The Record's Marelle Reid recently chatted with singer Ndidi Onukwulu about her career and her upcoming performance at this summer's Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I was born in New Westminster, and I grew up in the north and then in the Interior before coming back to the Lower Mainland, where I was in my teens.
Q: What prompted your move to Paris?
A: That's just where I am because that's where I work the most. I mean, I just think you need to go where you have the most gigs, and I happened to have the most gigs in France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium right now.
Q: How did you get your start in music?
A: I was 19 and I was living with two good friends who would do talent nights and I didn't necessarily have a talent, per se, so . I decided to sing for them, and they went, "Oh, you should maybe consider doing this," and I sort of went, "Well, OK, why not? Let's do this" and I moved to New York and started trying to make music. . When I decide that this is what I'm going to do, I'm the kind of person that commits to it a 110million per cent.
So, I thought to myself, if I'm going to be a musician, if I'm going to be an artist, then I'm going to go somewhere where I think it's very, very difficult and I'm going to see how far I can go. I moved to New York, and I had managers, and things happened for me there, but they weren't the right things. I was being pushed into an R&B sort of predictable world for somebody that looks like me, and I didn't want that so I stopped and I ended up partying pretty hard. Then a friend of mine said, "Let's go to Toronto," and I went there and that's actually where I started really making music. I was in this rock band, and then I was in a hip hop band and an electronic band called Stop Die Resuscitate, and it was during that process that I started writing and I ended up making my first record.
Q: Would you describe yourself as a blues singer?
A: No. There was a time when I would have, but now I no longer would. . A person I work with described me as an earth singer. I guess it's rootsy, but there's also pop in what I do and elements of different types of music, but they're all different music that are very rooted in the ground. So it would be like if you took a bit of Tom Waits and Radiohead and then some sort of Shirley Bassey, Etta James and there we go, all very earth-based. I mean, music in general is earth-based - but their actual notation and their sonic value, their waveform is very rooted and moves people in a particular way and that's where I sing from.
Q: Can you describe your performance style?
A: I throw down. That's what I do. I make jokes, generally, and then I sing really sad songs. And then sometimes I kick in a beat while singing really sad songs and dance. I hope that when I'm dancing and transferring that energy, people will get into it and they usually do, though sometimes they just stare, like, "Look at that lady. That's great, but you're crazy."
Q: What's the difference between audiences here and in Europe?
A: Oh, it's kind of the same. People are people. As long as you're singing from a place of truth, and as long as you're a good performer, everyone has a good time. You never can tell. Some people like to just sit back and absorb, and that's cool. Other people like to participate, and that's cool. When I go up there I sort of look at the stage as my home and I've invited all these people over for dinner. So I'm like, "Whatever you want to do. Here's the food, eat how you want, pick what you want."
Q: What can your Burnaby audience expect this summer?
A: I think when they come to the show they'll hear some things that might resonate with them in a way that maybe hasn't in a little while, and we'll have a lot of fun. Either way, it's all about fun with these musicians and some good singing, so I'm pretty excited.
