Insightful Corinne Bailey Rae interview in The Observer
October 6, 2009 by M. Gosho Oakes
Filed under Blogs
Corinne Bailey Rae: ‘It happened to me. It could happen to anyone at any time’
From out of the darkest place, following the sudden death of her husband, Corinne Bailey Rae is re-emerging with an extraordinarily intimate and impassioned album. Here she talks about grief and the redemptive power of music
Corinne Bailey Rae disappeared from the scene following the death of her husband last year. In this insightful interview [click to read] with British newspaper The Observer she talks about how her life literally turned around on being told the news and reminisces on their relationship, her musical journey and the forthcoming ‘darker’ new album.
It would seem that the effortless pop performer who soundtracked every TopShop in the land has, for the time being at least, gone. Anyone expecting the same kind of well-wrought, if hardly challenging, pop songs that made her debut such a big seller is in for quite a surprise. I’d hazard a guess that EMI are, too. In her place is a singer of immeasurably sad songs, someone who has transmuted her well of grief and anger into something beautiful and raw. “I definitely feel more serious,” she says. “I feel more impassioned. I have total belief in these songs and when I sing them in front of people, I want to pass that on. I don’t think there is anyone of my generation saying these things, singing about these things. And it happens, you know. It can happen to anyone at any time. I want to be out there on stage with my hands out going, does anyone else feel the same way? That’s what it’s about, too.”
According to the article in The Observer, she will be performing some live dates before the year is out and the new album will be released in 2010.
British born writer and dreamer of Zimbabwean and Irish descent with hands and ink indelibly marked in music and culture, Marsha Gosho Oakes is Editor and Founder of SoulCulture. Has also written for likes of Blues & Soul, MySpace UK, HipHopDX, Dazed&Confused, Shook, Undercover and MOBO. Website: MGoshoOakes.com
