Delphi feat. R.A., The Rugged Man, Reverie: "Stereo" (Exclusive Interview)
When did you first realize your ability to sing?
At a very early age in pre-school, maybe about 6 years old I discovered that I had the ability to mimic voices. So when we would play outside I would entertain my friends by mimicking Eddie Murphy in shrek etc. It was a bit later that Rihanna released “unfaithful” and I tried sounding like her. It probably didn’t sound so great then, but getting alot of appreciation, I kept at it. I've been a natural entertainer since I was a kid and loved to be the center of attention, whether people would laugh with me or at me.
It took me some time to discover my own voice but that's where it started, mimicking. I believe inspiration is required in anything creative and that for many of us it starts with someone to look up to. For me it was this cool, gorgeous, singer from Barbados!
What is your music and message all about?
My music is the most beautiful way I can express feelings. It is such a gift to be able to create something from an idea into sounds and melodies that get to be experienced by other people and mean something to them. On a personal level It’s therapy, it's a drug, it's a life elixir which is so powerful it can transform my emotional state in a matter of seconds. How amazing is that? My mission is to make you FEEL something. And right now I like to focus on happy, uplifting feelings. Like you're the sexiest person in the world or that you can get through anything.
How would you describe your vocal style?
My vocal style has definitely been molded by the artists I grew up listening to. Raised by my mom and grandma my mom was a big R&b head. Me and her would dance around our flat listening to Lucy pearl, Mariah Carey, Mary J Blige, Michael Jackson and Fugees. I’d describe my voice as pretty deep and powerful but i definitely like to play around with my high and soft voice too.
What was the hardest part of making this song?
R.A and Reverie are both really great hip hop artists and they have some very devoted fans. I was overjoyed that they wanted to make a rap version of my original song “Stereo” but at the same time a bit concerned with trying to merge their styles with the track. Stereo, being more of a R&b song with afrobeat influences, this was a challenge. At a certain point I had to trust in the original idea and the fact that they chose my track just like it was. Another challenge with this song was that we were all located in different countries, me in Sweden, R.A. in Germany and Reverie in LA. We all recorded our parts with different microphones and also had to communicate in different timezones! I’m so happy we made it work, for real.
What was the most enjoyable part of making this song?
Overall this was such an amazing experience. I loved the beginning of the process. Hearing their verses for the first time, I got so hyped up. Then meeting with my mixing engineer and cutting up the original song, trying to put it all together, was really exciting. Seeing it all transform into something real was amazing. I couldn't believe it sometimes.
What is one feeling you want to leave listeners with?
With Stereo “edit” I want to leave listeners with confidence and happiness. I want them to feel that even though it often doesn’t work like you thought, you keep your head up and honor yourself.
R.A’s verse did an amazing job in painting the scenario of knowing you have EVERYTHING to offer and how you and this other person complete each other like a stereo sound. That's really what this song is about. The way he plays with musical terms to describe how perfect that relationship could be is so impressive. I hope the more nerdy listeners pick up on that, for example “you don’t have to wait for me there’ll never be no latency” where latency is the unwanted delay we can experience when recording. So dope. Reverie answered that beautifully, with a message of knowing that you have a great thing going on but at the same time not being ready for it.
How do you prepare for your live performances?
It depends, when I perform with my soul brother, dj and musical partner Soleil Camara we like to put on a show. Usually we will meet up at my place or his and choose the set of songs for the particular venue, practice the whole set, add some choreography and sync our harmonies! Then we like to record ourselves to see what we need to improve. I love that part of the process and getting all pumped up about a gig with him.
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