Interview with Mrs.X - A Popular Pop Singer & Songwriter

Love Music : Let’s talk a bit about you & your music and what is the secret behind your success ?
 
Thank you so much for the great opportunity to be interviewed by you and to share my experience. What about my music, I call the style which I'm working on as “Pop á la carte„. It means that my songs are designed for a wide range of listeners.
 
And the secret behind my success? May be it´s my energy, combined with a lot of patiency... all the emotions honestly expressed on my tracks... And of course, I am so lucky to find a great team to work with!


 
Love Music : What are you working on now ?
 
On my next releases. Five singles and three albums will be released in 2017, and you can imagine: it´s a lot of work! But it´s a great time for me now to see how the songs which I've written are getting their shape. More as 30 musicians from all over the world are working on the project “Pop á la carte„. it's truly an international collaboration and an effort of love!



Love Music : Please tell us more about your single " 80 Miles Away " & " He Plays Rock n Roll " ? 
 
These two singles are two first steps of the current projekt, all the songs are written and composed by me. Sefi Carmel is producer and sound designer of the singles.
So many people to thank, but for me, everything begins and ends with Sefi. He is truly a wizard of a sound!
 
“ 80 Miles Away „ is an emotional song about love, doubt and ability to forgive. „He Plays Rock N Roll“ is not a typical pop song. It´s  rock, actually. Some guys DIY - musicians, they´ll find them there.
 
Rock n Roll...But why not! My Pop á la carte doesn't have any boundaries.
Just give it a listen and discover for yourself why “pop à la carte” style makes this music stand out from all the rest. I promise that it is a must hear for anyone who calls themselves a lover of pop!



Love Music :What motivates you to do your best work as a pop singer and songwriter ?
 
It is so fantastic, to follow my dreams and to make them come true! A taste of fulfilled dreams is great. 



Love Music : If you could perform any where, in the world, where would it have to be?
 
It would be one of these three locations : Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Chrystal Hall in Baku,  or Madison Square Garden.




Love Music : Who are your musical inspirations ?
 
James Brown, Sting, Amy Wine house, Etta James. The are so huge for me. 



Love Music :What’s your favourite music genre? Any particular reason ?
  
Jazz, no doubt! It´s because of freedom to improvise. 




Love Music : Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to be a professional musician / songwriter ?
 
Never stop believing in your dreams, spend more time of life with people who believes in you and supports you... and work hard on your lyrics.


 
Love Music :Everybody needs time out. What do you do in your free time ?
 
It´s different and depends on how much time I do have for this moment. My very passion is to travel and visit different countries, or just to spend time at sea, to dream and to be active...  Sea air works wonder with me! 



Love Music : Are you active on social media? what’s the best way to follow you ?
 
Oh yes. It´s the best way to stay in touch with fans and friends!
To follow me... SoundCloud, Spotify or Deezer is surely the best way for music lovers.
And Facebook or Twitter for somebody who is interesting to stay up to date! 


www.mrs-x.tv

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Buffalo’s Music Scene Heating Up in 2017. Check out its rising artists.

Off the eastern shores of Lake Erie lies one of the most forgotten cities in the country, Buffalo, New York. Buffalo is New York State’s 2nd-most populous city after New York City, with 258,703 residents. The metropolitan area has a population of 1.13 million. It’s known for its Wings, Pizza and Buffalo Bills sports team, but until recently was never really understood as a place for music.

Buffalo has had its share of successful artists in the past. Music stars such as Brian McKnight, The Goo Goo dolls and Rick James have all played an important role in music and continue to inspire young artists today.During the late 80’s and early 90’s Buffalo enjoyed a great deal of success in music’s spotlight, but even during its small rise it never saw the success that other cities enjoyed and was unable to maintain any major success in the years to come.

Known as one of the more modest cities in a state that features one of the largest cities in the world, New York City, Buffalo has always played little brother to one of the leading entertainment capitals in the country. But things are changing. In the past few years Buffalo has seen a rise in talent and enthusiasm for its local artists. The entertainment scene is now littered with tons of talent that originate from the Western New York region. One artist looking to make a name for himself is western New York’s own Mack Benton.

Who Is Mack Benton?

In this day and age, with all the new music and artists dropping weekly, we’re always looking for the next big thing. Well look no further than to one of Indies most polarizing musical figures over the past year. A guy that has done just as much as any independent artist has in today’s market.

Most artists today either don’t know where they fit in or follow the norm—so much that their unique voice fails to shine through. This New York native who dwells and creates music in Atlanta, Georgia honed his craft from day one and now stands firmly on his own two feet as a one-of-a-kind artist. Directly influenced by New York’s up-beat dance scene and the captivating vibe of Atlanta’s R&B scene it’s safe to say that this twenty four year Old’s passion is both unparalleled and unwavering.

Mack is looking to show the world exactly how talented and successful you can be coming from this forgotten city. “The key to success in this day and age is being able to build a brand that will have the labels calling. It really doesn’t matter where you’re from, or how much money you have. At the end of the day talent and hard work means everything and that’ll get you in and keep you in this game for a very long time”

Join the wave as it takes off! Check out some of this artist’s newest music and follow him on his journey to stardom.

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From Manhattan To Mumbai And Back In Search Of One’s Musical Soul

By Alex Montoya

Some songwriters are philosophers and mystics; some are court jesters. Chapell stands out as someone who’s music draws from a complex (and at times, conflicting) palate.

I caught up with Alan Chapell via phone earlier this week. He’s taking a break from recording his latest album and spending the holidays with family in Nicaragua. Although now firmly grounded in New York City, travel is a big part of Chapell’s story. Born and raised in Stamford Connecticut, Chapell started making music as a young child playing mostly classical piano and trumpet. In college, he was a member of a “great but fame was never their fate”band out of New England called All the Voices. He has fond memories of those days, but admits to never really feeling at home in that scene.

Chapell sensed deep in his bones that Connecticut was not the right place creatively. But having that knowledge and actually taking steps to find your creative home are two very different things. Immersed in a malaise, if not outright depression, Chapell didn’t just need a change. He needed something drastic. So he went off to join a band in… Mumbai, India? “India might not be the first place you think of when it comes to Western music, but I spent most of my life following my gut”, said Chapell. Chapell was looking for something new and different musically, and encountered a band of musicians from Mumbai through the Village Voice classifieds. A few of the Mumbai musicians were temporarily living in the “little India” of Jackson Heights, Queens. Only astonesthrow from Connecticut but light years away culturally and stylistically.

Chapell remembers writing a bunch of songs and listening to tons of music of all genres with that band. “The vibe was fantastic,” recalls Chapell. “The band had been invited on the Peter Gabriel World of Music and Dance tour, and they asked if I would join them. It wasn’t a hard decision.” The band was called Kalki, an East-West fusion band that merged electric guitars and classical Indian percussion instruments. At the time, Mumbai had a burgeoning media and music community, according to Chapell. “I hadn’t really participated in a true music scene while playing in the states. But in Mumbai, many of the bands were pretty tight and hung out a lot together. And sometimes, members from different bands jammed and even wrote songs as a collective. I loved the collaborative approach of the musicians in Mumbai.I remember my time in India quite fondly.”

You can hear whispers of Indian influence on The Redhead’s Allegations, Chapell’s first studio album in many years. Check out Shayna and (albeit to a lesser extent) the song Heroes to understand what I mean. Chapell was kind enough to play a few tracks off of his upcoming album with the caveat that it’s still a work in progress. To my ears, there wasn’t much Indian influence from any of the tracks off the new (yet to be titled) album. Chapell has a different take. “You might hear an occasional tabla or other Indian percussion part, but Indian rhythms are not really what I took home from my time in Mumbai”, says Chapell. “The most important thing I learned from Mumbai is to play with people who come from different musical backgrounds. In India, we had a few people who had been trained in various forms of Eastern music, and a couple of Westerners, including me. And that tension between multiple styles is what helped make the music so compelling.” Chapell has taken that philosophy into his current band, where the Americana, jazz and soul influences add a unique texture to Chapell’s indie-rock sensibility. “The last thing I want is to sound like any other band coming out of NYC”, Chapell said.Style is something that oozes out of Chapell’s previous work. The Redhead’s Allegations is a nice Indie-pop album that contains some colorful storytelling. And while I find the album to be really nice listen overall, the stories don’t consistently break through the luster of their indie-pop music shells.Chapell disagreed, stating that the production team of Jerry Harrison and ET Thorngren were critical to bringing the album to life.

But that’s not to say that Chapell is at all finished experimenting with these songs. “I’ve taken to playing a few of the songs from The Redhead’s Allegations acoustically with mandolin as part of my live show, and they’ve gone over really well”, said Chapell. “They feel a bit more organic this way, and it creates a nice little show-within-a-show, and gives the opportunity to feature a different side of my band.” Speaking of Chapell’s live show, the next one is at The Slipper Room in NYC on January 19. I’ll be there. And judging from what I read about his previous Slipper Room show, I’d best get there early.

But one final question. I was curious what caused Chapell ultimately to leave India behind? Like many endings, this one came down to money. “Eventually, I ran out of cash. I was able to work a bit writing music jingles for Indian TV, but it turns out that musicians can’t make a living in India either.” (Imagine that.) “I couldn’t even afford a plane ticket home. But I managed to sneak onto a plane heading to Florence, Italy and eventually made it back through JFK,” Chapell recalls. “Someday maybe I’ll share that story at one of my concerts.” From what Chapell shared with me, the leaving India story is both harrowing and hilarious. In many ways, a microcosm of the musician himself.

You can find Chapell on Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube and www.ThisIsChapell.com.  

See Chapell live at the SlipperRoom in NYC on Thursday January 19 at 8pm. Tickets are available here. 

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