Introduce yourself to the Swedish vocalist on the rise, Adèe.
Her groovy melodies and powerful voice caught the attention of many industry heads including Timbaland, Motown Record’s President Ethiopia Habtemariam, Tom Windish, and Pitchfork’s CEO Christopher Kaskie all of whom have selected Adèe to participate in their 2016’s Midem Artist Accelerator in Cannes this summer.
Inspired by the sounds of soul, hip-hop and pop this songstress has yet to hit her ceiling. More to come.
Take a listen to her latest single “World on Fire” and also check out the brief Q&A below.
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Casablanca Sunset: How long have you been making music?
Adèe: I’ve been making and writing my own music since I was around 15 years old. My big brother is a rapper and he influenced me a lot to do my own music and lyrics, before he invited me to write with him I only just sang covers.
CS: How do you like working out of Sweden?
A: Working from Sweden is great, since we have government funded artist development here. I’m also very grateful for growing up and working in Sweden. It has helped me a lot to have some support when you’re still in the process of building your artist profile and not necessarily making any money from your project. Yeah and it’s also super inspiring that so many great artists, songwriters and producers are coming from Sweden and Scandinavia. The only down side to living here is that we have to travel pretty far if we want to perform in Canada or the US.
CS: Who are some of your influences?
A: I get influenced really easy when I make music, but Jill Scott and Erykah Badu are the artists that made the greatest impact on me in my own creations. For them, the lyrics are always in perfect relation to the melody and I just love how they both sound. They are also two powerful women who seems to have control of their own world and I like that as well.
CS: How would you describe your music?
A: If I would describe my own music it would be that it has a crossover sound from soul/hip-hop and pop. I want the lyrics to be in the lead role of my songs and therefore it’s impossible not to be inspired by hip-hop and all the great lyricists the genre is built on. I also want to touch people in some way, make everyone to feel something while they are listening to my music. If the audience doesn’t feel something I am doing something wrong.
CS: Can you tell us about the global music incubator you were recently selected for?
A: The global music incubator I was selected for started as a competition were over 500 bands/acts applied. Then a jury selected 12 finalists that will perform at the showcase/festival Midem in Cannes June 4. The finalists will also be coached by experienced people from the music industry to learn more how to develop as artists and hopefully get the right contacts to gain even more success. I am so exited to perform at Midem and hopefully I’ll get some great opportunities from it. I’m the only artist that was selected from Scandinavia and that feels great!
CS: Any additional plans for 2016?
A: I will be releasing my debut album in the fall, which is very exiting. I will also be doing a summer tour in Sweden and Germany, and we will start working on the next album and do some writing sessions in New York during that time as well.
Thanks Adèe! Best of luck in the future! For more on Adèe you can check out her website here.