Interview: Oleta Adams - Singer, Songwriter and Producer - Page 2

As an American artist, were you surprised to gain entry into the U.S. market via the U.K. market?

Well, the great thing about music in other parts of the world other than America is that it is not as polarized as it is in America. In America, in one station, you will only hear R&B or you will only hear hip hop or you will only hear rap or you will only hear country or you will only hear rock or you will only hear jazz. In Europe, they would play all those different genres in the same station because they also have fewer radio stations than what we have in America. That makes them a lot more musically aware. You know that you are what you hear, what you listen to. It makes them much more open to world music, so they create some pretty interesting music. It gives more opportunities for Americans to go over there who can appreciate a different sound, especially since I had a more unique sound than a lot of the people. 

What life events led you to E1 Music? And what experiences led you to record Let's Stay Here?

A great deal of time has passed since the All the Love CD that I put out in 2001. Records companies are not the way they used to be. They don't have as many artists. They don't have as many companies. Making a record still costs a lot of money, particularly if you're somebody like me who had some hit records and is fairly well-known all over the world. When it's time for you to put out your own project, you can't necessarily get everybody to do it for free so you rely on record companies or, if you're going to do your own project, you have to make sure you're prepared to be able to fund your own project. It's not like you can just put out a record any day of the week. I wanted to make sure that I was with a company who would really support what I do, who really liked what I do. I was approached by Koch some years ago. In fact, they used to call my manager every other week with interest in putting a record out, so I was very happy to work with Dave Wilkes and Chuck Mitchell who like what I do. It's always wonderful to work with them. They're not pushy and they're very positive so that's always a welcoming situation. Then another thing is I think it's important to wait until you have something to say. That's probably one of the most important parts of it. In all those times, I haven't just been sitting at home. I travel a lot doing live performances. The travel is not just in America but also abroad. Then you really have to take time out to have those creative juices start flowing again – you know, in between packing and unpacking and coming home and doing the laundry and still cleaning up the house and doing all the things that you need to do in dealing with your family and so forth – and also giving your voice time to rest and your mind time to clear to be creative enough to know and live your life fully to be able to have some things worth saying. That's the truth in why it takes so long to do a record.

Article Author: Clayton Perry

Clayton Perry's mission parallels that of John Hope Franklin, Marcus Garvey and Carter G. Woodson. As the founder of the NUBIANO Project, Perry facilitates the design of projects that give voice to the Black diaspora, empower the Black community, …

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