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MUSIC<br />
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Caro Emerald<br />
‘English is the language of jazz’<br />
How would you define your music? They are<br />
jazz vocals, with a 40s or 50s influence, and the<br />
nostalgic feel that that has. But it’s definitely not<br />
old-fashioned music, I want to be very clear about<br />
that. We don’t just want to be a copy of anything.<br />
We want to update the sound and make it something<br />
else… it’s definitely modern music.<br />
You’re Dutch, but you sing in English. Is that<br />
hard? When it comes to my music, English is<br />
my first language. In Holland, from the start,<br />
all of the music we hear is English, so it’s pretty<br />
normal. Plus, I’m schooled in jazz singing and<br />
there aren’t many Dutch jazz songs. English is<br />
the language of jazz.<br />
Do you write any of your own songs? Yes, I do.<br />
I’m a co-writer. We’re like a collective. There are<br />
two producers and a Canadian songwriter, who’s<br />
a genius, with a witty story-telling thing going<br />
on. That’s the core of the team. My speciality is<br />
the top lines. Sometimes the idea for a song starts<br />
with me creating the melody, then we’ll create a<br />
lyric on top of that.<br />
Did Amy Winehouse pave the way for your career?<br />
She was one of my biggest inspirations. She<br />
created a place for jazz singers within commercial<br />
music. I mean she played real music, and was a<br />
real singer, and she’s unique because her lyrics are<br />
great. Before her there was no place for jazz singers<br />
in the charts, it was all about singing in little<br />
jazz bars. Also vocally she was an inspiration. But<br />
her music was way more retro than mine. Her<br />
lyrics are very contemporary, but her music was<br />
more old school.<br />
What’s it like singing at a festival, rather than<br />
in a more intimate jazz setting? An intimate<br />
setting – let’s say of 200 people – is scary. It calls<br />
for more intense facial expressions, because the<br />
ones at the front can see every bead of sweat on<br />
your forehead. Outside at a festival it’s important<br />
to grab everyone’s attention. You can do a lot<br />
with lighting and the choices of song – in a less<br />
intimate setting I’d do all the big hits and miss<br />
out the dark ballads. Keep the tempo high.<br />
I hear you want to record the Bond theme…<br />
It is a big ambition of mine. Ever since I started<br />
making this sort of music, with these guys, when<br />
we were discussing what music we should be<br />
doing the word ‘Bond’ got repeated over and over<br />
again – music that’s very atmospheric and filmic.<br />
I think me doing a Bond song would be a match<br />
made in heaven.<br />
Who would you like to see as the next Bond?<br />
[She hasn’t, it turns out, heard of Tom Hiddleston].<br />
Sean Connery isn’t possible, I guess. How<br />
about a Dutch Bond? There’s this guy called<br />
Michiel Huisman, he’s in Game of Thrones. He’d<br />
be great. The campaign starts here… AL<br />
Caro is on the bill (with Grace Jones, Burt Bacharach<br />
and a host of other top names) performing at<br />
Love Supreme, Glynde Place, 1st-3rd July <strong>2016</strong><br />
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