Connie Constance, the English singer-songwriter who has recently left her label to follow an independent path embarks on a journey that is new to her through her album Miss Power. "You can't get a grip of my heart" she sings, expressing the joy of a newly found sense of self and confidence. While this line could be about anything and anyone, it feels like a big "Fuck you!" to her old label and the way she had been treated by the industry. “In the commercial eye, if any female of colour wants to make music that isn’t R&B, it seems new because there’s no point of reference where it’s won.” she had said in a previous interview. With the explosiveness of Miss Power, she affirms her well-earned place in the indie scene and lets whoever is listening know that she won't be placed inside boxes that are too small for the grandeur of her talent.
Miss Power is a captivating listen, not only due to its diverse influences and colorful tracks (as opposed to the black and white cover art) but for its heart and rawness. It's washed in consciousness, it oozes with self-acceptance and strength. Connie has the courage to walk on a path that she has carved out for herself, without being influenced by other people's visions that are not true to hers. In Yuck! she spits out words right out of her unconsciousness as they come to her while celebrating the beauty of uncertainty and the road to self-discovery.
The opener track “In The Beginning” hints to the atmospheric tone of your new album immediately. Did you start with the lyrics or the sound? We actually started with layering vocal melodies with harmonies with Rachel Chinouriri. We wanted to make this beautiful bed to warm the ears into my musical world. On this record, you seem to take back your power whether it’d be through thinking that “it could be nice to be lonely” or through using sturdy beats that stand their ground. What shifted in your mentality between your last your work and Miss Power? I knew that I was ready to make the album I’ve always wanted to make. So that confidence can be found throughout the whole album. This is your first album after going independent. Did this shift present a new challenge for you? There’s many challenges that come with being independent, most financial, but freedom to create at your own pace is the dream that I managed to find myself in from going independent at the time I did and also having already built a creative community. You have your own label now, called Jump The Fence. Can you tell me a bit about its ethos and what you’re doing differently? Jump The Fence started as a label for my two EPs “the butterfly club” and “Prim & Propa”. But is now a creative consultancy/production company made my friends. I always wanted it to evolve and as a group we are so passionate about visual arts that it made sense for it to develop in this direction. Yuck! feels like you’ve recorded your train of thought in real time. I’m quite curious to know how that song came to be. Sam Knowles (Karam Kid) and I wanted to do a song that felt like a stream of consciousness. So I wrote down a couple of things I knew I wanted to say and the rest was a one take freestyle. The record has a very poetic drive. Do you like reading poems? If so, could I have some recommendations? A lot of my lyrics for songs start from some poems that I write maybe on the way to the studio or before I go to bed at night. I’ve been reading Maya Angelou’s book. I Know Why A Caged Bird Sings. The whole book feels like it’s written in poetry! I think this is your boldest work yet. How did you find the strong and unapologetic voice that you have today? I think it’s one of those things where you have to go through certain things in life to become the person you are. I used to be quite shy and happy to go unnoticed and I’m just not that person anymore so neither is my music. When you reflect on your career, what advice could you give to up and coming artists who look up to your unique path? Hold on to your voice, your magic, and your expression. Cause no matter what happens in your career no one can take that away from you. You’ll always be uniquely yourself, forever.