An Interview With Natisse

In London we are being surrounded by the Olympics fever. If you don’t quite like the sound of the Muse Official song then check out electro pop anthem ‘Keep the Faith’ by young London born singer Natisse who has teamed up to collaborate with Spoonface, the ex-Black Legend hit maker. Remember the Barry White cover ‘You See The Trouble With Me’? Ok I see you head bopping.

So who is Natisse? At only 22 she is hoping that this single will be her big break into the music charts. Currently being championed by Debbie Fletcher, Tom from McFly’s mum on her ever popular Twitter account, after Natisse helped her get into shape for her son’s wedding. I wanted to have a chat with Natisse and find out a little bit more.

How did you get involved in music?

When I was three years old I went to see my dad perform in a local amateur talent show and it kinda grew from there – without wishing to sound like an X Factor wannabe, I knew performing was where I belonged.

Growing up in Watford I sang in loads of talent contests as a kid. Singing, dancing and performing is my life and always felt like it would be, so I went on from there to get some professional training at the Urdang Academy, the performing arts college in north London. Soon after that I found Shed Records and everything went on from there. I know it sounds like a cliché, but it is all about drive, passion and ambition – it really does help take you where you want to be.

Your tracks are have a dance sound. How would you describe your sound as and is this the genre you would like to continue with?

The songs I choose are the ones I love to dance to – I have to really feel the song first. At the end of the day it’s pop music. Although I only just discovered that a Dubstep remix of a track I did called Follow Me has had nearly half a million plays on Youtube. My music is aimed at kids and young adults but I’d love to venture out and create great music in other genres: jazz, blues and soul. I want to inspire all ages.

How did the collaboration with Spoonface come about?

We knew the same people in the industry, and we were introduced last year – we also did a few tracks in the studio together towards the end of 2011 before recording Keep The Faith earlier this year. I love Spoon’s sound and I knew our voices would work well together. He’s a fantastic guy and hopefully we’ll work together some more.

Who or what inspires you?

From a very young age my dad inspired me with his talents in singing and dance. He introduced me to music, and I grew up loving The Carpenters and Dusty Springfield. Musicals also inspire me – there’s a huge amount of emotion that comes through the performance. Well, maybe not something like We Will Rock You, but you know what I mean.

You recently featured in the anti-music piracy campaign Support the Music, tell me more about that?

It was a campaign backed by the British Phonographic Industry, to give kids an insight into the music industry, to teach them how much work goes into making one track, and to help deter illegal downloading. We went round schools, chatted to kids and performed for them.  All very noble stuff.

Which artist do you admire and why?

Vocally I love Christina Aguilera, Adele, Karen Carpenter, Tina Turner and Whitney Houston – not forgetting Dusty. All obvious choices, I’m afraid, but each has such an astonishing range of emotion in their voices. I could listen to them forever.

What can we expect next from Natisse?

The unexpected? It would be great if Keep The Faith gets noticed, and I could do more with Spoon. Plus all the usual world pop charts domination and bringing out a range of my own underwear.

Natisse’s single is out on August 12th, you can pre-order it on Amazon.  Be sure to follow her journey on Facebook & Twitter.

Background
A former pupil at London’s Urdang Academy For Performing Arts, ‘Keep The Faith’ is 22-year-old Natisse’s fourth single for Shed, having seen her previous three singles all enter the Commercial Dance Top 20. Her edgy vocals, high energy stage performance and crowd interaction has also seen Natisse build up a sizeable following among under-17 audiences following a series of performances at Luminar clubs nationwide. ‘Keep The Faith’ features Spoonface, who first worked with Natisse last year. The single is being distributed by Nova, and will be available from all leading digital download stores.