Artist
Annabel Fay
Annabel Fay has known her entire life that she has wanted to sing. She describes it as her ‘full time love’. Now her rich dulcet tones and original brand of soul-pop and ‘R&B’ fusion are out there for the world to hear.
This stand out artist has been itching to perform since she can remember. “My entire life, I’ve wanted to write songs, perform and sing. It’s been in my blood since I can remember. When I was little my parents enrolled me in the ‘Mary Poppins’ musical at my school. It was a production only meant for seniors! I got the part and then made them watch me practice every day. It was great. I was a six -year old bird-woman and everyone else in the production was 16!”
This is the kind of characteristic determination that has seen Fay unleash her vocal gusto and propel the young aspiring singer into a talented songstress who recorded her debut album last year.
The first single “Lovin’ You Baby” was the radio song of the summer and achieved Top 10 status in both the singles charts and the radio charts. Her single “Strong” was the music bed for TV3’s “Heroes” promo last year and spend weeks in the Top 10 radio charts.
Fay describes her first single was “The most popish on the album, but with an uplifting reggae feel. I feel like I’m in Jamaica when I’m listening to it. I never get bored of hearing it, which is lucky considering I’m the one singing it!”
Fay’s sultry voice and vocal maturity made her a natural stand out amongst other wannabe starlets. She caught the ear of A&R stalwart Tracy Magan of Siren Records who immediately picked up something special about Fay. She approached her to begin the musical career she has always dreamed of. This came as a shock to Fay, who after being born in Auckland, but spending her teenage years in Europe, had returned home to spend time with her family take a break before attending music school in Chicago. These plans were put on hold indefinitely when she was made an offer that she couldn’t refuse.
Fay was offered a record deal that would see her working with one of the world’s top producers. Brady Blade is an American who lives in Sweden who can cite Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews, Emily Lou Harris and Jewel amongst his colleagues and collaborators.
The decision for Fay to put her study on hold was not a difficult one. She emits her throaty laugh. “It was pretty simple, I was into it.” We went into the studio (the Lab in Auckland) and recorded the album in earnest from February to March, then we decided to cut a couple of songs, so I went back into the studio and then everything got finished off in August. It was amazing bunch of people I got to work with. Nick Manders engineered and mixed the second half of the record, and I was able to work with a raft of super talented musician’s. Wherever I’ve gone, people have helped out. At first I found the recording process intimidating, but the more I’ve learnt, the more I love it. It’s fun, and I enjoy it.”
So what makes Fay’s different from other female artists in the market?
“The album is hard to put into a genre. It houses everything from ‘R&B to some soul and pop. There are lots of old samples, including one featuring Winston Churchill. Depending on the track, the general gist of the album is that it’s extremely optimistic, not ‘happy’ but every song has a good message in it, and it’s not, well, it doesn’t aim to depress! I want people to listen to the songs, and really think. The lyrics can be applied to anyone, especially on my favourite couple of tracks, which I’m sure are the ones that people won’t immediately pick up on. I wrote quite a few of the songs, but where I didn’t, I’ve been involved in other ways like helping out literally with the production. I didn’t want it to be an album where everything was done for me so what I didn’t know, I learnt. At first I wasn’t even confident that I could write, but I hadn’t really tried. When I went into the studio, it happened really naturally, which was surprising in a good way. Now I love the process and it’s a great creative outlet for me.”
So what now for this star on the rise?
Fay is enthusiastic about the amount of time she has been spending in her old home- town. “I’m really happy here, with my friends, hanging out, and most importantly, making music. There are so many people I would love to work with, people here in New Zealand who are still out of reach at the moment, but we’ll see how this goes.”
Friends and family are slowly readjusting to the idea of having the public know the girl whose been singing in private for her entire life. She smiles. “Everyone I know that I’m close to is excited, and so supportive… Although my flatmates hate living with me because I have music going all the time. I go to sleep with music. I wake up with music. I listen to everything, which some people don’t understand but I have a genuine appreciation for most stuff. I love doing what I’m doing at the moment as it enables me to live my dream full time.”
She’s clearly a girl gripped with fire and ambition. Fay agrees with the description. “I’m always thinking ahead. I’m writing all the time and coming up with new songs ideas and lyrics. And if Siren / 174 East will have me there will be a new album next year at some point. I want to do this forever, so I am keen to start the process again as soon as possible. Music is my life, and the thing I love the most. I can’t wait to see how people respond. That’s the whole point. It’s not about getting on TV and shaking my rear, it’s about if I can do to people what music does to me. Which is why I wanted to become a musician in the first place.”
Annabel has had a successful year to date. Her album has sold well, her 4 singles have received huge airplay charting in at least the top 20 radio play, she has toured and performed extensively from the Westlife tour to the Maori King’s coronation and she’s been nominated for Best Female Vocalist at the Vodafone NZ Music Awards…
Her new single “Home” will be on radio soon.
Visit Annabel's MySpace page.
For further information contact: Tracy Magan [tracy@174east.com] or by Phone: 64 9 3021133
Shake it Off from ‘Annabel Fay’ Play