Today, we have some music that goes outside are usual sound, but its worth it. It come from Whitney Vandell, or otherwise known as One Girl Symphony. She was born in Ethiopia and and showed a inclination to music. She was adopted at age 2 by an American Missionary and music teacher who taught her all she knows. Fast forward to today and she ha just finished here first symphony.
Her symphony is a year in the making with her bouncing tracks between her and violinist, William Steward. What she accomplished was a collections of track that don;t fit into any genre while blending elements of classical, rock, hip-hop, and the blues to folk music.
Its always great to hear something new and unique in a time when music has become monotonous. When listening to her play her songs you can hear the methodical process she undertook to deliver something that keeps true to the “symphony” idea all the while giving you a tune you can groove to.
Listen to her performance at TEDx below and check out the whole symphony on Spotify. If you are interested in learning more about her, check out the interview below
enjoY!
One Girl Symphony Interview
—
So what is the name of your band?
My band is called “One Girl Symphony” and I compose, arrange, produce and play most of the instruments except the violin.
And where are you from?
I live in Addis Ababa but I was adopted at the age of two by an Austrian-American woman serving as a missionary who was a classically trained musician and teacher. Growing up I spent most of my childhood following my mother living among tribal people in remote areas across Africa.
How old were you when you first got into the music scene? What got you started in music?
Music was the first language that I learned how to communicate in with my mother Gertrude, a former cello player. Without electricity, much less radio or TV, I grew up having almost no exposure to popular music. It wasn’t until I spent a year in New Jersey to attend high school that I was exposed to modern American rock music. Or, rock from the 80?s and 90?s. Hearing Guns n’ Roses changed me and since then Slash became the father figure I never had when growing up.
What were your ambitions when you first started?
This might sound clichéd but I wrote and recorded music only for my own enjoyment. But the truth is that I never saw my music as having a commercial audience. I don’t think that there are particularly many people in the public that are able or have the time to understand much less appreciate my music. And I really don’t mind. Instead, my aim as a musician has always been to create music at the top of my potential. Though I admit that in the back of my mind I secretly plan to one day play my recordings for Slash and afterwards we will drive over to Axel’s house to jam and hang out.
Where was your first gig?
My first gig was here in Addis Ababa, at the TEDx conference.
What genre do you feel your music falls under?
If you listen to my music you can hear the distinct elements of many diverse genres at the same time. I would say that blues rock performed with a classical training and arrangements as probably the best way to describe my music.
Why did you pick that particular style? Or what about that style called to you?
It wasn’t really anything that I set out to do. The way music is recorded today where it is easy to do multi tracking, it is somehow like painting for me. This style is the result of years of jamming with myself, trying out different groves and harmonies on top of each other to see what fits.
Have you released any albums?
Yes, I recently released my album One Girl Symphony. You can find it on all streaming services, on CD, DVD and also as a free mobile app. You can find all the links on www.OneGirlSymphony.com
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/one-girl-symphony/id1059301305
The mobile app on: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carlkuhl.onegirlsymphony
Any plans of touring?
It would love to tour but I don’t have plans for that now. It is a lot of work to put a production of my music together to make it worthwhile. But on some level I feel that once it’s been performed it is also completed. If Mozart spent all his time promoting Eine Kleine Nacht Musik he wouldn’t have gone on to doing more interesting music.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern?
I listen to a wide mix of different music but if I am to be honest, I avoid contemporary artists. There is so much incredible music from the last 500 years that I try and listen to and I don’t have time to listen to albums just because they were recorded in the last year. Other than that I also feel that pop and rock artists today are no longer musicians or compose their own songs to express themselves which makes it all less interesting to me.
What are your sources of inspiration when writing a new song?
I look a lot to Stax, motown and soul music when building up grooves and harmonies as the basis of my songs and the melodies are improvised and more blues oriented.
One Girl Symphony Links
————————–
One Girl Symphony on the Web
One Girl Symphony on Facebook