Queens Our City Radio is proud to interview recording artist Amrick Channa
who comes courtesy of us from Barbara Sobel of Sobel Promotions
(www.sobelpromotions.com). Anrick has topped the charts and toured
around the world and recently appeared on UK’s The Voice TV show. This
artists does it all from eating hot dogs to writing his own material.
Marching to the beat of his own drum and taking no hostages we are
proud to present Amrick Channa.
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Thank you for
doing this Q&A with me for Queens Our City Radio. First off, could
you generally describe your musical style for us?
Amrick Channa: Thank you so much
for considering me for this interview! It is my pleasure. OK, with
regards to my musical style, I would describe it as a mix of House
music/EDM genres. As I work with many different labels and producers, it
depends on which release you’re listening to. So it can be funky house,
soulful house, progressive, deep, tech, EDM, etc. However, one thing
you can be assured about is that irrelevant of the genre, you will
always get powerful soulful vocals and catchy hooks with my tracks.
What vocalists influenced you? Who are the recording artists out there right now — the singers — that you admire the most?
Initially, the vocalists who influenced
me were the big belting soul divas! Although I grew up in the era of
Whitney Houston, Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson, it was when I
heard the glorious belting soul drenched powerhouse diva vocals of
Jocelyn Brown on Snap’s ‘I’ve got the power’ and Loleatta Holloway on
‘Ride on Time’ by Black Box and Martha Wash on C&C Music Factory’s
‘Everybody Dance Now!’ was when I decided I wanted to command crowds
with my voice! I then looked into the history of house and went back to
disco: Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor etc. Then, as I
progressed as a singer and learnt about it as an art form, I fell in
love with Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, Luther
Vandross, George Benson, etc. These days its rare that a singer makes me
sit up and take notice; I tend to look more into the work of the
backing vocalists of these legends such as Lisa Fischer who’s worked
with Rolling Stone and Luther Vandross, Chaka’s backing singers,
Mariah’s backing singers etc. I find Adele, Amy Winehouse, Emeli Sandi,
Katy Perry, Gaga, etc. very nauseating and boring. They’re good at what
they do but not gutsy enough to grab Amrick’s attention!
When you were growing up in London, what music did you listen to? What first inspired you to perform?
I grew up surrounded by pop radio and
soul music of Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan but also
the greats such as Whitney Houston, Madonna, Prince and, of course,
Michael Jackson! I remember the flamboyancy of Boy George and Culture
Club and then George Michael, Gloria Estafan, Paula Abdul, etc. But the
voices which inspired me were through the sampling on Black Box, Snap
and C&C music Factory: of my favorite divas Martha Wash; Jocelyn
Brown, Loleatta Holloway and Chaka Khan!
You compose many of your own songs (“Revolution,” “Freedom,” “Can’t Hold Back”). Can you share your musical background with us?
I was into the underground House sounds
of the late 80′s and remember Inner City and Jungle Bros and Marshall
Jefferson being in the top 40 charts. Then, in the UK, there was a huge
explosion almost a movement of youth called the Second Summer of Love
and this was Acid House and the Rave scene took a hold! Yes, people I
know the USA had raves now but we were 25 years ahead of you guys!
[Laughs.] My influences in music come from the legendary DJs who
educated me on the house music sounds and the soulful vocals I have come
to love. Todd Terry, Masters At Work, David Morales, Frankie Knuckles
and Tony Humphries. And then labels such as Defected and Subliminal. My
early work was very much soulful house such as ‘Can’t Hold Back’ but
then the young European producers love tougher pumping sounds hence
‘Revolution’ and ‘Give It Up,’ etc.
What’s headed our way from Amrick Channa now that you’ve signed on with Sobel Promotions/Sobel Nation?
The amazing support and love I have received from Sobel
Nation/Promotions, I almost feel I can achieve anything and conquer the
world! Barbara and the Sobel family do a fantastic job of taking care
and promoting their artists worldwide. So, with this experience and
knowledge, I feel I can really do anything! I have some exciting
projects which are ready for release this year and as always I will
ensure Sobel Nation are the first people to get to know of these! (Even
though sometimes, being forgetful, I get told off by Barbara!) [Laughs.]
How do you feel, generally, about being an independent artist
whose music is released on indie labels? How does it suit you and how do
you perceive the indie marketplace today as opposed to music coming
from the major labels?
I have mixed feelings about the two. On one hand, I love working
with indie labels as I feel I have more control over my work and what I
do, whereas with the big labels, you are beholden to what their ideas
are and plans for you and your music. However, I’ve not been happy
recently with the fact that some indie labels cannot be bothered to give
me the credit I deserve as a singer and writer of the songs. And I
absolutely HATE HAVING MY NAME IN A SMALLER FONT COMPARED TO EVERYONE
ELSE’S!
You’ve toured internationally. What’s your view of the global club scene right now?
It’s sad as a majority of club
promoters are not seeing the value of having a live singer in their
club. Its a culture that’s being lost but I do believe it will come
back. The economy means there’s not much money, but you have to invest
to make money! And no clubs are doing that right now. However, in
general, I feel the club scene is at its peak at the moment as it has
gone crazy in the USA and places such as India and Australia! So it’s
truly a global phenomenon!
Any chance New York City clubgoers can catch you any time in the near future?
It would be a dream come true to be
able to perform in New York! And if anyone can help make it happen it’s
the lovely Barbara Sobel!
What do you think sets you apart from other singers on the
contemporary dance/club circuit? And what really energizes you about a
crowd?
I’m not into being ‘safe’ when I sing. I
like to belt it out and have fun with my vocals. Also, I’m extremely
talented when it comes to jamming live on the mic and a great deal of
huge DJ’s have told me they love it as I have such a vast knowledge of
disco, soul and house vocals that its almost like they’re playing with
acapellas in their mix except its me doing it live on the fly! Also,
what sets me apart is that there’s no one else doing what I do and
looking the way I do as I’m a British born Indian with a Turban who
doesn’t fit the traditional mould!
A very unusual look for a dance artist! Do you design your look based on your religion or fashion?
I’ve been brought up as a Sikh which is
an Indian religion. However, I’m not a traditional or religious guy for
that matter. But this is how I was brought up by my parents and whereas
many Sikh’s these days cut their hair etc to try and fit in, I decided
to go the other way and fight stereotypes and show people that I might
look one way but don’t make assumptions because I’m gonna shock the hell
out of you! Especially when I start belting out with my voice which can
be pretty loud! Also, I love creative people; I love the New York Club
Kids from back in the day and people like Leigh Bowery, Boy George,
Madonna, Andy Warhol, etc., all the creative crazy types! So I try and
utilize their philosophies in my look. It’s not about copying them, but
rather to be inspired by them and to be creative with one’s own look. I
love Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood. Anything a bit wild and
crazy, I’ll wear it! I have absolutely no hesitation! Also, recently, I
was told by A-list celebrities on
The Voice such as
Will.I.Am,
Kylie Minogue and Ricky from The Kaiser Chiefs that they loved my
amazing look! So why should I care what anyone else thinks! [Laughs.]
What was it like auditioning for The Voice?
It was amazing! It took over
two months to get to the Blind auditions part on TV. I found out I beat
50,000 entrants from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England to be in the
top 150 finalists who made it to the TV part. There were about four
stages you have to pass before you can make it to the TV! The BBC crew
were wonderful and it was a fantastic experience. Since being on the
show, it has helped generate a huge amount of interest in me and I’m
hoping to sign with a reputable management agency who can help push and
promote me in the the right direction. Obviously Sobel nation is doing
that with my music, but this is more about getting more exposure to the
general public as opposed to staying within the realms of clubland.
Just before our Q&A, I was listening to last year’s “Can I
Get Some Love” by PlayOne. Very strong vocals by you and Sandra
(Berkovic). Could you tell me a little about your involvement in that?
How did you hook up with DJ Fresh Jay & Darko Juranovic who, correct
me if I’m wrong, are based in Croatia?
Darko and DJ Fresh Jay I have known for a few years now. One of my
songs with Slovenian DJ Angel Anx was featured on a compilation CD they
compile for the Croatian beach parties in the summer. Kind of like
spring break in the USA. They then approached me to work with them but
we never found the right track. However, [for] ‘Can I Get Some Love,’
they asked if I could redo the vocals but they only gave me 24 hours and
the key was too high. So I only ad libbed around it and told them to do
whatever they wanted with those. And few months later, I find that it
has over 253,000 hits on YouTube! And clubs around Europe are loving the
track. It’s now been signed to a bigger record label with remixes and a
video forthcoming! So I’m looking forward to working on new projects
with them. They are based in Croatia but tour around Europe and also
have base in Las Vegas. They’re gonna be huge!
Amrick, thank you so much for taking
out this time to do this Q&A with us. I like to wrap up, generally,
by asking if there’s anything you’d like to add that, perhaps, we
haven’t covered, or if there are any shout-outs to the very
international readership at my blog, Leave It to Beaverhausen, and at
Queens Our City Internet Radio?
It’s been my pleasure so thank you! I
feel I’ve got my message across about who I am and hopefully people feel
they know me a bit better. I’m on a mission to be the face of dance
music on a global scale and I want to do it on my terms. I also want to
show people that I might look this way but don’t stereotype me! Also, I
love shocking people as I do have a twisted sense of humor! I’d like to
give a big shout out to the Sobel Nation family of amazing artists and
DJ’s and most of all the fabulous Barbara Sobel who works tirelessly to
promote us all and who gives so much of her time to all of us. Also
she’s fiercely protective of us and she has an equally twisted sense of
humor like me! Haha! I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say how much
she is appreciated!
