With her exciting multi-cultural background and diverse approach to music, JaneliaSoul set out to charm listeners with her unique and charming melodies. With a mother coming from the “Youruba” royal family (Nigeria) and an American father, Janelia truly represents the whole world with her emotional and soulful take on the reggae and world genres, echoing artists as diverse as Sade, Etta James or Ziggy Marley, just to mention but a few.
Back in Africa, JaneliaSoul boasts a collection of popular hits in the afro-pop genre, including “Sexy Nana” and “Love Song in Yoruba”, but she is now on a quest to take over the USA with her latest single “Love-Hate”. Currently based in Baltimore, JaneliaSoul is also working on a full-length album, looking forward to spread her music and her culture to new crowds and listeners!
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
JaneliaSoul: I grew up in Nigeria and was exposed to a lot of traditional African music with heavy percussion drums. It was the singing and dancing with the elders at the many festivals during my childhood that made me fall in love with music and decided I wanted to become an artist.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
JaneliaSoul: I sing Reggae and World music with a soulful vocal delivery which I playfully call JaneliaSoul, named after my birth name, Janelia. My band is also called JaneliaSoul which is the only female-fronted reggae/world music band based in Maryland.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
JaneliaSoul: Oh absolutely, I think the internet has been a massive game changer in the world of music which has caused so much competition amongst independent artists. I believe it is imperative you share your music for free as an indie if you want to get noticed by fans. I actually have free music download available at http://janelia.fanbridge.com/ when you join my email list.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
JaneliaSoul: What has worked for me is dedicating a lot of time and resources to building a fan base and a following. Once you have a following you are more likely to get gigs. And once you are constantly gigging, it’s a little easier to get on the radio to promote your tour. So it’s a ripple effect that starts with building your fan base and making sure you have an email list.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
JaneliaSoul: Oh yes, I forget lyrics all the time, lol. Especially when I’m performing cover songs, as they say “the show must go on” so I just free style and make up lyrics. Or I’ll make my band “Break it down” and go into a solo.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
JaneliaSoul: Yes, I toured while I was in Nigeria and have done several festivals here in the U.S. While on tour in Nigeria, my band and I were stopped/ ambushed by a group of guys locally known as “area boys”. What these guys do is set up a road block and sing praises of you while asking for money because they consider you rich or a celebrity, especially if you are driving a nice car. If these guys stop you, they surround your car and you better have a huge amount of cash on you to give them; otherwise, the singing of praises will quickly turn into them cursing you out and delaying you by slashing your tires or something crazy. Needless to say that there were a couple of times that we did not have cash to give them, and we ended up being verbally abused one time and with a slashed tire another time.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
JaneliaSoul: I constantly hear melodies in my sleep, not sure where it comes from but it is constant. Since I have a so many melodies floating around in my head, sometimes I decide I want to write a song about a particular subject matter and just add lyrics to one of my original melodies. That was how I wrote my new single, Love-Hate.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
JaneliaSoul: Yes, my band website is http://www.janeliasoul.com/ and I share free music downloads when you join my email list at http://janelia.fanbridge.com/
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
JaneliaSoul: To be honest, the songs on my mp3 that I might consider embarrassing are some Yoruba (Nigerian) music that may seem too traditional for me to understand such as Apala, Fuji and Juju music. I love all that stuff because of the talking drums and other African percussion in them.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
JaneliaSoul: A half would go into real estate investing, a third would be invested in my music and the remaining will be my spending cash which will include donating to charity and perhaps giving to the “area boys” the next time I visit Nigeria. Lol
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
JaneliaSoul: I’m actually working on another cover song right now which is currently in Cubase Pro 8.5.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
JaneliaSoul: I focus on both online (social media) promotion as well as offline promotion locally. I found that word of mouth is a very powerful tool. I encourage my friends and family to spread the word about my music and a portion of my fan base has come from this approach.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
JaneliaSoul: I would love to perform with Bob Marley. He is one of my music al influences. The performance would be at a stadium in Jamaica.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
JaneliaSoul: Yes, my new single is titled Love-Hate and it will be released Friday April 15th. It’s a Reggae song, but also very soulful as it talks about being in a love-hate relationship with another person.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
JaneliaSoul: I’ll be doing exactly what I do right now in my 9-5 job which I also enjoy. I work in Health IT as a Business Analyst. I like to have my cake and eat it too, so music will always be a part of me though.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
JaneliaSoul: Yes, the first album I ever bought with my own money was Sade, Love Deluxe album.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
JaneliaSoul: I have become an expert in multi-tasking and time management. That is what allows me to juggle the rest of my responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in my music life?
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
JaneliaSoul: Look out for my new single Love-Hate on April 15, 2016, the music video will be very hot and super Sexy and that comes out first week in May 2016. I am working on some shows on the DMV area this summer and it’s best to join my email list for more updates from me. http://www.janeliasoul.com/#!mailing-list/cj9o
Find out more and let the music tell you the rest of the story:
https://twitter.com/Janeliasoul
https://www.facebook.com/janeliafan
https://www.instagram.com/janeliasoul/
https://plus.google.com/+JaneliaAKAJaneliasoul
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Q0b6TEwSsEVidnCmKH-IQ
