SOSHY ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS!
SoShy recently sat down to answer some of your questions.
Got a question for SoShy? ASK HER!
What artists have influenced your music?
Stevie Wonder,bill withers,jimmy scott,bob marley,prince,wyclef,Betty David (the funk singer, not the actress for those who don't know her ;o) ),the roots,erykah badu,lauryn hill,mary j.blige,otis redding,ray charles, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson,ella fitzgerald, Jeff Buckley, Aerosmith,Elvis.
Who would you like to meet (dead or alive)?
Aaliyah, Jimi Hendrix, Serge Gainsbourg (French songwriter - a poet, a genius), Jeff Buckley, Billie Holiday, Left Eye (TLC), Tony Montana (he was my hero but died under horrible circumstances), Tupac and Sigmund Freud! Also, Prince, The Dalai Lama, D’Angelo, Sean Penn, Steven Spielberg, and of course Al Pacino.
How would you describe your songwriting process?
I have no process! Lol
It depends on the person I write with. When I write alone, I play a beat,or jam with my guitar player and then find a melody instantly (if the beat inspires me). The theme and the words can be hard and long to come because I like my songs to be visual; I like to tell stories (autobiographic or no). Even though I’m original, I like to keep it simple. I am never afraid of being "cliché" as long as it’s my way lol. When I write with other people, I like to adapt to their way. But one way or another we always get along and inspire each other so writing a song can seem like recreation - funny, joyful, not like homework.lol.
What is your favorite song to perform live?
The next one.lol.always. No, I mean every song as long as it isn't an opera song or a metal trash hardcore song, ‘cause that wouldn't please your ears at all .lol
When will your album come out?
God's plan!.
How long have you been singing?
I've been singing for awhile, since I was 8 years old, I think.yeah, that’s it. I mean, I was singing even before that, but it didn't really sound like singing.lol. It was more of an inside thing .lol.people didn't notice that gift at the time lol.
Have you ever had any music / singing lessons?
No never.
Although now I'm working with Ron Anderson, one of the best vocal coaches. This dude is gonna be my miracle.he already is. The voice has phenomenal possibilities that I never realized before.
How many tattoos do you have? Which one is your favorite and why?
I have 6 tattoos and 2 more left to get (don't follow my example.I am just a tattoo freak!) My favorite is and always will be the "Soshy" I have tattooed on my left arm, because it’s my name, and it’s personal ‘cause I drew it myself. When I got it done, it really helped me to accept the artist I am, my personality. It might seem cheesy, but a tattoo is more than a cool drawing on your skin. It becomes a part of you, like your moles, your scars.it represents what you wanna say or be. And this tattoo represents me.
How old are you and when is your birthday?
I am 24 and my birthday is September 14th, 1982
Are you single?
Let’s say that music is my first love and it will be my last.
What's on your iPod?
On my ipod??? Wow, too much stuff.
First, rewind to the first question you’ll get a part of the answer. But you gotta know that I listen to everything:
jazz(jimmy scott,billie holiday,ella,louis amstrong,chet baker,nina simone,duke elligton,ray charlesand maaaany more)
Hip hop (Wu-Tang,the roots, Tupac, Eminem, 50, Kanye West, nas,Beastie Boys, Outkast, Run DMC, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg,talib kwali, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Xzibit, Timboo, Magoo, Biggie, Missy, and so on.).
Pop, urban pop,r'n'b (Kelis, Aaliyah, Nelly Furtado, Gorillaz,amy whinehouse,imogen heap, Justin Timberlake (even in N’SYNC, remember?.lol, Beyonce, JLo, Ciara, Brandy, John Legend, musiq soulchild,ne-yo,brandy,china,jodeci,Lenny Kravitz, Coldplay, Alanis Morissette, Madonna, Jeff Buckley, Elton John, The Beatles)
Reggae (Bob Marley, stephen marley,Peter Tosh, Lee Scratch, Perry, Buju Banton, Ken Booth, Sizzla, Sean Paul, Damian Marley, Morgan Heritage, Horace Andy, Alpha Blondy)
Rock (Metallica, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Stephen Stills, Led Zeppelin, Toto, linkin park,limp biskit,Yes (one of my favorite bands) and so on. )
Electro house techno music (Felix da House Cat, king britt,Green Velvet, Erick Morillo, Derrick May, Kenny Larkin, DJ Hell, Francesco Farfa, DJ Laurent N., DJ Vedrenn, Plastikman, Carl Cox, Daft Punk, Cassius, Sven Vath, Carl Craig, and Miss Kittin.)
And even opera (Nozze Di Figaro by Mozart or La Traviata by Verdi.Berlioz (a very dark composer).
So yeah, I have a few ipods, actually, to carry all this! By the way, thank God for having created the ipod.As I travel a lot, I'd need 10 cases just for my music. lol
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SO ADDICTIVE.
Soshy (pronounced so-shy) embraces her destiny at the crossroads between several cultures, continents, and musical influences. For the prolific singer-songwriter in her twenties, music is synonym with energy, encounters and flaunted anti-conformism. In the lineage of Prince,amy or Nikka Costa, Soshy is a keen mixer of genres, and the result can be called soul Pop with this irrisistible reggae flava. Soaked in a musical universe ever since her earliest youth, its in the United States that Soshy dove into the world of music through her artistic parents that had emigrated Stateside.
Ever since I was a little girl, I evolved in a musical universe from dusk till dawn, with numerous musicians surrounding me, and my ears filled with plenty of concerts and decibels. When I was two, my parents took me to huge concerts by the Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, Bruce Springsteen or Aretha Franklin. Moreover my father played the guitar, sang and was a songwriter, she says. New York was the spot, and its very naturally that Soshy took her first steps in music, dabbling with her dads guitar. She explains, Ill always remember that at the age of 8, I took my dads guitar, and even though I couldnt play it, which is still the case today, for that matter, I put together a melody that was pretty good for a first time. So one day, he asked me to put down the guitar and to sing a cappella. That was the revelation.
Los Angeles was only a step away from New York, which Soshy and her family took before returning to France for the remainder of her childhood. Bilingual, she nevertheless set herself to the French mode, which didnt prevent her from keeping an eye on music and the United States. Soshy then went through a typical adolescence, while her musical tastes became eclectic: I was really digging Aretha Franklin, Run DMC, Cypress Hill, Aerosmith, but I was also very much into Rhythm & Blues and Funk. I loved Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and I adored Betty Davis, the most vibrant Funk artist of the century.
Back-and-forth trips between France and the United States started to take place more often and the sketch plan of a career in music became more precise. First off was a meeting with producer Lone, whom she seduced by her potential and who convinced her to try her luck in the States. Indeed, Soshy sang in her language of adoption, English, and it seemed to make more sense to win over the American audience before trying to seduce the French listeners. Through this ordeal by fire, Soshy appeared in numerous showcases Stateside and refined her style: a mixture of guitars, Hip Hop sounds, soul,reggae and Pop, over which she delivered her outlook and experience as a woman.
From concert to concert, she started drawing the attention of record executives, for example with a performance at MUSEXPO (the American equivalent of MIDEM). Sony Music USA ended up signing Soshy to an international deal, which helped open some doors and allowed her to work with renowned producers and artists. But it all took a certain amount of time, Soshy clarifies, I didnt get signed right away, otherwise it would have been too nice but most of all too easy. However I started meeting people, among which Estelle, with whom I started working in England. Estelle, of course, wasnt the only one to meet Soshy, as she crossed path with Mark Ronson, Linda Perry, , Midi Mafia,john legend as well . Those meetings happened quite originally, as each time before any collaboration, Soshy would give a private concert.
Lone, Mark Ronson, Estelle,john legend, and others should be featured on her debut album. Served by tight, powerful and eclectic production, the latter, the international release reflects a voice revealing a woman thats both child and feline, with a wild, sensual yet ironic and scathed personality. This record is a just an emotions report,bout love,life,hope,and this deep and endless quest of freedom as a human being.also talking bout change!. I use real facts and my own emotions and experiences and lessons learned for inspiration and then push them to an extreme, but I also have love songs that are softer, the general concept of my album being the modern woman from all her angles, i.e. a woman-child and an assertive woman whose only wish is to control her life, a pretty close resemblance to who I am. but its also a lil bit of a therapy(i truely believe music is a cure to so many soul and heart aches),its talking to myself and people.Far from falling into tragedy, Soshys first effort is as hopeful as its authors personality, as evidenced by "over again", a potential scorching single, in itself a good doorway to Soshys universe. These past few years Ive learned and I continue to learn from people that are very talented and crazy about music, today its my turn to give others a taste of my recipe. Im blessed.
