In the world of digitalized everything, soul singer Kandace Springs is drawn to music that is “stripped bare” and natural.
“It’s kind of a crossover between jazz and soul. It’s really organic, all live instruments,” the Nashville, Tennessee native said of her music when she met with The Korea Herald in southern Seoul last Monday. Springs was in town to perform at the Audi Lounge stage at Club Octagon that night.
Nashville-based soul singer Kandace Springs sits with The Korea Herald for an interview on May 23 in southern Seoul. (Rumy Doo/The Korea Herald)
Springs debuted in 2014 with a self-titled EP that had a contemporary, hip-hop bent to it. Her new album “Soul Eyes,” the artist’s first full-length LP set for release on July 1, is soft, piano-based and closer to the kind of music she has “always wanted to make.”
“Voice-wise, I’m not a screamer type,” she said. “I’ve never been that type of singer. ... I’m more of a quiet storm, I guess you could say.
“Norah Jones is my idol,” Springs added, referring to the American jazz pop singer. Like Jones, Springs boasts breathy but passionate vocals that fill the gaps between sparse instrumentals.
Springs is an avid admirer of old-time soul artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. The main track of her album, also titled “Soul Eyes,” is a remake of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane’s song. Four of the 11 tracks listed -- “Novocaine Heart,” “Fall Guy,” “Rain Falling” and “Too Good to Last” -- are written by Springs herself.
Kandace Springs performs at the Audi Lounge at Club Octagon in southern Seoul, May 23. (Universal Music)
The 27-year-old artist is at the cusp of a burgeoning career. Her music carries the resounding seal of approval from the late singer Prince, who reached out to her in 2014 after hearing her cover of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” online. He subsequently invited her to perform with him on stage.
“He really encouraged me to pursue my own type of music,” Springs said. “He even called up some of my (producers) and said, ‘You shouldn’t do that kind of overproduced music with Kandace,’” she recalled, with an uncanny impression of the musician’s recognizably nasal voice.
Springs has music running through her veins. Her father, Scat Springs, a soul musician who grew up playing blues in gospel churches, still performs soul music in Nashville, according to Springs.
“He introduced me to soul music,” she said. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am.”
It was her father who first taught Springs to play the piano as a child, when he witnessed his young daughter thumping away on a used piano the family had at home.
Singer Kandace Springs is featured in a promotional photo for her new LP, “Soul Eyes,” which will be released on July 1. (Capitol Music Group)
“My dad goes, ‘Let me show you how to do that,’ and plays the ghetto-est version of ‘Moonlight Sonata’ you’ve ever heard,” said Springs. “But I played it right back, note for note, and he’s like, ‘That ain’t normal. I’m gonna get you some lessons.’”
When a comment is made about how her full-bodied, unprocessed afro hairdo resembles the natural beauty of her music, Springs lets out a good-humored laugh.
“I couldn’t have put it better myself. Yup, all natural. No weaves up in here. I have to watch out for birds that try to lay eggs in my hair, though,” she joked.
“It’s like a good messy, if that makes sense,” Springs said. “And it’s natural. This is what it’s going to look like if I don’t do anything to it, so ...,” she trailed off and shrugged.
By Rumy Doo (
doo@heraldcorp.com)