With the 3rd season of THE KEEPERS LOUNGE right around the corner (November 5th), singer Amel Larrieux is preparing to wow northeast Ohio with a fantastic performance! The sultry songstress and songwriter, who embarked upon a solo career in 1999, will present work both old and new — offering selections that will remind the audience of her days with the 1990s hit R&B group Groove Theory, and delivering new music in the form of songs off her forthcoming album “Ice Cream Every Day,” which she says will be released early next year. Larrieux spoke to KOTA about her performance, her new album, humanitarian work, persistent rumors about the possible rebirth of Groove Theory and lessons learned after more than a decade in the music industry.To put it bluntly, I want to give people their money’s worth. I am a person who loves to hear good music, and I want to have a good time when I go. I want to be able to enjoy myself and sing along. I want the performer who I am watching to look like they love what they are doing, so I try to give that. ... I’m going to do new stuff from the album — or new to whoever hasn’t come to any of my shows in the last six months or who doesn’t go on YouTube and watch me. [Laughing] The new stuff ends up there pretty quick. The new songs that I am doing haven’t been released yet. It’s going to be a combination of stuff. I know what resonates with the public, so I always try to do the songs that I know people want to hear.
What inspired you to begin singing and songwriting?
I’m not really sure. I feel like it’s one of those mysteries. A lot of artists might talk about how they just end up doing the thing they do. They don’t really know how they do it or why they do it. To this day, I am lucky that I can write a song. I always think I am not going to write another song, then ideas pop into my head. I don’t remember when it was, a point where I was writing and singing and that was going to be my thing, but I do know that I had a pretty defining moment in high school. As a freshman I went to a performing arts high school in Philadelphia, where I sung in a choir with about 100 kids who were super talented and had amazing, strong voices. It resonated with me, that feeling of the vibration of their voices and singing with them, feeling and hearing music around me. I’ve continued to be involved with music and have had it as a part of my life since that time. But I didn’t set out to be a star. I got lucky and things fell into my lap.
A number of artists talk about their struggle being in the music industry, did you ever think to yourself ‘I don’t want to be a part of this anymore?’
No, because I think it’s the only thing I can do. [Laughing] It’s not always easy. If you have any insecurities or self-esteem issues, it’s not a natural or normal thing to be watched and judged. When you write your own songs and you sing them, you really bare your soul and put yourself on the line. But I feel like this comes so naturally to me, that I feel like I’m cheating because this is the thing that I do and I love it. I’ve been doing it since I was little. It feels second nature to me. There are times when I am tired and don’t want to sing, but then I will get on stage and I start singing, the audience interacts and the band and the music feels so right that I forget that I have a fever of 102. I’m so lucky I can do this for a living.
How do you deal with rejection and the music industry trying to mold you into what they believe is a successful artist?
Luckily that stopped happening years ago for me because I’ve been in the industry for so long and also because I pretty much set a precedent about who I am and what I will and wont do. I didn’t waiver from that. Now I am at the point where there really is no question about it. Since I am an independent artist — I am on a label that is run by my husband — I don’t have to worry about that at all. But, it took time. Everything for me is all about seasoning and time. I could say I am lucky, but I’ve been around a while and I’ve continued to do what I do. I haven’t gone into another field. This is all I do besides being a mom and a wife. ... I think people have accepted that this is who I am and I don’t have a lot of conflict in that area any more.
You rose to fame in the mid-1990s, how would say the music industry has changed since then?
The fact that the Internet is so important to the sale of your music and just the instant gratification when it comes to wanting a song right now. You don’t have to buy a full album, you can just buy one single. YouTube allows so many people to get exposed to the public, so that the public feels that they have more of a say in who gets to be a star or who gets to have notoriety. It has taken some of the leverage away from major labels and even the quote-unquote stars. It has sort of leveled the playing field a little bit. Every generation will tell you “this changed and that changed” [or] “when I was doing music this is how it was,” but I understand that there is an evolution. The industry is always changing and is always different. There is always something to look back on and say, “Well, that was better.” But I don’t look backward or forward. I look to the moment, to the now.
Groove Theory was on a high, with the group’s self-titled debut album certified gold and a number of singles reaching the R&B charts, so what caused you to embark upon a solo career?
Natural progression. My time was done with that and I was ready to move on.
Do you regret that decision?
No. I am so happy with how my career has gone. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am glad with the level of fame and the things that I do or do not have. I am glad that I can make a living doing what I love, but still go into Target and go shopping.
There have been rumors that Groove Theory is working on another album. Talk to me about that.
It’s always possible. We did a few gigs last year in Tokyo before the horrible tsunami. We have no problem performing together, that is super easy. It’s all about timing and getting each other to buckle down. I’m in the mixing stages of my new album and we are on different coasts. It’s always hard, but we’ve been friends since around ‘92 and it was Bryce Wilson who actually introduced me to my husband so they’ve been friends longer than we have. It’s always possible. It is just a matter of timing. You never know. I will never say never. It could happen.
Artists never know how their music will be received by audiences, what are your feelings about releasing this next album?
I never talk about my next album. I am so excited about this album. I feel this is the most complete body of work I’ve done and the most cohesive in my mind. It’s more coming from a personal level. ... I feel like I finally came into my own with this. It’s very true to who I am and reflective of where I am in my 38 years of living, where I am in my writing and in my voice. ... It’s always a crap shoot. You never know how it will be received. This is one of the most unnatural things I have known in my life — to make something, put something out and then have to hope that people like it too. But, I love it. That’s why I take my time to put stuff out. I won’t put something out that I don’t feel really good about. I would be a slave to everybody else if I did what they wanted me to. I don’t think I would be happy and it would probably reflect in my music. ... I tour as much as I can because that’s where I get most of my seasoning on the road. I stay out there regardless of whether I have a new album out or not.
Give us a snapshot about what we can expect to hear on the new album.
It’s up[beat]. I am very influenced, and so is my producer [and husband] Laru, by so many genres of music that we will never do an album that sounds like one thing. But it’s — for a lack of a better word — soulful, from a deep place within. It’s also very up and emotes a lot of up emotions. It reflects what I’m reaching for in my life, which is a place of enlightenment. ... Even in the slower songs, there is kind of a reaching.
You’ve done some humanitarian work over the years and have helped raised proceeds for the Enough Project, which seeks to protect and empower the Republic of Congo’s women who have been raped or abused. Tell me about that.
I kind of feel likes it’s a sham that I am doing what I do and that I am not doing more to help the world, so I will jump at any opportunity to do charity work or any giving back. When I was little I wanted to work for the Peace Corp. It is so rewarding. The last thing I was involved in was recording a song that they used of mine for the Enough Project...Because I had been following what was going on and the person that started that organization had written a number of books, when I got to be involved it was one of the highlights in my career. It softens you and it makes you remember that it’s not just you, that you are not doing music just for you. It makes you realize that you are part of a world community and that there are people out there who need you. When you do these things, it has to come from a place of love and kindness.
