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Uncensored soul: GoldieLocks exclusive

Written by Vanessa Laker
Wednesday, 31 March 2010 05:30

It’s not very often you come across an artist who’s completely honest and speaks their mind, as opposed to carefully selecting their words to keep record bosses happy and make them more accessible to the buying masses.

Before the initial interview I was already aware that singer/rapper GoldieLocks – real name Sarah Louise Akwisombe - is pretty outspoken. But after our chat I was left with the feeling that her bold attitude and some-what controversial comments were more pure honesty and a frustration to the common ‘money over music’ attitude that constantly grips the music industry, rather than just being a rebel to popular culture.

After all the 24 year old Croydon girl is primarily a Producer/DJ, so when making the transition to singing, she didn’t tone down her opinions and way of doing things just because she was going to be in the limelight.

“I’ve kind of always been involved in music as a producer,” she explains. “There wasn’t exactly a point where I said ‘I want to be a singer’ - it has always been a part of me.

“As I was already making beats and writing songs, it was quite a natural progression to start singing my own songs and be an artist,” she adds.

Akwisombe has collaborated with a number of artists, including Kate Nash, Tinchy Stryder and Example. Her songs have featured in the film Adulthood, on the Marc Jacobs runway show and Nike and Fenchurch ad campaigns, not to mention she’s performed around the world – and she’s done it all independently.

Se7en: You’ve managed to achieve quite a level of success whilst doing it all independently. What are the pros and cons of being independent?

GoldieLocks: The good thing about being independent is that you feel free as an artist. You can do the type of music you wanna do and not feel pressured into doing something that isn’t you, just because it’s gonna sell. The bad thing is you don’t have the big budget that other musicians may have, so when it comes to promoting your music, it can be a bit more difficult.  But I’m in this business to make good music, so having the creative freedom makes it worthwhile.

Se7en: You previously said; “I always have and always will be independent. I run my own empire. I have the last say.” So if a major record label came to you, would you not take up their offer?

GoldieLocks: When I say ‘independent’, I don’t necessarily mean independent record label. I mean I’ll always be an independent artist. I’ll always make my own decisions and make the kind of music I believe in. A lot of the times majors make artists compromise their sound in order to have mainstream success and I don’t believe in that. I’d only sign to a major if I was given total creative control over my sound or if it was a venture where they invested in my record label.

Se7en: It’s quite hard to pinpoint what genre your music falls into. Your sound has been described as Grime, Electro and Pop. How would you describe it?

GoldieLocks: I wouldn’t say my music is grime. It’s kind of more dubstep/pop, but it has a real ‘dirty’ feel to it, so I guess that’s where the grime comparisons come from.

Se7en: What sounds inspire you musically?

GoldieLocks: I’m inspired by a variety of music. My dad used to work on a pirate radio station, so I grew up listening to a lot of 70’s/80’s rock, like Fleetwood Mac and Dire Straits. Then as I got older I was into grunge and UK garage. I really like heavy metal and hiphop, so all those have influenced my music.

Se7en: You’ve performed around the world, do you prefer being onstage or in the studio?

GoldieLocks: I hate performing. I prefer being in the studio, making beats, having some drinks, writing songs, recording etc. I’m a producer, so that’s where I feel most comfortable.

Se7en: In the last year British urban music has really taken off in the mainstream. Does this give you more hope that your music will have cross-over success and other grime/dubstep artists as well?

GoldieLocks: Not really. A lot of the urban music in the charts right now is not Grime. Most of it is like ‘crappy’ Flo Rider-style music. It’s great that Tinie Tempah made it to number one with “Pass Out” because that’s a good song and he didn’t compromise his sound in order to get commercial success. But the majority (not all) of urban chart music has lost its sound since becoming mainstream.

Se7en: You’ve got some strong opinions and in your single “Kids” you get quite political about things that affect society and the youth. How important are those kind of things to you?

GoldieLocks: They’re very important to me. I do a lot of youth work, so it’s not just about singing it in songs. Actions are more important. But of course through my music I can make people aware of certain issues. I’ve got a younger brother and there was a point where he was going through these emotions. A lot of the times people are too quick to judge them and say ‘they’re this or they’re that’ but they don’t stop and look into why the youth are behaving this way.

There’s something about GoldieLocks that’s reminiscent of an early Lily Allen (during her Alright Still days). Maybe it’s the way she doesn’t quite fit into mainstream ‘pop’ or the no holds barred style interview, either way she’s an artist that makes her mark.

Her EP I’m Not Her is out now and available for download on iTunes, along with current release “Cold Sweat” >> http://bit.ly/9RjfIU

For more info check out her website: www.goldielocksworld.com

Vanessa Laker is a freelance writer based in London & New York. Writing for a number of publications including Arise magazine, Beat magazine & Soulculture.

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