovery process for me – and a
well needed one at that!”
“You mentioned the grey
areas. Your group Liberal Ladies formed in late July 2010 released the hit
debut single “Kill My Vibe” in February of 2011 which reached the UK top 20
landing an impressive place at number four. Since then you have had four songs
reach the UK top 10, 1 of which had a roaring success maintaining at number 2
for several weeks in the UK charts and ranking the 3rd most
downloaded song on ITunes of 2011. What went wrong?”
“It’s a very complex subject but one I don’t mind talking
about at all and in fact feel that a few things regarding the alleged spat between
lead singer Cassie Emejuru and myself. I cherish every single moment that I
spent with the girls in that group, but after the commotion and chaos that came
with our second single’s success, I knew something was up. I wasn’t happy
anymore. I felt like every red carpet, every premiere, every tour and every
photo shoot was a lie, I felt that I was handing the power that all five of us
originally shared, over to one person. I felt like all of the hard work, advice
and effort I was putting into the song-writing and recording process was
constantly being ignored and dismissed. It was like in school when people would
push in front of you in the dinner line and you’d have to wait longer and
longer to be served. I was waiting and waiting for 18 months for my voice to be
heard and I started to buckle under the pressure of ‘keeping up appearances’.
On top of this, I felt like the music we were producing was becoming too
electrified and techno and instead of producing funky R&B tracks we began
to produce predictable, club/dance tracks which slowly started to sink in the
charts.”
“So was that the
reason you split up?”
“Not necessarily, I think I was the first one to become
increasingly aware of my need for departure from the group, because I was
feeling controlled, restricted and overpowered by Cassie, whose confident
bravado and easy ability to get to know people worked in her favour as the lead
singer. Me on the other hand, have always had a hard time with this aspect of
fame and felt like I was being disconnected with the real reason I ever fell in
love and wanted to pursue a music career, so the music could touch people. If
someone’s telling me how I can and can’t do my job, then you won’t see me
sticking around for long, because to them it might be just a job but to me,
it’s a passion.”
“Inspiring words! How
does your relationship with the band members stand now?”
“After everyone else decided that they too could feel the
negative vibes within the group, we all kind of went our separate ways.
Charmaine I know dreamed of starting a family and I believe is doing spots of
TV presenting here and there, so everyone is keeping well and at the moment
it’s a pretty unanimous feeling that the break-up was for the best! I keep in
touch with them all though – even Cassie!”
“Well now that that’s
cleared up I think it’s fair to say that you have been extremely successful in
taking the risk of going solo. How are you finding it?”
“Massive culture change!” she gasps and gulps some lemonade
from her glass. “I do miss the girls. No matter what happened there some
seriously wonderful times had and experiences shared it’s really a shame that
it had to end this way. But with every cloud there’s a silver lining and you
just have to look at the positives out of the situation. I now realise the path
which I wish for the rest of my life to go down and its time for me now to
focus on my OWN music. It’s a perfect time for me to song-write as I have come
through a lot and being to come out as a solo artist from all of this has made
me feel like I’m ready to step out of the shadows and into the limelight.”
“And that you
certainly have! The release of your debut album SENTIMENTAL is due to be
released on 31st March 2014. Tell me a bit about it.”
“It’s called sentimental because nearly every track on the
album is solemn, soothing and expressive of true emotion. I’ve completely
stripped it back and reverted to my old musical tastes, the reason I wanted to
do music in the first place! It’s like I’m my own boss now, it makes making music
a lot more fulfilling and exhilarating now more than ever. I have found my own
style, my own sound and my own voice, and am hoping and praying that Liberal
Ladies fans will stick with me on my journey into the fascinating discovery of
Neo-soul twists on R&B funk.”
And with that, Annalisa Ambros released a sigh of relief
that the interview was over, resuming to the wonderfully outgoing and bubbly
personality that I had witnessed come through that door. It’s clear that this
intelligent and well spoken chick has gone from shy to fly and I wish her all
the best in the success of her single SENTIMENTAL. It will definitely be on MY
Christmas list!
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