The multi- award-winning singer-songwriter tells Nicole Vassell about her first album in three years, Real Life – and how real-life changes have given her a calmer outlook
When you think of British soul-pop, it’s likely that one of the names at the start of your list would be Emeli Sandé – and for valid reasons. Since the release of her chart-topping debut album, Our Version of Events, in 2012, the Sunderland-born, Aberdeenshire-raised recording artist has racked up accolades and praise that any other artists strive their entire careers to get.
With two number-one singles, a number one album, showstopping performances at the London 2012 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and four BRIT Awards under her belt, Sandé was right to take the gamble of leaving her medicine degree behind and pursue her passion of writing and recording music, down in London.
After a three-year gap, she’s back on the music scene – and in the time since the release of Long Live The Angels, the 2016 album that spawned singles such as ‘Breathing Underwater’ and ‘Hurts’, Sandé’s life has undergone some significant changes. For one, she’s also swapped her cool, peacock-esque ice blonde Mohawk in favour of embracing her natural curls – but keeping the blonde colour that has become something of a signature. As well as making music, she’s taken on a new role of Chancellor at the University of Sunderland – the meeting place of her English mother, Diane, and Zambian father, Joel, in the mid-1980s. Not one for tabloid frequenting, Sandé generally stays schtum on matters of the heart – apart from her divorce from her husband of two years (and boyfriend of seven) in 2014, not much is public about her personal life. Admirably, she lets her talent speak for itself.
When I catch up with her over lunch in London, she’s in full utility mode; dressed comfortably in a white tracksuit, and with her team buzzing in and out of the room, making sure that everything’s running smoothly. Warm and softly spoken, Emeli Sandeé reveals the workings behind her new record, her love for her natural hair journey and shares how self-care has helped her get through tough times.
So Emeli, Real Life feels life a particularly personal project – the lyrics feel especially full of emotion, and optimism. Did you go into this feeling as if there was another level of depth that you wanted to express?
Emeli Sandé: I didn’t intentionally try and make it too personal, but I definitely wanted to make it honest, you know? I wanted to make something that lyrically made sense to things going on in my life; I wanted each song to succinctly tell the truth, my truth. I just wanted to be authentic on this one.
When making Real Life, you’ve gone in with a really singular focus – one producer, one recording space, all lyrics written by you – is this something that comes out of confidence in yourself as an artist? Would you have done this earlier in your career if you had had the choice?
Perhaps not. It is a luxury to be able to be in one place to write an album, and to be able to work with one person. But it did come from confidence; it takes experience and knowing how you want to do things. Real Life felt like one body of work, whereas before… I think the albums have worked, but they always have been different producers or different spaces I was in while making the songs. This one really felt like it was one journey. The live performance of this album was especially a big deal; I wanted to make sure we could recreate every sound just with a live instrument being on stage and still have the same power of the album.
There’s a sense of positivity and triumph over adversity that runs right through the album; it feels inspirational. What’s been something from your own real life that has helped you transmit this feeling of optimism so clearly?
Having time in between the last two albums was really important for me. Taking steps towards clearer, or positive thinking has been a thing I have wanted to do for the past three years and something I’ve learnt that you can’t really rush. You have to really take time with yourself and do exercises of self-love; I’ve really gotten into meditation a lot. I came out the other end of some difficult times and I feel even though they were difficult, they were necessary and I have such a deeper understanding of myself now.
Speaking of self-care, then: do you have a routine, or something you regularly do to take care of yourself?
Recently with my hair I feel like that’s been a big journey for me. You know I went from straightening, bleaching, shaving and all the rest of it and it was a fun time – I’d just moved from Scotland to London so I felt that I had this new-found freedom. I wasn’t studying medicine anymore so I think I went quite wild. But now, learning about my hair, learning about its texture, learning about how to keep it healthy and tend to it – it’s actually important and it is something that’s been a big part of my self-care and self-love journey. I’d always thought, ‘Oh, it’s just hair, it will grow back’, but now I’ve started to nourish it and really see it as a part of myself and my body.
Was there anything in particular that kick-started your natural hair journey?
I’ve learnt a lot from women I’ve met in London: my friend Anna, she has this massive big afro and she looks amazing. We met when I first had straightened hair and she’d always get onto me about how I shouldn’t do that to my hair: ‘You need to leave it out!’ But with touring and being so busy, I didn’t think I had the time, even though I’d long dreamt of starting my natural hair journey. I really needed the time to learn about hair and now I appreciate it so much because I’ve had the time. I’ve had this want to do it for so long that to finally be able to do it I’m just treating it and then I had so many nightmares with hair like it all started breaking with the bleach and at that point I thought why am I damaging my hair and body just for something aesthetic so now every time I touch it… it just feels so nice! It’s a weird relationship: the more it grows, the more my confidence grows. I think I’m just going to grow it as much as I can and keep it healthy and just see how big my afro can get! (She laughs.) That’s the goal.
Since Pride is a magazine for Black British women, I wanted to talk to you about your own position as a successful, Black British woman. Do you ever look at all you’ve achieved and take in what it means to represent in this way?
I feel very honoured and privileged to represent as a Black woman in music, someone who’s on TV. It’s always on my mind – that I want to give the best representation I can. I feel like there should be more Black women out there with that platform, so I feel very privileged to be in this position and hope I can kind of represent on a good level. Often I just think: ‘Wow, this is so surreal.’ I love music so much, but growing up I didn’t get to see many women of colour on TV. I used to love Eternal and Mica Paris and Beverley Knight, and I remember how much it meant to me seeing them do their thing and with such confidence and individuality. I try to step in their example and hopefully for the next generation, I just want young women to really feel that they have a voice. There’s a lot of people out there that will tell you exactly who to be and what to say but to have your own voice is so much more powerful and gives your career a lot more longevity.
How did you come to gain that sense of individuality?
I’ve always been quite headstrong, even as a kid. I think it probably comes from my dad; we’re both very stubborn. My dad taught me to really have pride in what I’m doing. Even if someone else says ‘Yeah, that’s good enough’, if you don’t feel it’s as it should be or perfect in your eyes then it’s just going to haunt you for the rest of your life. When it comes to music and being creative I have a very clear vision of how I want things to be; how I want to present myself. Everything else, I’m like very laid back on but I think it was just important for me to have a creative expression so whether it was just the hairstyle or how the album cover was going to look, I’m lucky to be with a label that has allowed me to be very creative and have given me artistic space.
Though you’re a proudly British artist, you’ve done your fair share of touring and travel in the years since your debut. Have you ever experienced having fans in locations that surprise you?
I went to Jamaica for the first time two years ago, and we went to the beach and we drove up to the countryside and this girl started singing ‘Read All About It’ to me. I couldn’t be further from home and she started screaming ‘Read All About It’, and it was so cool to be so far, and not quite sure where I was, but to have her there as a fan… that was mind-blowing, just to see how far your music can reach without you knowing.
That’s amazing. Finally, what is the main thing you want your fans to get from the album?
There is a song on the album called ‘You Are Not Alone’ which really sums up my overall message: I want people to have something that they can play anytime they want and feel reassured and less lonely and a little bit more understood and also just a reminder of how great they are. I think it feels like there is a real lack of confidence unless you look like this or fit into this box; it’s hard for people to know that they are extraordinary and that they are very powerful. So I want people to be reminded of their power and to feel less alone when they listen to it.
Emeli Sandé’s album, Real Life, is out now. Tickets for Emeli Sandé’s U.K. tour are available at LiveNation.co.uk
