A chit-chat and a sing-song with Delilah at Under the Bridge

The Upcoming caught up with Delilah ahead of her show at Under the Bridge. With the Kardashians on in the background and her hair half-done, the gorgeous singer seemed more chilled then she admitted.

Hi Delilah, how are you?

Delilah: Stressed!

The summer’s coming to an end – what have you been up to?

I’ve been in LA a lot of the time, just working on a new record. I left my label in April, so just meeting with different people out in America.

What made you leave your label?

I’d been with them five years and it’s just time to move on.

What’s your favourite song to play live?

I mean Go is always fun because people know it and they sing along, but all of them do different things. It depends what mood I’m in on stage.

Which musicians and singers are influencing you at the moment?

No one’s really influencing, I’m just sort of creating. It’s sounding different and fresh. I listen to a lot of hip-hop; I listen to a lot of rap. There’s not that many current singers that I play – I go through a moment when I tend to listen to quite dark, masculine, aggressive music and I tend to make very sensitive, feminine music, so I don’t know. I don’t really take influence from the music I listen to so much. I like to listen to things I won’t make, I can’t make.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

There’ve been tons of highlights! Performing with Prince was a big highlight, performing with Chase and Status at Glastonbury was really fun. Releasing my record, that was a big deal. Nowadays we’re in such a sort of EP, mixtape culture that people rarely get the chance to get an album out, so it was really nice to get a full body of work.

Aside from working on a new record at the moment, is there anything else in the pipeline, and when can we expect to hear it?

Next year. I’m focusing on restructuring the way my music is released – there are a lot of ways you can get your music to people; you don’t have to have a major record label and do it the old-fashioned way anymore. We have internet and we have so many different domains and platforms to get music to people. I’m just sort of getting in touch with a new experimental way of doing things; I’m bored doing it the old-school way. It’s exciting, so that’s taking a lot of time – as much as writing and recording is taking time – figuring out the logistics of doing stuff in an interesting and exciting way. Ultimately it’s a business and I want to be innovative with how I use the business of my music.

When you’re not working, what’s your favourite thing to do?

I like walking my dog. Sounds really boring but I do! I have a Great Dane; she’s called Pele and she gets more attention than I do when we go out. She’s fantastic, a big, friendly giant.

Have you been working in the UK much?

I haven’t really been working in the UK too much, a little bit with some people in King’s Cross. Tile Yard has become the new sort of Mecca of music in London. Mark Ronson has got a studio there; Chase and Status are there; Prodigy are there and Zane Low. Just tons of people are moving their studios to this little area in King’s Cross. So I’ve been there quite a lot but not really in the UK. I’m just sort of working on America right now.

What can we expect in your show tonight?

I don’t know if we’re doing any new stuff purely because the nature of the gig, but a little bit of crowd interaction and hanging out with the fans. And doing some of the songs they wouldn’t have heard. So just a bit of fun and letting them know what’s going on. I’m doing a free download in the next few months and a video and different little things coming up, and I like to talk to my fans like they’re in my living room so we’ll just have a chit-chat and a sing-song.

Delilah is undeniably cool. She has a great stage presence and although the venue is intimate, the atmosphere roared around her.

As part of a string of exclusive gigs throughout London put on by MasterCard, these events truly are priceless. With only 300 lucky ticket winners, this one felt like something special.

Delilah stayed true to her word with the audience participation, involving fans dancing and singing with her on stage. Her set was carefully chosen and included most of the songs from her debut album From the Roots Up, along with a cover of the Crystal Waters classic Gypsy Woman. She manages to make each cover sound unique, and she sings all her songs with so much passion.

Go was her finale, preceded by Love You So, Breathe, the heartfelt 21, See You Again, So Irate, I Can Feel You, Shades of Grey, Inside My Love and Never Be Another. The band adds another element that is lost on the album; although she sounds amazing recorded, she is flawless live.

The future is certainly looking bright for the 22-year-old. There is a lot of excitement for her upcoming work, even if she is keeping quiet about the details at the moment.

Elly Perry
Photos: Andrei Grosu

For further information and future events visit Delilah’s website here.

Watch the video for Go here: