Lucinda Belle is a musician who is putting a jazz twist on modern music. Here is what she has to say about her music.
I think your style of music is fresh and new, what made you take this path with incorporating the harp into your music?
I started out playing the harp as a young child, but classically. In my early 20’s I discovered how to play Jazz on the harp in Nashville, of all places, right! Jazz…. I said.. not country…. well that was a game changer for me. It was at that point I realized I could start to incorporate the harp into my music, but it’s felt like an uphill battle at times, trying not to be categorized as something I’m not simply because my instrument is a harp. I bring rock ’n’ roll timeless and glamorous rebellion to what I do.. perhaps I fit in, perhaps I don’t… don’t care! I just do what comes naturally to me.
Who would you say are your biggest inspirations for the style you play?
This album is heavily influenced by the great American Songbook era, 50’s inspired vibes paying homage to the greats like Louis Prima and Billie Holliday but it also cites my earlier influences in reggae and hip hop, I made subtle changes in post production the beats ensuring we maintained the authentic 8 track recording we made, but adding more weight to the groove. I want people to get into the groove even though it may not be EDM but the groove just makes you wanna nod along in time! My harp playing is inspired by none other the great Harpo Marx and Dorothy Ashby and the slightly more etherial darker songs on the album are influenced by my earlier EP ‘UrbanLullabies’ which is where I discovered the beauty of combing the harp with dark surf guitar.
Your Urban Lullabies EP is an unique take on the songs featured, what was the creative process like for that EP?
I was on a roll when I made this. I simply love adapting songs and truly casting my own unique impression on them. Simply doing a cover sometimes is great but it’s more challenging to completely re invent a song. My first album ‘ My Voice and 45 Strings’ was a fusion of country bluegrass and jazz and I felt the harp got lost in that record, so I wanted to deliver something totally unique that gave the harp a platform to truly shine. Obviously the harp lends itself to relaxing music and so I came up with the idea of Urban Lullabies. turning rap into lullaby with TI’s Slideshow and turning rock into romance with Nirvana’s ’Smells like Teen Spirit’.
Your next release, Think Big: Like Me, what can we expect from that? Release date set yet?
I’m very amped up for this release and it’s actually coming out in early December (exact date TBD). My second single is due for release October 28th along with the video. It’s called “I’ll be Loving you” and it’s the first song I wrote on the album. I literally had just been dumped by my boyfriend and I wrote it with my collaborator Simon Harris, taking breaks to cry and laugh at the same time. I’m totally excited about this album, I feel proud of the body of work and in that sense it’s a true album, a body of songs that tell a story and compliment each other, reflecting on a period of my life.
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Here’s where you can find Lucinda
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