Shekhinah on her debut album, Rosegold
I caught up with Shekhinah while she was performing on 5Live on The Forbes and Fix Show at the Redbull Studios in Cape Town on Friday, 27 October 2017. Here, she explains what sets her and her music apart, who her musical idols are and the goals she ultimately wants to achieve with regards to her music and with the release of Rosegold.
What would you say makes your sound unique, and what sets you apart from other artists currently in South Africa?
I think what sets me apart from other South African artists, not all – I can't speak for everyone – is we don't follow a rubric. And I know most artists follow rubrics and most of them know what they're looking for and know what they're trying to create, and that's cool as well. I think I want to get to a place where I can do that for other artists – know what they want and write about that, but at the moment, we are kind of just doing whatever we want and whatever we feel and not a lot of people do that.
As I was listening to you performing, you reminded me a lot of Lauryn Hill. I was curious to know who your musical idols are. Do you mind sharing that with us?
It is Lauryn! Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Diana Ross, Britney Spears and Cher.
What is it that inspires you?
I am usually with people. People inspire me, but it's annoying because then I can never write these things down. I like to envision scenarios when I'm with people, and that inspires me.
On your album, Rosegold, what is your favourite song and why?
It changes all the time. First, it was Overdose, and then it was Anywhere I Want, and then it was Power to She for two weeks, and now it's Please Mr, because I have to believe in the songs that I have to push next. Please Mr is the next single. It means a lot to me because I remember writing it and writing it in my flat, and I remember going to Skillz (producer) and going like, "Play this!", and then it sounded terrible and he was like, "No, I'm going to play, THIS!" And that's how it became Please Mr.
You've put such a lot of work into this album. One can hear it and one can feel it. What do you ultimately want out of this album? Is it money, fame, acclaim?I'll be very honest with you. I really want a house. I don't have a house, so honestly, I want a house, because then I can keep making music. I hope Rosegold can also solidify me in the world as a person – it will allow me to make more music and to be free, versus having a bad album and having to work and make that up, and then trying to find a rubric and follow that. Ultimately, though, I am hoping that Rosegold will allow me to get that crib. How big or how small, it doesn't matter – somewhere we can all call home and make noise with no neighbours and no noise complaints.
Do you have any advice to newbies trying to crack it into the industry?
What would be your dream gig to do?
It changes, and I've reached all of them but currently, it's BBC One Radio Live, so I'm hoping that it's going to happen next year. I really have all these goals and somehow, they just keep on getting achieved. Wizkid has just sold out Royal Albert Hall – he's apparently the first African to do that and damn, I would have loved to do that but hopefully, I can be the first female African to do so.
On the topic of goals, is there any exciting plans in the pipeline that you can tell all your fans about?
Yes, we are shooting a music video for Please Mr and we're incorporating a whole lot of other creatives in the music video. I think what I am trying to do now with Rosegold is to create cool content that goes behind it. I'm hoping to shoot a whole lot of things for Rosegold and just draw people to us and give people a different type of artist that they can follow.
Follow Shekhinah on the following social media platforms: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram, follow 5fm for an update on their next 5fm Live session on Facebook and Twitter and you can also follow the Red Bull Studios, Cape Town here.
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