We were fortunate enough to catch up with the superb London-based artist Amey St Cyr for an interview. She has released her infectious electronic-pop EP ‘Wild World’, in 2020. Check out our interview below!
Hi Amey, tell us about yourself?
I am a singer/songwriter/actress/model – Amey St. Cyr. Music is in my blood; my father was a musician. He used to sing to us kids, and play the guitar. I heard music every day when I was growing up. When I was 19, I went to study Drama at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and first got involved in bands after singing at the drama school cabarets.
As well as making music I have appeared in music videos by Krept and Konan and Big Narstie, and I was involved in the Boots No.7 cosmetics campaign last April as a model.
What is your songwriting process?
My songwriting process is as follows: I’ll be in my bed about to drop off to sleep when I hear music in my head. Then I get out of bed and go into the front room, so as not to disturb the neighbours, and I start to sing all the ideas in my head into my phone. Sometimes it’s an idea for a Bassline, other times it’s a melody idea for a verse or chorus or a lyric. When I’ve sung the ideas I go back to bed and let the ideas lie for a couple of days, then I come back to them to see what is worth working on and that’s when a song starts to emerge.
Tell us about your latest release?
The ‘Wild World’ EP has been two years in the making. Before going solo, I was in a funk-rock band. I fell out with one of the members and decided to go it alone in order to have more control over my music. ‘Wild World’ was the first song to be completed I demoed the song over an instrumental house track by another artist and gave it to a producer who then lifted the vocals and made original beats for the song.
The other three songs were beats which my producer friends had made which I wrote a melody and lyrics to then recorded at the studio. I’ve been a fan of house music since the late 80s and listened to all the pirate stations back in the day. More recently, I’ve been listening to HouseFm.Net, so it was just great to be able to make an EP in the house genre.
What message do you think your music conveys to your fans?
The message I’d like my music conveys to my fans is one of optimism and positivity. These are 2 of my character traits. I try to write empowering and uplifting lyrics to go with bright, strong beats. I hope the tracks will make the listener want to bust a move and shake a leg as I believe dancing to great music is the best therapy.
Who are your musical influences?
My musical influences are many and varied. I grew up listening to Dillinger, Bob Marley, Jim Reeves, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross and further down the line, The Blue Nile, Kate Bush, Morrissey Mullen, Prefab Sprout, Aretha Franklin to mention just a few.
Who are your non-musical influences?
My non-musical influences are people like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Shakespeare and Maya Angelou and Angela Davis.
What’s the best gig that you have ever played?
The most memorable gig I’ve ever played was in the States with Baby Ford. I somehow managed to get into the role of a coy vixen (I was very young!) when I was singing backing vocals, and the audience really responded with a massive cheer when I was introduced during the gig.
What is your funniest gig moment?
And one of my funniest moments was when I gigged when I was pregnant. My daughter started kicking, and I got a fit of giggles!!
What do you think are the biggest obstacles for bands/artists today?
I found it difficult starting out with the funk-rock band I was in because most promoters wanted the band to play for nothing, despite the fact that the bar staff and the sound guy were all being paid, plus they’d expect you to fill a venue!! Too much to ask, in my opinion.
These days the world and his wife wants to be famous just for the sake of being famous rather than because they have any talent or anything interesting to say. And the sad thing id that some succeed for 15 minutes. There’s just so much competition.
What advice would you give to other bands/artists starting out?
I’d say to artists starting out: Follow your heart but take your brain with you.
What are your hopes for the next two years?
The next two years will be spent working on new material. I’ve already started three new songs so I’ll be in the studio recording those. Also, I’ll be promoting the ‘Wild World’ EP. Hopefully, before long I can get back to gigging, and I’d like to make a few videos for the songs on the EP.
FVMusicBlog May 2020
Twitter: @StAmelia
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