A CHANCE MEETING WITH KANYE WEST LED TO HER RECORD DEAL
American woman
When UK R88 tyke Estelle packed her bags and headed for NYC it was assumed she was selling out. She did, as Mark Robertson finds, but not quite as expected
stelle is a busy lady. It takes three weeks.
three reschedules and three attempts at a
transatlantic phone call to finally get a word with her.
‘Yeah man. its been promo city lately‘ she giggles from a room in the heart of her US label Atlantic's head office in her recently adopted home town of New York. The day we speak is her anniversary.
'I moved here a year ago today! I should be celebrating. Although I think we are just working.‘
The move. far from being her turning her back on the UK scene that supported her and nurtured her debut album and top 20 single. ‘|‘)8()'. was purely for practical reasons.
‘I moved here when I got signed in America as it was easier to do conference calls without being woken tip due to time differences. If I had stayed in the UK I would still be working with these same people around me. I would still have John with me. He was the one who brought a lot of the folks together.’
The John she refers to is John Legend. the multi- platinum selling American soul singer and the man who put pen to paper in signing listelle to his own Homeschool Records label in conjunction with Atlantic. The genesis of the pair's relationship has been a tale frequently told but bears repeating: a chance meeting with Kanye West at an LA chicken and waffle restaurant saw listelle front up to West
and ask him to arrange a meeting with Legend for
her. and when the two finally did meet they clicked musically with Legend ending up executive
72 THE LIST 5’ 19 Jun (2008
producing her new album. Shine. which was released in the spring.
'lt‘s just a lot of creative chemistry that works. it‘s nothing too hard or laboured. It‘s a great business relationship where we agree or disagree and we keep moving. He gets where my head is at. He understands some kinds of music and if not. then I educate him and if I don't get it. he educates me. It's great to have someone who is not you. but who kinda could be you. who can give you a reference point.‘
For many people. the chart topping single 'American Boy'. which hit number one in the UK and US earlier this year. was their first exposure to the 28-year-old singer. and where her debut [Si/i Day was very much her growing up and getting steady on her feet. Shine is her spreading her wings.
Collaborations with Legend. West. Black liyed Pea William. Swill. Beat/ and others on the album give her sound a sheen and an American pop/hip hop clarity that few others could attain. lmportantly though. it never sounds anything less than her own. More than Winehouse. Duffy. Adele or whoever else. she is in possession of some soulful pipes but not stuck consciously aping the classics. listelle has the R&B sheen. but underneath. the (ihanaian- Londoner remains feisty and true. And aside from an unashamed addiction to Ribena -— the one thing she fills her case with when returning Stateside »- she is a rare thing: a credible transatlantic proposition.
Estelle plays ABC, Glasgow, Mon 9 Jun.
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"THE‘BES'T‘ROVCK, Pop, Jizz's FOLK
5%: Rockfless The View, Underworld. Razorlight and Fatboy Slim (pictured) head up a beefy line-up for two days where indie and dance intersect in style. Dores, Loch Ness, Sat 7 8 Sun 8 Jun. (Rock 8 Pop)
:is Theo Travis’ Double Talk Prog fancying sax and flute player whose band of envelope pushing players aren’t afraid to play around with jazz for kicks. See preview, page 80. Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, Fri 6 Jun; To/booth, Stirling, Sat 7 Jun. (Jazz)
St: Estelle See preview, left. ABC, Glasgow, Mon 9 Jun. (Rock 8 Pop)
=%=‘ Lykke Li So sweet indie tunes from this thrillsome young songwriter. See preview. page 74. King Tut’s, Glasgow, Sun 8 Jun. (Rock 8 Pop)
3% Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan Roll out those beauty and the beast gags as the swoonsome Miss C and the arch and feral Mr L lock horns like a modern day Nancy and Lee with their dark. breathy murder balladry. See Last Word, page 112. ABC, Glasgow, Fri 73 Jun. (Rock 8 Pop)
as A Certain Ratio Manchester‘s transcendental idiosyncrats were doing punk and funk with thrills and skills before The Rapture were in school. See preview, page 73. Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Sat 14 Jun. (Rock 8 Pop)
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at: Holly Golightly and the Brokeofls A true eccentric with a knack for a cheeky blues tune, her last album was entitled You Can ’t Buy a Gun When
You ’re Crying, which by our book. is trankly tremendous. King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 18 Jun. (Rock 8 Pop)