Interview: Emeli Sandé about Jazzpiknik

Adele Emily Sandé is a British singer, songwriter and pianist who mainly combining Pop, R&B and jazz influences in her style and she has written songs among others for Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle and Gabrielle. On Friday, 8th of July will be released the 2 part Bakelite/Vinyl LP of her latest album Let's Say For Instance, published in May. On the 4th of August, Emeli will perform at the 10th anniversary JazzPiknik at Paloznak, Hungary.

I asked the interview with you in connection with your concert at Jazzpiknik in Hungary at lake Balaton this summer, the 4th of August. We will be there to make press materials for the magazine, and we would like to publish this interesting conversation previously with you.

What does this concert mean to you, what kind of feelings, thoughts do you have?

Well I am very excited to perform, I’ve performed in Hungary a couple of times before, and the audience is always very appreciative and respectful to the musicians and I’ve always had a fantastic time connecting there. I don’t think I’ve performed in Hungary for about 5 or 6 years, so I’m very excited to come back, especially after the pandemic and with new music and new confidence in performing, and I really hope that the public enjoys the performance, and that we can reconnect.

What kind of atmosphere will you strive for at the Jazzpiknik?

I’m anticipating very joyful and music loving athmosphere, I relly do; we can definitely make a distinction, when we can feel that the crowd is of genuine music lovers. I think it’s going to be a joyful atmosphere and also, because we’ve been separated for so long, I think there is going to be a real sense of union, and when on stage, we are going to be so pretty happy to be there, and I hope the audience will equally be excited.

How many songs are you going to sing?

The set is about an hour and a half, so we usually do around 14-16 songs.

There will also be big hits?

Yes, we’ll be doing all the songs that I hope people want to hear from all of the albums, and also some new songs which I hope they enjoy.

What is your favorite audience? How your favorite audience behaves?

Well, my favourite types of audience are the ones that are really engaged, and they get involved, they show their love, they’re not shy about it, but also an audience that respects the quieter moments - you know – if I am playing piano and singing, it can be very intimate, so I love it when the audience can kind of come into that zone with me, and show the respect when doing something a bit more vulnerable and intimate - so I like when everybody gets excited and we all sing along, and then also when the same crowd kind of really listens to the quieter moments, those detectfully senses that I really love.

Do you have your favorite performing clothes?

Well, at the moment I’m really enjoying and I’ve been kind of using different colors of blazers, which feels very empowering, but on the piano-shows I’ve been wearing more dresses and it is lovely to feel that they’re more elegant and feminine when you’re set to the piano, so - I don’t know, its kind of a mix between being in the blazers when I’m up there with the band, but then also having a bit more femininism, so maybe I’ll do a little of both, when changing on the show.

Do you choose the clothes for each song or someone helps?

I usually choose them, but I do have people helping me, my assistant has been fantastic finding clothes, she knows I love and what suits me, so she really knows my style, I like to feel comfortable on stage, but also you want to give a bit extra, you want to project color and comfort, so my assistant has been really good in helping me find great outfits that make me feel comfortable on stage.

Do you already know what colors you're going to wear?

I’ve really fallen in love with the royal blue, that I’ve been wearing on stage at piano shows in Britain, but this will be in summer time, so I hopefully will have some golden colors, something quite bright, because you really want to make a presence when you are on stage.

Which is your most memorable concert?

Oh there’s been some fantastic shows, I really enjoyed playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London, that was fantastic, I loved playing at Exit Festival in Serbia, that was great; I did a show in Budapest, which I remember very fondly in a beautiful concert hall, so there’s been many different ones, and it’s nice, when you get out of your home country, and you realize that the music has really travelled, and people really are enjoying the lyrics, so yeah, I love it when I get to leave the UK, and explore new cultures and see how the music connects us all.

What was your most unpleasant experience at a performance?

I guess it’s sometimes you get shows where maybe it’s just the wrong environment where people went to party, but you’ve come with just the piano, so sometimes those performances are hard because - like I was saying at the beginning - you really want to feel that when you’re pouring out your soul into the performance, you want to feel like you have the attention of the crowd. Other than that, sometimes there’re technical difficulties what are hard to get through, but I do believe that once you’re on stage you just have to give your all, and hope that there are people you are touching out there.

What songs are you listening to these days?

I’ve been listening to the 70’s soul, a lot of Stevie Wonder, Barry White, a lot of classical music as well, to get me in the common zone, I’ve been listening to Maria Callas a lot, because I find her vocal performances so inspiring, yes, a big mix of everything really.

Is there someone or something that usually inspires you?

Books definitely inspire me, and watching emotional movies, because we are in a true battle at the moment, so is a good reminder that at the end of the day when you’re on stage you want to provoke on an emotional reaction so I try to watch things that make me feel very emotional and you know my friends, my family, my partner they all inspire me, so I try to be surrounded by love and project that, when I get on stage.

Do you just come to the show or you stay to look around for a few days?

Usually sometimes we get to have a day before the show, so I hope that we can spend a bit of time exploring the city, and getting to know the culture, because I think it always helps when you’re on stage to know the culture you’re performing in front of.

Images: Emeli Sandé instagram, Jazzpiknik facebook

https://emelisande.com

https://www.facebook.com/emelisande

https://www.instagram.com/emelisande/

https://www.facebook.com/jazzpiknik/

https://www.instagram.com/jazzpiknik/

https://jazzpiknik.hu

TICKETS FOR THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY JAZZPIKNIK ARE HERE:

https://hu-jp-webshop.netpositive.hu/category/jegyek

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