Quelques questions à Kristyna Myles

02 septembre 2009

Eric : Hey Kristyna, how are you today ?
Kristyna : I’m great thank you! How are you?

Fine, fine.. thank you.. happy to meet the new diva of soul music ;)
So tell me, where are you from and how did you fall into Music ?
I’m originally from Leicester, England, but I'm now based in Manchester after studying Popular Music and Recording at Salford University a few years ago. I’ve always loved music and performing, I learnt to play the piano at 7 and I started writing not long after!

Do you remember an album and/or an artist in particular when you were child ?
Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little pill stands out from when I was younger, as does Madonna’s Immaculate Collection, a must have in anyones CD collection! I loved Lauryn Hill in Sister Act 2 so straight away The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became one of my all time favourite albums!

Sister Act 2... mmh... is there a link with the fact you are nominated  for the Mobo awards "Best Gospel Act" ? Congratulations...
Thank you very much! Yeah this is definitely a link :) Another project aside from my solo material is DTWG which is a Gospel vocal group I joined back in 2006. The group has some amazing singers in it I'm so proud to be a part of it and it's amazing to be nominated for a MOBO!

You're actually in the studio, recording your first album... May i have more details about it ?
It’s very Soulful and has that real ‘live’ sound, my band are awesome, we’ve known each other for years and gig all the time. It will be my debut album and we are looking to have it released early next year, I can't wait! It’s nearly finished now and I’m so excited for everyone to hear it!

Your band seems really important for you... real "live" sound you say.. that's great ! but what about an "intimate" track (or more) piano/voice or guitar/voice only... to highlight your voice ?
There are 2 tracks in particular that don't use the full band. Uninvited is a more intimate track on the album as is Half-way which definitely highlights my voice. I think it's important to have variety on the album, the intrumentation varies according to the mood of the song.

Who are your influences ?
I love Lauryn Hill, India Arie and Aretha Franklin-wow! I also am a big fan of Natasha Bedingfield and Sara Bareillies. What's Sara like, I hear you have interviewed her?!

Yes I have.. that's true... i'm a big fan too.. :)
And What do you think when you are compared to Joss Stone or Beth Rowley ?
It's great to be compared to such great singers! I've seen both of them live and have been blown away!

Your voice is incredibly great, do you take lessons or work particularly on it ?
Thank you, I've had amazing one to one vocal tuition while growing up and now have the occasional lesson to check that I’m not picking up any bad habits! To be honest, I'm always up and down the country gigging, writing and recording so that keeps my voice in shape!

How do you work on your songs ? What are your sources of inspiration ? Your own life ?
Yes definitely, my own experiences in life and observations I make of others are frequently involved in my songs. I love writing songs with lyrics that are very important to me and have great meaning!

What do you listen to these days ?
I’m listening to Paloma Faith, an upcoming British artist, and Sara bareilles’ Little Voice is on my ipod a lot! I also go to lots of gigs to check out other unsigned artists, the UK has some amazing talent!

Tell me more about your favorite unsigned talent...
There's a band called Beggar Joe who have just had their album launch, very soulful and extremely good live. Another is Gideon Conn who is amazing live, he has so much charisma on stage!

If you could choose an artist to work with ?
I’d love to do a duet with Amos Lee, his voice is amazing! I would also love to work with some other big names, so hopefully once my album is out there the offers will come flooding in!

I've heard you will be in France in the not so distant future,.. Paris, Lyon... tell me everything !
Yes I can’t wait! I’ll be playing at The Hot Jazz club, Lyon, on 27th October, I’m so excited! It’ll be my French debut and I've heard the venue is very special so it will be a great night, are you going to come along?

Of course i'll be there .. And finally, is there anything you'd like to say to your French readers/listeners...
Thank you for your support and please come to Lyon on the 27th October, it’d be great to see you! Also, it would be amazing to hear from you all, please send me a message, or a tweet, at www.myspace.com/kristynamyles or www.twitter.com/kristynamyles ! Oh and look out for my debut album next year! Thanks again :)

Thanks so much and take care Kristyna ! ;)

Bon bah voilà, vous l'aurez compris.. Kristyna est une artiste pleine de promesses et il n'y a plus qu'à patienter jusqu'à la sortie de son premier album et à sa petite tournée francaise (à noter qu'elle se produira également à Lyon le 28 au café cousu et le 29 au georgia).. et pour vous aider à tenir, je vous propose d'écouter un petit extrait de ce dernier, enregistré hier... 

"Uninvited" en extrait.

Crédit photo : Scott Kershaw