CORINNE BAILEY RAE.........BORN TO DO
THIS
It becomes self-evident the moment you hear 26 year-old Corinne Bailey Rae sing
the very first note of her very first EP. It's called "Like A Star", and it's a slice of sublime blues delivered
with a voice that pins you, in the softest but most persuasive of ways, to the wall; a voice that floats up effortlessly,
full of caress, subtlety and the very purest quality. It is wonderful, this voice, and surely a discovery to treasure.
Corinne Bailey Rae was born and raised in Leeds, England, the oldest of three daughters to a West Indian
father and a Yorkshire mother. At school, she studied classical violin to a high standard, but any ambitions to take this
to a higher level were quickly scotched when the afore-mentioned Zeppelin adoration took hold. By the time she turned 15,
Corinne was also obsessing over female-led, indie noiseniks like Veruca Salt and L7, and wanted to start her own band.
While attending Leeds University, where she studied English literature and spent evenings working as
a modern-day hatcheck girl in a local jazz club. Every now and then she was allowed to sing with the band, and from those
evenings new ideas began to form. By now, Corinne was writing songs that she wanted to perform solo, and was moving away from
all things indie into more soulful territory. By the time EMI signed her in the spring of last year, she had 10 years of experience
tucked neatly under her belt, knew exactly what she wanted and just how to get it.
And so, inspired
as much by Massive Attack as, say, Jill Scott, she went into the studio and came up with her debut album that is sublime,
full of tiptoeing delicacy and wraparound warmth, and one that merges the spirit of Billie Holiday with the statuesque soul
of Erykah Badu. It is in Corinne's own words, "a little bit of everything: it's chilled out, acoustic, kooky, atmospheric
and soulful. I'd also be tempted to say it comes from a very organic place, but that would sound pretentious, so I won't."
"The response so far has been amazing," she says, "and that has been very satisfying, because
all this feels so right to me. Writing songs - playing music - is, I know, precisely what I should be doing with my life."
With her first very limited edition EP "Like A Star" entering the UK Top 40 in November 2005 and
the first single proper "Put Your Records On" becoming a Europe-wide smash, the world is at her feet.
The release of her debut album in early 2006 will definitely cement the fact that here is a brand new superstar, one whose
voice will be heard for many years to come.
