Interview with Nelly White

What have you been doing up until now? NELLY: I signed a deal with Arpej Yapım in the autumn of 2017. I’d pretty much had a finished album when having talks with them, and I’d spent two years completing that to the mastering stage. I was working as musician in the evening, and in between my daily life found time to record the album. I have a growing family and that took up a lot of energy. I decided to concentrate my efforts on producing the music that I had been writing since my teens and through to today. An amazing bunch of musician friends came together and played on the album. Those brilliant people didn’t take any money for their efforts, as they had heard what kind of music we were producing, and they were just happy to be a part of it with us. I also worked with Engin Kaan Günaydın, drummer of The New York Gypsy All Stars, and internationally recognised group playing Turkish Jazz Fusion. Nelly White At the end of the recording process the group went to Istanbul and played in Nardis Jazz Club, as virtual unknowns, but we had an amazingly warm reception from Zuhal Focan, her team and the audience, and Zuhal was really ignited by our music. Along the way during the albums’ mixing process, our sound engineer happened to play some of the tracks to Genco Arı, who instantly picked up on the music. He loved the sound we were producing and offered to get involved. When I heard this I was over the moon, and I believe that his influence in the album and the direction he took the songs, really made a massive difference to the final production. The whole album was mastered by Özgür Yurtoğlu, after I selected him specifically for the job. I felt he had the right sound, and I’m are really proud that after all this time I now have an album that stands with other major recording artists out there today. Material for the next album is already underway and it’s just a case of selecting the right songs. What are your career goals? Several things: I want to tour and play to large audiences, I want to produce more great, varied music and most importantly I want to be the exception. An exception to the unwritten rules; to all that think music is a career for 18 year olds, or that you can’t have a family and be a musician at the same time. I want to show a multicultural group is a possible and positive thing, especially in today’s political climate. I want to make it clear that you don’t have to live in a major city to produce good music, because in this age, technology and transport brings us together easily. I want to think outside the box. How do you define your music? When the album was due to be released on iTunes I was asked to categorise it so that it would fit into one genre. With my music that is near impossible. They put us in the pop genre but I don’t agree with it. I think our album has soul, funk, blues and Jazz Fusion, and then maybe pop. I don’t want to write one type of music. I write what comes into my mind, and if it’s slightly country then so be it. I was brought up listening to Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, ABBA and Jimi Hendrix, so what do you expect!? Which musicians influence you? Some include Prince, Gladys Knight, Fleetwood Mac, Anita Baker, The Doobie Brothers, Nina Simone, Alison Krauss and John Mayer. Do you have any favourite turkish music/artists? I was first exposed to turkish music at a time when I had no understanding of the language, and so my focus was on the music, not the lyrics. I think that good music can be understood. 80% of communication comes not from what we actually say, but what we interpret from the rest as receivers. So I loved things that moved me, and the first two artists I met with were Leman Sam and Vedat Sakman, singing ‘Herneyse’. Apart from that I love Fahir Atakoğlu, Mor Ve Ötesi and Bulutsuzluk Özlemi. I even wrote some turkish songs. Maybe I’ll record them someday, who knows?! What are the plans for your immediate future as a group? This year we want to play. Festivals, concerts, gigs, whatever comes our way. Also, intimate acoustic sets are our thing. Live music always gives you freedom, and I think, the performance is better live than the album, if I’m honest. Getting the passion in the recording is difficult, especially if you are funding yourself; studio time is limited and sometimes you can’t produce what you really want. I spent a long time in the studio and now I need a big audience. I want to stand on my feet, not just sit at the piano. I want to put a big group of musicians together on the stage and feed the audience. I want to hear my music on the radio, both in Turkey and internationally. How did you get involved with your record company? I was introduced to Arpej through the sound engineer that was recording our album for us. Following talks with them, I signed a three year contract for both management and publishing. It includes producing a second album, which is in the writing process. Is there anything you would like to add? Yes, I would like to thank all of the people who have already bought the album for their support, and I look forward to seeing fans out on the road. .

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