Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with London based artist Gaby Duboisjoli to find out more…
Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
My parents were cancan soloists at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, actually my mum was still dancing when she was 5 months pregnant, so I guess music has always always been a part of me! I was born and grew up in France, but visited my English family in Stockton-on-Tees every 3 months from the age of 3 months. All my family has vivid memories of me singing and “performing” from a very very young age!
Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
My mum was my biggest musical influence, not only because she was a singer herself, but because she came up with extremely varied soundtracks for her dance shows. There’d be everything from Iron Maiden, through Gershwin to Madonna, so I’ve always had very eclectic tastes. Nowadays I have a select few artists that I play (and lipsync to) on repeat, like Goldfrapp, Emilie Simon and Jessie Ware!
How would you describe your sound?
I’m claiming the Electro-Cabaret-Pop genre! What I enjoy about my songs is that I can visualise them being performed both on a big stage with a full electric band (and orchestra hopefully one day!) as well as in a really cosy and intimate piano bar, dressed in a Jessica Rabbit gown… The songs I’m writing at the moment are quite over the top, using performative language, and so I would really love for them to be used by dancers/singers/burlesque/drag/strip artists all over the world for their sexy cabaret performances!
What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My latest release is called Say Please and it’s a really cheeky and outrageous song. Originally it was a simple “write a song about your favourite drink” prompt (and that’s Champagne… obviously!) and then I tried building a lyrical and sonic world that I thought corresponded to how I feel about the excitement and sensorial delights of sipping on a glass… The tension is always building, like a cork almost popping out – but we made sure there was never that final release, so the teasing never ends 🙂
What’s your local music scene like?
Overwhelming! I live in South-East London, and so there really is a lot to choose from on any night of the week… All the best artists from the UK and the whole world end up here! Some of my favourite venues that I would love to perform in one day are Paper Dress Vintage, the Crazy Coqs and the Notting Hill Arts Club.
What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
Thanks to the support of Help Musicians I’m releasing my first EP called “Feel Me”. Say Please was the first track, with 3 more upcoming! I’m so proud and excited about these songs and I really hope they reach the ears of those who would like to partake in the journey… I’ve also started rehearsing with the most amazing pianist called Liv Lester. We’re taking it easy and not rushing into anything, but I have a vision that we’ll be hitting the scene after lots of rehearsing and ready to give London a performance!
Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
The list is as long as my arm! I’d love to share the stage with Jackie Moontan and Alfreda Maxwell (what a fun night that would be!) I would love to write and record with JONES and a French artist I’ve recently discovered called Amaurie. I’d also love to keep songwriting for others as that’s an area I’ve not spent much time on recently with my EP release. I love the process of entering a room on a morning with nothing, and leaving with a demo… It’s so exciting and I can’t think of many other instances in life that have the same buzz!
Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
The year is 1996, I am 8 years old and I’m performing the Spice Girls’ 2 Become 1 for my local village fete. About half-way through the song I realised the mayor hadn’t put my mic on! The audacity?! So I said “uhm excuse me, I’ve not been on this whole time… Let’s take it from the top shall we?” So I made everyone sit through the whole of the song again from the beginning, with my vocals actually audible this time. I wish I’d continued living my life with that much self-confidence and sass afterwards hahaha
What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
That I take pleasure and joy very seriously! I believe we’re only here once, and so I’m trying to make it count. Hopefully my music reflects that a little bit… Now that I’m finally releasing/performing my own original music I feel like I’ve finally landed into the person I’m meant to be. It took a really long time as I took forever to gather the courage. So I hope others don’t take as long to take risks, fail faster and feal the fear but do “it” anyway, whatever that “it” is! ♥
You can find out more about Gaby on her website or via Apple Music, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify, TikTok, X (Twitter) or YouTube.
Merryn 