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Empress_Singing Their Way To Success

Posted by Ginny Marriott on June 22, 2012
Posted in: **PROMISING TALENT**, *NEW UK TALENT*. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

There is a new girl group in town and they go by the name of Empress.

Empress

Four young women from the UK, have been chosen after a nationwide search, from Ultimate Music Management.  These ladies clearly stood out from the crowd , against the other hopefuls that auditioned to be part of this exciting new project. Empress are an urban girl group made up of 4 talented singers & dancers. They officially became a group in  may 2012. They are all 18 years-old, hungry for success, and are literally soaked in talent.  The group is made up of Monica, Vee, Desthy and Elys.

In an Exclusive interview with Sataloma News, we find out just what the girls have been up to since coming together as a group,  and find out a bit more about the girls themselves, and the  music they are creating.

Congratulations on becoming Empress, just how excited are you about the future?

M- SO excited it’s all very new and fresh but were literally so excited for the what the future holds for us D-Yes I’m very excited! I mean, this is once in a lifetime opportunity, we have a great management team that’s supporting and helping us throughout the entire journey, its been a great start for the group, I hope this will continue and bring us a great, bright future ahead of us!

So tell us a little bit about yourselves as individuals, ?

I’ am Elyse, I am 18 and I am from Bolton, I’m Persian and a libra. I’m the sort of person who seems shy at first but can’t shut me up once you know me.

I am Monica, im 18, and grew up in  Aylesbury, I am Italian & greek,  and I am a Scorpio. Before Empress I was a solo singer/songwriter and club promoter.

My name is Desthy, everyone calls me Dee. I’m 18, and a Capricorn. I was born in Jakarta, in Indonesia, but now live in Milton Keynes. I started dancing when I was 6, as a  ballroom dancer, but my main passion is really hip hop,  I joined my first class of hip hop at 9 I haven’t stopped dancing & singing since.

Hi,  I’m Veneisha but im known as Vee. I am 18 years old and I’m from London I am a Scorpio, my parents are from Barbados and Jamaica, and im a trained dancer, and studied performing arts.

You are all 18 years old, is music, what you have all, always wanted to do?

M– Yeah its something I have  wanted since I was like 4, I just knew from then, that I wanted to entertain people. The spice girls started it for me.    E-Music has always been a part of my life you only have to look at footage from my “family video camera” , it is  full of tapes of myself, forcing my brother to hold the camera while I wore wigs and pretend to be on MTV.    D-Music is like air to me, sounds a little cheesy but I literally cannot live without it.  My life has always revolved around music, from old-school  RnB and gospel to hip hop, those are my favourite types of music. I started singing when I was 9, I love performing.    V-From the age of five , I was always entering into talent shows, I would always make up dance routines and sing in front of my family. This has been something I wanted from a very young age.

Are you all getting along well?   M-We get on really well, me,  Vee and Desthy hit off straight away in the first auditions, then Elyse came in and completed us. Were like sisters already!   V-Yeah, me Monica and Desthy clicked throughout the audition process, then when we found Elyse it just felt right. We have four very different personalities and we couldn’t have found a better fit.  It’s like a sisterhood already.

Hows music coming along?   M-Its coming along really well, we have worked with different producers, and have even just started working on a garage track with a real summer vibe. E- At the moment were just playing around with sounds to create something totally unique to create Empress’s sound.

Who are your biggest musical influences?     D-Michael Jackson  and Beyonce M-Drake, Rihanna, J-cole, J.lo & of course Beyoncé she is just so talented!  E-I have a huge mixture of influences ranging from rock such as Nirvana and  Queen, Motown music like Aretha Franklin, to current artists, like Beyonce and Rihanna V– Beyonce has always been my main influence. She has inspired me in many ways as a woman and a performer. Also Rihanna, as she’s from Barbados like myself . She’s made it from a small island, to world-wide musical domination.

Can we hear these influences in the music that you are making right now?    D: Our music influences are hip hop and RnB, but we will definitely make a variety of music, try all genres. I think its important to try a few different paths, to see what works. The garage track that we’re working on at the moment is very summery vibe, we tried to bring the 90’ to 2012 with it.  M– We just want our music to be as relatable as possible, we’re young and we want to act as role models , but most of all keep it real.

Empress is a beautiful name, why Empress? 

 E–We love the name Empress because it goes with our saying “strong in mind, rich in unity” as an Empress is a strong and beautiful woman who can be just as powerful as any man (Emperor). We believe that every girl no matter how weak she may be feeling can pull her self together and be a strong Empress because we all have one inside us.

What can we expect from Empress?   E– Lots of personality, good quality music, with powerful motives, catchy songs and big choreography.   D– A ‘Making Empress’ reality show, which follows us on our journey and a video diary which you can find on our website and YouTube channel.  Team Empress all the way!

Life is looking good for the girls of Empress, their amazing work ethic and pure talent should see them make a success of the band, and we for one can’t wait to hear their debut track. To see how the ladies secured their places in the group then watch The making of Empress at www.youtube.com/empressofficialtv and check out their official Website www.empressonline.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Fola_Going For What He Believes In

Posted by Ginny Marriott on June 14, 2012
Posted in: **PROMISING TALENT**, *NEW UK TALENT*, Music. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

‘Go for what you believe in, Be determined to make yourself a better person… to elevate in life’

‘Go for what you believe in, be determined to make yourself a better person… to elevate in life’,  That is the motto this young R&B artists lives by, and 22 Year-old Fola, takes this with him into the studio, to influence his music, along with the inspirations of artists he grew up listening to, such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Brandy, Usher, and Beyonce.

Fola grew up in South East London, Intent on nothing less than success, Fola has worked hard since the age of 11 to develop his singing and writing abilities, growing in confidence, he took to the stage, performing in many talent competitions and showcases, in front of audiences around London. His first big moment came 2007, when he auditioned for the ITV’s,  XFactor talent competition, and beat thousands of hopefuls, to get through to the boot camp stage of the competition.

Fola has been touring this year with Grammy nominated Joshua Groban, on his Awake UK Tour, performing to thousands, and the response has been phenomenal. Fola’s debut solo track Star was released in 2011, and it’s release attracted the attention of dj’s across the UK, and established Fola with an ever-growing fan base, The track was perfect for the clubs with its Grime/pop sound, edged with an electro sound. Fola’s  new track Living a Lie is produced by DDark a UK producer and shows exactly how smooth this young talent is.  It’s a track from his first solo Mixtape Go.

We caught up with Fola, and had a little chat about his inspirations and wanted to know what is next for this rising star.

  • Fola, I’ve been listening to your new ‘Living a Lie’ track and it’s great, you have an incredible voice, when did you first realize your voice was one that stood out from the crowd?
  • Well I have been singing my whole life, but I think people noticed it more than I did when I got to the ages of 11/12. That was when I started really working on my craft.
  • tell us about the track?
  • The song ‘Living a Lie’, is actually about a relationship where the partner has been living a facade the entire time, and finally, you find out so many lies about that person. It’s like a huge wake up call. I think we have been through that, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a boyfriend, girlfriend scenario, just a general one. 
  • you spent a lot of time over the years entering talent competitions, and showcases, how was that experience, as a young singer trying to make it in the UK?
  • The experience, is definitely something I won’t forget. But being unknown and not having any connections, it was something I felt I had to do, and I feel that it’s a great platform for young talent to be exposed and celebrated. 
  • in 2007 you entered the X factor and got as far as boot camp, how fierce was the competition there ?
  •  The whole x-factor experience and being at boot-camp was FUN!!! I met so many great people and it was such a friendly environment that the competition wasn’t too cut throat. I think the audience and the TV crew make it out like that, but when I was there, we the contestants were so cool. I still talk to a lot of the people who went on it.
  • would you audition again?
  • I am not too sure if I will go back, hopefully my music will take off if everything goes to plan.
  • You are a songwriter as well as a vocalist, what and who inspires you to write?
  • I get inspired by life in general, the things I go through and what I see others. Some things I write are fiction is all in my imaginary world, but I find those topics fun. I love Michael Jackson, Brandy, Usher, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce …. and the names go on.
  • Your track Living a Lie is Produced by UK Producer DDark, how well do you both work together creatively?
  • Me and DDark work so well together. I think it’s because we both want it and our passion and work ethic is really strong. Outside of music we are actually friends so that helps too. In terms of taste we tend to like the same things musically, I think that’s a key to why we click musically.
  • It’s from you Mixtape ‘Go’ are all the tracks just as smooth, or are there some upbeat R&B tracks on there ?
  • Go the mixtape has so many different feels. I am a smooth type of singer, but i consider myself versatile. There are some electronic pop  club type songs there, ballads and some dub-step.
  • what track would we find on your iPod right now
  •  On my iPod right now, you would find,  usher (his new album), Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, A LOT of Brandy, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. I am also into a lot of UK artists like Angel, Loick Essien, Labyrinth, Emelie Sande, Talay Riley and David.B. 
  • where can your fans see you performing next?
  •  You can catch me performing next week Tuesday on the 19th of June at Music is my drug at Brickhouse on Brick Lane.
  • what’s next for Fola?
  • Whats next? I am currently working on a new project. It will be an EP, so I am working hard in the studio writing and recording. Be expecting some more music video’s from the mix-tape

You can download Fola’s Mixtape ‘Go’ at www.officialfola.com