CHERRI V made quite an impression here on NEW LEASE MUSIC with her single, ‘Leave Me Be’. The accompanied video was named Music Video of the Week title twice by the blog! I think it’s about time we find out more about this Londoner and the story behind her latest offering.
NLM: First of all, thank you for agreeing to do an interview with NEW LEASE MUSIC.
CV: Hey guys! Thank you so much for having me!
NLM: You recently released a striking visual for single, ‘Leave Me Be’. What’s has been the public’s reception on the track and video so far?
CV: To be honest I’m so surprised! I actually thought it was gonna be more of a mellow vibey thing but I think the lyrics have really resonated! It’s been so nice to hear people compliment the production too as I met the producer ‘Joey Sticks’ from simply sending out a tweet looking for producers to collaborate with! Before we knew it our collaboration was on rotation on the radio and now on MTV Base! The video I’m so proud of and glad we teamed up with Asylum 33 once again to create this visual art. They have such a fresh approach to translating audio to visual and look forward to working with them much more in the future.
I’ve had so many messages about the message of the song and that means THE absolute most to me because the subject has proven to be very relatable yet not so easy to talk about. So it’s been an eye opener for real.
NLM: How was the filming possess for the video (I bet it was fun!)
CV: It was quite a smooth sailing day. I’m fortunate to have a really chilled out glam team so for me that accounts for a lot.
NLM: For the benefit of those who haven’t heard ‘Leave Me Be’, tell us the story behind the single?
CV: I was inspired to write my new single ‘Leave Me be’ whilst I was in Thailand and coming to terms with how I was feeling socially at that moment. I went through stages of beating myself up for not being ‘little miss bubbly’ ALL THE TIME and somewhat being judged for that, for giving off a bad first impression just because I was in a mellow chilled out mood that day. Or having a resting face that wasn’t that inviting cause I was thinking about my entire life an argument I had or what I was gonna cook for dinner the next day lol. A plethora of thoughts. So as I begin to write down what I was feeling to the track, with no filter, it just became a small cry for acceptance explanation and encouragement for others to meet people where they are.
NLM: How would you describe your sound to potential fans?
CV: R&B/Soul
NLM: If you had to collaborate with ONE mainstream artist who would it be?
CV: I’d love to work with Kendrick Lamar. I love his pen, content and style. He is definitely one of the most prolific rappers/Mc’s for me right now. I really admire him. I feel like I’d defiantly walk away with some extra knowledge if I were to have a studio session together…. for now I’ll just listen to “Damn” and dream lol.
NLM: If you had three wishes to change the music industry today, what would they be?
CV: 1 More diversity amongst artists whom major labels decide to sign
2 More females co-signing and working together
3 More recognition for producers and songwriters
NLM: So what are your plans for 2017?
CV: I have a couple more singles up my sleeve … I’m still wrapping up my album
“Brown Eyed Soul” for release in 2018.
Also, I’m sooooo excited about performing at the ‘Black Magic’ awards on Sept 9th at hackney Empire and Ronnie Scott’s on Sept 24th as a Natalie Williams special guest ; ).
NLM: How can potential fans make contact with you?
CV: I’m pretty active on my socials…. of you search Cherri Voncelle you’ll find me on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat ; )
NLM: Finally, if music didn’t exist, what would you do?
CV: Invent music lol.
New Lease Music 