She's All That

Corinne Bailey Rae has a ton of talent and some serious fashion flair!

Hot U.K. soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae has a ton of talent that’s getting her worldwide recognition yet she’s still just a straightforward girl—with serious fashion flair!

What was it like growing up in Leeds, Yorkshire, England?
“I had a really happy childhood. It’s quite multicultural. Lots of Jewish, Asian, Chinese as well as a lot of Caribbean people—that’s where my dad is from, St. Kitts, in the West Indies.”

Musical influences growing up?
“I listened to a lot of soul music—I guess what my parents were into: my dad used to collect funk 45s and they’d always be by the record player. I liked Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Commodores, Earth Wind & Fire, Paul Simon and a lot of Motown and Staxx music.”

Musical beginnings?
“I studied classical music, so when I was really young all my musical energy went into playing the violin. I never thought of myself as a singer because I had an unusual voice: my voice is sort of lower and croaky. I couldn’t sing along to lots of stuff on the radio because it was too high. I loved singing but believed I couldn’t sing. Then you hear people like Kurt Cobain do music and a lot of people with unusual voices singing, and you think maybe that’s where it could fit in.”

Tell me more about music.
“When I was a teenager there was a lot of dance music and I really didn’t like that. I liked all this melancholic, sort of angsty guitar music that was coming over, especially from America, like Nirvana, Belly and Veruca Salt. So I got an electric guitar and started a band. I was about 15. It was different from listening to ‘Off the Wall’ or ‘Thriller’ or something where you’re like, ‘That music’s amazing,’ but you’ve got no idea how it’s being put together: it’s really complicated chord changes, loads of backing singers, strings, horns. And there’s no way in. But getting to hear something like Nirvana, especially the unplugged stuff—it’s like, oh right, the guitar is playing four chords, I can sort of work out what they are, there’s a cello, a bit of drums, there’s a bass, yet it’s made this really full sound. I think a lot of modern music is really great but it relies on the production.”

Describe your sound.
“I think this first record I’ve made is a soulful record but it’s about songs, really. I’ve tried to draw on all my musical experiences. I hope the music is honest and emotional—that’s what I’ve tried to do.”

Dream collaborators?
“There are a lot of people I really admire in music. I think Prince is a really amazing, talented performer and writer and arranger. I really like what The Neptunes do, I think they’ve kind of saved modern R&B. Pharrell Williams has kind of saved hip hop/soul. These are people I’d like to work with, but I’m still developing my own sound, so for this second record I’ll just spend more time writing songs on my own and working on the production side of things as well.”

Musical icon?
“Loads of people. A lot of different writers I really admire: I like Carole King’s writing, James Taylor’s writing. I love Bjork as a writer and performer—I think she’s got a really distinct voice and sound, and I like the way she produces music. I really like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Billie Holiday, The Isley Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Sly and The Family Stone.”

Fave fashion labels?
“Marc Jacobs. And Diane von Furstenberg—I like the wrap dress she invented.”

Beauty must-haves?
“I’ve just started using Dermologica face things and I feel like my skin’s been a bit better.”

Fave autumn memory?
“I remember walking home from school in England when the sun was going down because the nights were starting to get longer. I like being from somewhere that’s got really marked seasons—I think it’s a good way of telling our minds things will change.”

Must-have fashion item for fall?
“I love those double-breasted coats with the big belt. I like the look: they’re quite ’60s.”

On life…?
“I read a lot of Alice Walker books—I’ve just read Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart. There are stories about her in her house, looking out over the fields. She writes from 11 to three every day, then she has her vegan/vegetarian friends ’round to cook her a meal. I like that pace of life, a slow life, so it’s hard for me now ’cause I’m thinking, ‘Wow, everything is so fast.’”

If stranded on a desert island, you’d want…?
“I’d love my guitar with me. I like to just mess about with it.”

Spotlight downer?
“Here obviously I’m not really recognized at all, but at home in England I’m more recognized and I find that a bit weird. I like to just be sort of scruffy and not feel like I have to be camera-ready all my life.”

Fave karaoke song?
“‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine.’ I really like the music and it’s one of the best introductions ever.”

Get more Corinne Bailey Rae in the fall 2006 issue of FASHION18 on newsstands now!

By Kate Yorga.

Photo courtesy EMI Music Canada

newsletter signup