Ava Leigh’s meaning of soul
Set to take 2009 by storm the way that Adele and Duffy hit 2008, Ava Leigh warbles admirably over some damned enticing reggae-lite. Born in Chester, she recorded her debut album Rollin’ in Jamaica with some hot names including Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare – a far cry from her days winning a talent contest in Spain singing an Eternal song… anyhow, here’s what Ava had to say on soul:
“Soul for me is where music comes from. Music is about feelings, emotions, honesty, and all these things derive from soul. For me, when I right lyrics and when I sing them, they HAVE to come from the soul, otherwise no one would believe me when I sing them. And when you perform, if you’re performing music from the soul, then people will get that, they will believe it and they will hopefully take something from it.
“I like a whole range of artists for different reasons, where music is concerned; I love old music, before technology really took over. Today, there is still great music coming out, but back then before all the computers, it really was people just writing music organically and I love the sound.
“Where singers are concerned, I LOVE people who can tell stories. You can hear what they’re singing and you can picture the song as an image or a scene. I love Billie Holiday for this, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, John Lennon. And in more recent times, Sia and I really love Thom Yorke – his lyrics are so important, and definitely sung from the soul. You believe what he’s singing about.
“The artists I’m not a huge fan of are people who seem like they don’t live and breathe music, and unfortunately nowadays… style, being opinionated and all these minor things seem to take over that and can turn someone into a ’star’ who is not entirely worthy of that title. I love watching artists performing, I love watching how they’re so into the music, and you leave the gig feeling like you’ve got a great deal from it, something you’ll never forget. Artists that don’t do that aren’t really worth the price on the ticket in my opinion.
“The things that make a performance truly great is conviction, it is presence, it is your style on stage. It is being truly original and giving the audience something different.
Music is passion, and what makes a performance truly great from an artist’s point of view is this. You spend ages in the studio, making it sound right, changing lyrics, doing this that and everything. But what’s amazing is performing the finished piece, giving it away to the audience and sharing it. Because from the moment you perform it, it’s no longer yours, it’s everyone’s.”
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