For the love of funk!
Funkalicious licks with a hint of pop, lo-fi and soul – a sneak peek into Helena May’s new album.
(c) Rob Blackham
Helena May is a British singer and songwriter. Her first album is a cooperation with 19 Austrian and British musicians who have created a fresh, modern-sounding funk album with sprinkles of soul, lo-fi and pop. The first four singles have already been released, and we’re going to take a closer look at these four gems.
A taste of the great vocal lines to come
The Song Diamond 101 is the result of a writing session with Johnny Sommerer and turned out to be the starting point for the creation of the album. It sets off with a rocky guitar part and a contrasting, soft vocal part. Soon enough Helena adds more edge and power to her vocal performance, and leaves no doubt that, on this album, we’ll be hearing some great vocal lines.
Admirers of cinematic music videos will enjoy the Funkalicious music video. Helena studied drama and musical theatre in Wales, and you can see her theatrical background in all of her videos. While the Funkalicious video shows an extravagantly dressed-up Helena May and luxurious cars, the lyrics reveal a rather vulnerable and personal side of Helena. If you listen closely, you’ll notice some spoken parts entwined with the melodies.
Bohema: What’s the story behind the spoken parts in Funkalicious?
Helena May: I’d had it for about two years, this voice memo. I knew that I wanted to use it at some point. It’s me driving, late at night, speaking my inner thoughts. I was in a low place at the time. And I was like questioning life and what is life about. Why are we putting this pressure on ourselves, always trying to find our place? That was what the key line: find our place in this world. And I knew I wanted to use that voice memo at some point. And Funkalicious was the perfect song for it. So I brought it along to the writing session. I had a chorus melody line already sorted. And Johnny just pieced things together.
Single number three is called Struggle and was written during the first lockdown with producer Fabian Wollner at Sheep Hill Studios, Vienna. The line “the struggle is real” certainly takes on a different meaning in the midst of a pandemic. Musically, the song is the boppiest of the singles released so far. The guitar takes the lead with a funky riff and together with the groovy synth melodies and drum beats, I find it hard not to just get up and dance! Towards the end there’s a choral harmony moment, built out of Helena’s and Pete Simpson’s voices. Helena also added some belty, powerful ad libs that, yet again, show her vocal range and power, but with a subtlety that makes the performance lush and tasteful.
B.: What’s the story behind Struggle?
H. M.: Struggle is a personal mantra to me. Telling me that everything is gonna be ok, keep going. You are worth it and the struggle will not be your struggle at some point.
B: What about the latest single, Sometimes?
H. M.:The album is a very brave, open and honest piece of work from me. I’ve never let my heart out like this. But sometimes it’s like, when you feel so down about yourself, and you don’t know what you can give to this world. And you actually pick yourself up, and you learn how to love yourself and how to give greatness to this world.
A funky surprise after a spherical intro: You never know what is coming
Sometimes begins with a slightly different vibe that I like to describe as spherical and almost fragile. In the background, you can hear the soft crackling of old vinyl records, which always makes me feel a little bit nostalgic and adds to the brittleness of the opening. After one minute of floating in this musical sphere, the built-up sound collapses and a funky drum, bass and synth beat kicks in. The sudden change in mood and style caught me unaware and left me with anticipation of what might come next. In between the funky parts, Helena dives back into the more mellow sounds from the beginning, as if remembering “good old times”. Knowing Helena’s other singles, I get the feeling that working with contrasting parts and unexpected twists is becoming kind of a signature move for this album.
If you want to learn more about Helena May, her music and all the musicians involved on the album, you can check out the Sunday Shoutout on her YouTube channel. Every week, Helena puts the spotlight on a different artist and adds faces and stories to the names in the credits.
H. M: I don’t want it to just be about me. Because if I didn’t have the people around me – I wouldn’t have this record.