For quite some time now, neo soul queen Harleighblu has been making a name for herself across Nottingham, the UK, Europe and the US, with her iconic dreads, signature style and soulful vocals. Last month saw the launch of her new album Hideout, made in collaboration with American rapper, singer, producer and songwriter, Illa J. Fresh off the back of the album launch, her new video for one of the record’s tracks, Soulsearching, and the launch of her new Nottingham DJ night, Milkshake, we caught up with Harleighblu to find out more about her whirlwind year so far…
I’m really loving the new album. Can you tell us more about collaborating with Illa on this project?
Illa and I became friends after being fans of each other when we dropped a Colors session in Berlin at around the same time. We were a part of that Colors era when it first started blowing up along with Masego and Mahalia. So we got in contact with each other just off the back of being each other’s fans of our sessions. Then in 2019, I went to LA to do some recording and pretty much the only person I wanted to hook up with was him. We did a little session and that was cool, and then I was meant to support him in 2020 at Jazz Café but obviously that wasn’t able to go down because of COVID. So we just decided to hook up and see what happened and I changed my whole trip to go to Vegas to see him.
Can you tell us how the album came about?
It wasn’t actually meant to be an album, but we ended up recording the whole thing in ten days at a famous studio in Vegas called Hideout, where some crazy people have recorded. We ended up making what, in my opinion, is a work of art. He’s the most incredible songwriter, singer, rapper and is hands down the most creative and amazing person I’ve been in the studio with. We just vibe. It was a really beautiful experience to create with someone whose work rate is just as quick as mine and who artistically gets what I’m trying to do too.
What’s your favourite track on the album and why?
That’s like asking who your favourite kid is, but I can break it down to highlight tracks. Soulsearching basically explains the entire story about my music journey, where I am now and what I’ve been through. That’s a special track to me not just because of what it means, but also because I wrote it in the hotel room before the studio session. It was the only track I wrote first without Illa.
Also Betty Davis Girls because I’m obsessed with Betty Davis. I think she was an absolute badass woman. Her story is crazy because she was a hidden gem, loads of people don’t know about her and only a few people have her records, even though in my eyes she’s one of the most legendary women to have ever walked the planet. She was actually alive at the time, and I wanted to show her it but sadly she died before we could. I would have loved for her to have heard it.
It’s the most creative I’ve ever been on a project, despite it only being made in ten days. It’s the proudest I’ve been of an album I’ve done
How would you sum up your album in your own words?
I would describe it as neo or new wave funk in terms of genre. It’s got a little bit of soul, a little bit of hip-hop, a little bit of funk, a little bit of jazz, singing and rapping. It’s the most creative I’ve ever been on a project, despite it only being made in ten days. It’s the proudest I’ve been of an album I’ve done, and I’ve done a few albums now.
It’s been a bit of a difficult couple of years for the music industry. As a musician, how has that affected you, and what did you do to cope?
Literally the week we went into lockdown, I was meant to play SXSW in Austin Texas. So I had to really just shake that off even though I’d wanted to play that festival for my entire career. That was quite heart-breaking for me. I was also meant to do my debut American tour - there were so many things on the cards for 2020 and it felt like I’d just got my legs back and then they were gone again from underneath me. But I knew I had to slowly get back to what I was put here for, and so took on DJing again.
Can you tell us more about your DJing?
I had my first DJ night in May at The Carousel which went down really well. The Carousel are amazing to work with, and I had some amazing artwork from the really talented Kimatron who’s incredible and so cool. The whole night was a big female energy kind of night, which is always my jam.
What’s still to come this year?
My next DJ night will be back at The Carousel on Friday 19 August and will feature lots more funk, soul, big female energy and cool vibes. There are loads more exciting announcements still to come, which I’m not allowed to say yet. But watch this space, the best is yet to come.
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