Alice D’s

Who were your musical influences growing up and when did you first realise you wanted to follow a career in music?

Growing up I was exposed to a lot of different music, my dad was the soul man of the house playing Michael Jackson & Stevie Wonder while my mum loved artists like Bowie and The Smiths. The first artist I really resonated with was Brandy- I loved her tone and lyrics, she’s effortless.

I’ve always loved music – at school I was involved in plays, choirs and jazz concerts and always loved singing and performing. The first time I thought I wanted to take it seriously was when I wrote 2 or 3 songs in Oscar Scheller’s bedroom, when we were both starting out.

Tell us about your new single Passion and the inspiration behind it..

I wrote “Passion” with my long-time collaborator Tim Blok. It’s a song about a passionate love affair set against a hot Cuban-esque backdrop. I was listening to the album “Congo to Cuba” by Putumayo at the time and wanted to incorporate the Afro-Latin style into the track. The music, lyrics and video all tie together really well to create this sensual and seductive atmosphere.

We love the video for Passion – what was it like to film?

Thank you! I loved filming this video, the whole vibe on set was really nice!- we had a relatively small team and I co-produced it with the director, Henry Croston. I’ve always been involved creatively and it was great working with Henry to embellish my idea and make it a reality. Organising the shoot took a lot of work but I’m so proud of what we all achieved. I wanted to create a video that replicated a hot summer’s evening with the use of haze and warm lighting, which I think we pulled off! Having the dancers really elevated it & emphasised the “passion.”

Describe your music in 3 words

Soulful, Unique, Authentic

If you could collaborate with any other artist – who would that be?

Cleo Sol, Mahalia or Olivia Dean – all amazing vocalists / lyricists- too hard to choose just one!

Where do you get your inspiration from when writing songs?

Inspiration can just come from conversations I’ve had with people, or real life experiences / comments on society. Even just a strong or interesting title can spark off ideas. For my more poetic lyrics, I love reading poetry by Rupi Kaur or Sylvia Plath for inspo.

I normally go to the studio with a list of titles, it helps to tell a story…unless I’m feeling a particularly strong emotion where it’s easy to just go to the studio and let it all spill out.

If you had to be remembered for one thing apart from your music what would you want it to be?

That I was always authentic and never settled.

What next for Alice D in 2022?

I have a new EP set for release in September this year!

By Siân Parker