Emerging Talent Amie Blu Talks Music, Family and Her Debut Album 5ForU.
Let me tell you, Amie Blue is one to watch. An earthy voice and warm personality, Amie was a joy to behold as she strolled across the stage. What immediately struck me as I stood there, eyeing the crowd as Amie chatted in between her songs, was the atmosphere of support overflowing from both band and audience. Everyone wanted her to succeed, and this encouragement manifested clearly in the crowd’s excitement. This is what makes an Amie Blu gig different. Never once have I experienced the level of care from the audience that I did that night. When the lyrics momentarily escaped her during the cover she performed – no problem(!)- those in the front row helped her along. Amie is a born performer – honest in her emotions, drawing everyone in and transforming the audience from strangers to a group of friends. No longer did Anna and I feel like we were just attending to discover a new artist, but instead felt that we were just going to see a friend perform.
During the gig, the launch party for her first album 5 for U, she made way for Humble The Great and AKA Block. They performed an original song called Menthol, at the encouragement of Amie, who credited both with significantly impacting her artistic journey through their unwavering support. This recognition of those that had enabled or supported her, further marks Amie as an artist who has not fallen to possessing that stereotypical inflated sense of ego present in many talented figures; something I’m certain she will continue to avoid as her career undoubtedly rises to new heights in the future. The stage presence of both Menthol’s creators made for great viewing and I hope to hear Amie’s cover of Menthol one day or at least a remastered version in which she gets a part.
That night, buoyant having discovered a new artist and energised by this thoroughly enjoyable gig, I knew that I needed to put these feelings to paper. Once writing, however, a large gaping hole in the article became apparent: the lack of Amie’s voice. To remedy this I tentatively reached out to Amie for an interview, which to my surprise she agreed to, and which I will now record below.
After schedule clashes and unfortunately catching Covid, we ultimately did the interview over the phone during Amie’s lunch break. Beginning with her seemingly characteristic self-deprecating humour, Amie began by telling me about her day and takes on the music industry. Amie was clear that the only role she wanted in the industry was as an artist. Her passion for making a career in this field was further emphasised later in the interview: when asked what she would do career-wise if she wasn’t making music, she replied, “I would probably be looking out the window wishing I could make music”.
I began the interview by asking if, lyrically, there were any particular places, people or moments that had influenced her writing. Amie responded by acknowledging that she currently doesn’t know how to write about things that she herself hasn’t experienced or can relate to. As she expanded on the themes explored in her projects, predominantly relationships and mental health, she stressed how she preferred to hint at these topics during her songs. She is wary of making the issues explored in her lyrics obvious, giving the example of the ending of her song Like That, where she is conscious of not wanting her mum to “deep what I’m actually saying”. This signals Amie’s commitment to vulnerability in her music whilst also ensuring different levels with in her music. A sort of protective shield that one can only penetrate through actively studying the lyrics, otherwise disguised in the melody.
With regards to her influences in her style of music, Amie explained how she takes direct inspiration from people in her life, and the music they had exposed her to. Growing up, Amie described how her “whole family were proper music orientated”. From Justin Timberlake and Alicia Keys (thanks to her mother) and rap greats such as Eminem, Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur (thanks to her father), tributes this comprehensive interaction to such as vast roster of artist as having influenced her music to different degrees. She further credits her father with her attention to lyrical detail, telling me a story of how when she was young, her father would encourage her to study the lyrics of 3am by Eminem, animatedly instructing her to “listen to the story telling!”. Further to this, Amie revealed her sources of inspiration which have translated into her style, adding: “the older I get, the more I meet different people who contribute to my experience of music, that adds to my influences for example being brought into the alternative world of KAYTRANADA”.
In This Time Amie sings in French, which when prompted, she explains as being her mother tongue. Although born in the UK, Amie grew up partly in France, stating that she only got her British passport which was recently motivated by the uncertainty of the post-Brexit future we current find ourselves in. Amie described further how her mother lives in Lyon, her grandmother in Nantes, and her brother currently plays professional rugby in the south of France. When asked whether French was going to feature in any future songs or if she could see herself releasing a music entirely in French. Amie agreed to the former and to the latter underlined the common struggle of bilingual children, one I know myself all too well. She affirmed that she would love to release a song entirely in French but ruefully acknowledged that she would need a lot of help. Although fluent in French, with her mother having moved back to France, thus limiting the number of people with whom she could converse in French, Amie has found herself forgetting words. The example she gave, giving her significant distress at this time, was the word for fireman (pompier). This moment of honesty and lack of posturing is what makes Amie such a relatable figure, something which immediately becomes apparent when she steps up to the mic.
Moving on to her style, I asked Amie to describe how she thought her music could be characterized. In response, Amie proclaimed: “I wouldn’t describe myself in a way, I just expect people who listen to my music to form their own opinion”. Further along the interview she back-tracked slightly and expanded on this answer, conceding that if others were to describe her they would probably label her music as “alternative RnB”. Amie struggles with this characterization though not with the genre itself, admitting that although her music fits this genre, she finds it limiting or rather “anti-climactic” to describe her music this way. She would rather her work not be constrained to one genre. Thus, as per her desire, I have left it to you, dear reader, to listen to 5 for U and form your own opinion of Amie’s music.
Recently on social media I have seen Amie posting about having been featured on Elton John’s Rocket Hour. An Apple Music radio show containing Elton John’s recent selections, it is described online as having an “emphasis on the newest music from the best emerging artists”, the category in which Amie, very excitingly, falls. Amie detailed her emotions at having been featured by such a legend, both proud and excited. To her joy and also surprise, Elton John played her songs again during another episode of his show, and took the time to speak about her music further. After asking whether she had been featured on any other radio shows, Amie stated that her music had been played by other hosts, most notable the DJ Jyoty on her show for Rinse FM and Jess Iszhatt for BBC radio. In glowing terms, Amie described to me how supportive both Jyoty and Jess at been, emphasizing in particular the effort they made to reach out and build a relationship with her. I reached out to both Jyoty and Jess Iszhatt for a comment regarding Amie, to which Jess responded : “ahhh I love Amie!”
This immediate response perfectly encapsulates Amie Blu. Someone with a bright future ahead of her and whom I cannot wait to see soar. I look forward to listening to future projects and I urge you to go listen to her music immediately. This girl deserves to go far and we should do what we can to support her on this journey. So go listen - that’s an order!
Photography by Kane Anson