Kelly Erez
After making a splash with her EP last year Kelly Erez is back with her debut album Come To Me - which sees her blend soulful R&B with pop.
We caught up with the singer song-writer to chat about the new record, working with her sister and what lies ahead.
- You have just released your debut album Come To Me so for anyone who hasn't heard the record yet what can we expect from it?
Some soulful R&B (laughs). They are mellow songs about love as well as some other topics - Extra for example is about not wanting to compromise image wise to make it in the music industry. So most of it is about love but there are some other additions.
There is also a bonus track on there which is about my younger sister, who has got some disabilities, and it is about accepting that and is my take on that and just trusting that everything happens for a reason.
- I have given the record a listen and there are some soul elements on there along with R&B influences as well as a bit of pop so how would you describe the sound of the record?
I would say that it is mellow and soulful R&B but there is a hint of jazz on a couple of the tracks.
- And how have you found the response to the record so far?
It has been great, I have loved it. People have been really encouraging and supportive. It has just been amazing the level of support that I have been getting it has been really cool.
- Your debut EP was met well last year so much was it a conscious choice to take you time on this debut record because you so easily could have put out something out quickly to ride that crest of success?
I spent… well the whole team but mainly my sister and I spent quite a lot of time just developing the right sound.
In this time we just recorded so many songs and we basically narrowed them down to fit nicely together. So we experimented with different sounds but in the end I just wanted to do something that was very close to my heart and that is this genre of music.
Also experience - the songs are mostly based on personal experience and so I needed something to write about (laughs). I typically write something on the train or in the car or on a run and then we get together and go over stuff and develop the song.
- You have mentioned your sister already and this album is a collaboration between the pair of you - she has served as producer and writer - so how did you find working with her? And why did you choose to work with her?
There is an eight year age gap between us and so I grew up with her always making music in the house and in studios - she used to get me to sing harmonies and she taught me how to write songs.
So I had that foundation but I have worked with different producers over the years trying to develop my own sound and she did the same. We got back together a few years ago and she had a studio set up and we were just like ‘right, let’s just tray and make this happen’.
And we both found that we connected in a way that neither of us had connected with anyone else as we both have the same ideas - it was exciting. At first we had to marry our ideas together because we had different influences.
But we both like haunting sounds, harmonies and piano based music so we had a lot in common as well so it was just about finding the right merge. It was about her adapting to what I wanted but also about me learning from her so it was a nice experience.
It can get a bit tense when you are working with family as I practically lived there and doing music until all hours of the morning. So on one had it was quite intense but on the other it was cool as we are related we were able to be honest with one another and cut out all of the small talk and we don’t have to worry about offending anyone.
In the same way if we do something that we like we don’t even need to speak because we just know when we have arrived. It was just amazing having that connection.
- As you say she has had all those years of writing, recording and producing herself so what did she bring to this record?
She had produced the whole thing, bar one of two tracks, and I think she was able to get the best out of me vocally.
We Got It All is quite a rocky big anthem type of track and that is not something that I would have been use to do it - the verses are how I would normally write but the chorus she brought that rock element. She brings a lot of trust and it has been a rollercoaster experience but it has been great.
- Ian Carter, Chris Britt and Goran Rista play on the album and they have also had a hand in penning tracks so if seems like this was a very collaborative process?
We worked on different tracks together. We had worked with Ian with in the past and we brought him in to see if he wanted to work on it and he actually had wanted to work with me for a while.
So we wrote Extra together as well as collaborating on a couple of the other songs as well. He would also do some guitar and he mixed the record for us as well.
We wanted to have live instruments on the album as well and so we auditioned different people and Chris and everyone involved were just brilliant.
What we look for when we work some someone is talent and the ability to deliver of course but also it is all about attitude and everyone we worked with were really nice people. It was all about the vibe and having a common goal. It was really nice and very professional.
- But you have also penned many of the tracks on the album so what and who are your major influences when it comes to writing?
I grew up with a lot of nineties R&B and so people like Boyz 2 Men, early Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton - my first album that I bought was Bon Jovi (laughs).
I did like some of the songs on it but I think I was in little sister mode and I was thinking ‘my sister loves all of this rock; I want to get into too’. So I did have a bit of a mix but it was mainly R&B - it does make me chuckle when I remember.
- You have touched on the fact that your sister was a huge musical influence on you when you were growing up so where did your love of music start?
I have just always loved to sing as it is the way that I express myself; I just love to write and get my feelings out. I use to be glued to MTV and was just mesmerised by singers.
There was one album that had a huge influence on me and that was Mariah Carey’s Music Box. I got it for my mum for a Mother’s Day present. I use to be obsessed with Home Away and Neighbours and I had five minutes before the show started when I put this album on for my mum and I was like ‘oh my god what a voice.’
I just feel in love with it and it was the first time in my life that I had missed Home and Away and Neighbours (laughs). I sat on the dining room floor and listened to this album twice over and was just mesmerised by it.
I learnt all the songs and got a karaoke machine - then it really was karaoke galore (laughs). As I was getting older I learnt more about music and I went back and listened to older influences such as Ella Fitzgerald and people like that. It is lovely and I get really excited about it (laughs).
- You have an ever growing fanbase so for any of those fans who are reading this interview do you have a message for them?
I would like to say, as always, thank you so much for all your support. When I get feedback and comments I read everything and I reply - it might not be straight away - but it really does make a difference to me.
I am all about relationships and connecting with people so I would like feedback or if anyone has anything that they would like to say feel free to email me. Join my on my journey and help spread the word - that would mean the world to me.
If everyone who like the record could share it with five people on their Facebook page that would make such a huge difference.
- Finally what is next for you heading into 2013 do you have any live shows in the pipeline?
We are talking about putting some shows together at the moment. We are also looking at doing a new video for another single release. So it is all exciting stuff (laughs).
Kelly Erez - Come To Me is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw