By Nadine White
Tuesday 19th April 2016
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| (C)Saurian Dash |
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Tell
me about yourself, in your own words.
I’m a UK reggae artist and I’ve just had my album launch
for ‘This Is The Moment’ on the 31st March at ‘The Hootananny’ in Brixton, South London. I’ve
been singing for a long time and started taking it seriously back in 1987! I
didn’t do it continuously though; I took breaks along the way. I went into
radio presenting, before that I started to do modelling and entered loads of
pageants and fashion shows. I also decided to go into radio presenting and deejaying,
then straight into one of our local radio stations Galaxy Radio where I
presented for the best part of 12 years.
And now, I also present the ‘Soul In Motion’ show at 4-6pm on Saturdays on Lovers Rock
Radio.
How
did your album launch go?
It was great, I had an absolutely fantastic turnout! I
was quite shocked as it was my first ever launch; although I’ve made an album
before, it was never launched or released. I worked with my brother on the
launch and we started preparing it from about December/January. It was all
about promoting it, getting it out to all the DJs, local presenters, radio
stations, word of mouth, flyers – a lot of work went into it. 'This Is The Moment' was
released on 8th April and it’s now available on all music download sites.
Just
to go back to the modelling, tell me more about it. You do have the image!
(laughs)
Thank you very much! It’s always been a passion of mine from I was a little
girl, tormenting my Mum when I used to watch Miss World. It’s something that I
enjoy doing and still do at the moment. I’m working with Miss Teen Caribbean as
a mentor/coach for girls between ages 13-17, teaching them how to walk and present
themselves on stage, I’m the come-to person if they have any problems and so
forth, so I’m there behind the scenes with that. I’m still keeping modelling in
my heart, so to speak!
What
are the requirements of being Miss Teen UK and are there any challenges that
come with helping to prune these young women for scrutiny. Particularly as
society/media enforces certain ideals on young women.
The idea is whoever wins becomes ambassadors for their
countries. The girls need to be well studied with an outlook on life; what they
want to be when they get older etc. I try to teach the girls that it’s not
about street walk and talk - they have to gradually lift themselves out of that
if they want to represent their island.
At that age, a lot of them are very, very keen. We
encourage them to keep their social media channels clean! We cannot have
anything untoward; we check their pages and make sure they’re posting the appropriate
things. The challenges are getting them used to all of that, what they have to
do. They’re very good anyway, very bright young ladies; it’s just about telling
them how to keep themselves and let the public see them in a positive light.
I
understand that you’re a South Londoner. How have your surroundings influenced
your music?
Well, I come from a musical background! My father is
Freddie Notes; from the late 60-70s he started his career and I always wanted
to be a singer, like him. With Dad, he’s a singer and a musician. He used to
have me and my brothers around the keyboard while he’d play, we’d make up songs
and even my mum would join in.
We were brought up with the Bob Marleys, the Gregorys and
the Dennises, so music was always playing in our house. My age group grew up
with Lovers Rock; I was influenced by Carroll Thompson, Janet Kay, Donna
Rhoden, those singers. I used to sit in my room, listening to my cassette of
these songs and stop, rewind and write down every single word! So back then, I
knew pretty much every song.
Ah,
the great Freddie Notes. What lessons did he share about music?
Dad is very supportive, no matter what. He always taught
me that the main thing is to listen; listen to keys, notes, instruments, to
people’s advice and feedback. Always be positive and upfront when you’re
performing – the list goes on. If I’m stuck with something, even now, I can
always go to Dad and get some advice.
I’ve
met your Dad before and he seems like a very nice guy who is passionate about
his craft, and is certainly an engaging performer. I saw him at The Jazz Café
in November 2015.
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| Deneez Peters & her father Freddie Notes/(C)Derron Curtis |
Oh yes – I was doing a gig on that night so wasn’t there,
but my brother was with him. I’ve toured with him in the past, as a backing
vocalist. Dad is working on his album at the moment and is getting booked for
events too; still active in his music career. Dad’s amazing; he does the splits
and roly polies, all sorts. I was onstage with him in Germany and in the time
it took for me to turn around, he was doing all of that! (laughs)
Would
you dabble in the Ska sound, like him?
Yeah, definitely!
And whilst
we’re on the topic of family, your brother Ian Peters has penned a lot of your
material too, like your single ‘Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind’ which has been enjoying a lot of radio play.
That’s right! The song was actually written back in ’96.
I started my career as a soul singer in a duo with another girl and we called
ourselves ‘Velvet Touch’. We revamped the song, brought it up to date and it’s
been going ever since - a lot of people seem to like it which is great.
The
brother-sister, musical dynamic reminds me of fictional singer Efie White &
C.C, her song-writing supremo brother from the Broadway hit ‘Dreamgirls’. How do
you both work, exactly?
Ian is really good! He’s used to writing soul songs as
opposed to Lover’s Rock. We work with Kyle from the ‘Radix Reggae Group’, a
white reggae band who are from Scotland, they’re brilliant! Kyle tends to send
the tracks over and then either myself or brother will write. If I’m stuck, I
tend to contact Ian and ask for his help. When we hear the riddim, whoever can
feel something to it usually determines who writes it. That’s how we really
work together, really, it’s good, a cool relationship! We’ve been doing it for
years.
You
sing about love a lot. Is this intentional?
We were brought up in a loving home. Mum and Dad were
always there; they still are. The whole family is just loved up and hugged up,
happy to see one another and we’ve passed that onto the younger generations.
Love is good – I’d rather love than hate. Love songs make you happy, smile, cry
sometimes!
The
video for ‘Dance With Me’ is a nice visual. It featured popular deejay/radio personality PD Coolie
as your love interest which was very cool touch!
(laughs) Yes
it did! It wasn’t originally supposed to be PD but then - when I hear from the
shout - he seems to be in quite a few things! The person who was supposed to be
in it couldn’t get the time off of work, but I asked PD who kindly said he’d do
it and it worked out really, really well. My brother Ian also wrote that song.
Any
plans to release follow up material?
I’ve been writing a lot and have actually almost finished
my second album which will be a mix of Lovers Rock and Soul. ‘This Is My
Moment’ was an eight track album but this’ll be a bit longer.
You’re
really representing for the females in not only singing, but the entertainment
sphere as a whole. What has your experience as female in this industry been
like?
I’ve been deejaying for a long time and have only
recently come back into singing. And though I was singing before, not a lot of
people know me as a singer, they know me more as a DJ. So my initial experience
was of some people responding like, ‘where the hell she come from all of a
sudden!?’.
I think amongst some of the females, I’ve been seen as a
bit of a threat; I left the industry, came back, done my launch, been putting the
work in and my name is on a lot of people’s tongue since the launch, anyway. On
the other hand, some of them haven’t really done anything; not everybody but some. I
tend to try to look for the positive in situations though, move forward and
affirm the fact that I can do it. In my doing it, I want to inspire young
people to go after what they want.
So,
is there cattiness and tense, competitive atmosphere in the UK Lover’s Rock
scene industry? I mean, it’s always been a small, female dominated scene.
I suppose there is really, but I try not to think about
it. I know that there’s people in the
industry talking about me behind my back – and not nice things - because I’ve
been told but, again, I don’t focus on it. They’re not paying my studio time,
mortgage, it doesn’t matter. I will get there.
All of that can be disheartening and throw people off.
It can, the weak ones, yeah. If you’re not strong enough then it’ll kill you! And I’m not saying I haven’t been affected
before but then I thought ‘you know what talent you’ve got Deneez, just get on
with it and do it!’
Is
it then fair to say that your skin grew thicker over time?
Sort of but, then again I’ve always been quite hard. If
anything, I’m very critical of myself.
What
elements/personal qualities do you include in your journey to success as a
singer, 'getting on with it'?
I’m proactive, you see. Since my launch, I’ve got my
website, I market
myself, am getting interviews, bookings, writing songs. On top of all of this, I
work full time as well as a PA so I’m really juggling a lot of different
things. I try to get to the gym when I can but that really has been less and
less these days (laughs). It comes
down to time management but if I’m tired, I have to rest because you cannot do
anything when you’re tired.
What
is the state of Reggae music scene as a whole, in the UK?
 |
| (C) Saurian Dash |
I think it could be doing better; it’s not doing as well
as it should because there are some fantastic artists and talent out there
which needs to be pushed. We need people to help market us; some of us do it
ourselves but often, we ain’t got the time!
I hate recording and leaving it on the shelf; that’s why
me and my brother are just out there, pushing. It’s about the organisation;
who’s going to generate interest, sell it onto the worldwide community – people
like that are needed. It helps when we’ve got yourselves and radio stations
supporting acts. It’s good when legal stations take it on. I mean, give us a
chance! There is some good talent out
there, and I know I’ve got some good stuff coming that I want pushed!
(laughs)
Aren’t a lack of venues a problem for the Reggae scene in London? One by one, they’re being shut
down.
They are, which is ridiculous. We’ve got access to places
like the Jazz Café; I think promoters should try and get a venue and put on a
big, massive event for UK talent. Invite PR people down, labels etc. The likes
of smaller venues like ‘Higher Level’ are great but sometimes you need a bigger
crowd. Why settle for less, when you can get more?
We need big promoters to back us, we need help – marketing
and management. I’d love to take on Europe, sing all of my songs in Japan –
where the reggae following is huge and my album would probably sell off (laughs), Jamaica, Miami. This is the
thing; the role of a manager is to look into these things for the artists. I’m
actually managing myself, to be fair.
Are
you looking for a manager?
I do need one. I work full time; sometimes I have to
sneak off when I should be doing my work, I’m doing stuff on the computer,
researching what’s happening in the reggae industry here, in Europe. But don’t
tell them though (laughs); they know
anyway – they bought my records and loved it. I actually performed at the
Christmas party last year – they were all up there, dancing.
Are
you working with any other producers, aside from Kyle from The Radix?
I am working with Gary
Digitech at the moment, an American producer, Genius from One Harmony Records and there will be some others in
the pipeline.
What
do you do in your spare time, for fun?
I like to watch movies, go out to dinner, gym (as I say)
visit friends...just chillax really. Sundays would be my day to relax and
reflect. I do love my holidays; I like to go away for weekends and when I can I
try to go to Miami once a year to see my Grandma and family over there. But
even when I go out there, they get me up and singing!
Connect
with Deneez:
Purchase ‘Dance With Me’ and ‘Can't Get You
Off My Mind’:
Purchase
‘This Is The Moment’:
http://bit.ly/20UxEW5
