Sy Smith: Ambient Soul
October 30, 2006
Sy Smith’s ambient soul owes itself to the singer’s background of chorale study, avid listening of modern music and gigs supporting the likes of Whitney Houston, Brandy, Usher, Macy Gray, Eric Benet, Ginuwine and Meshell Ndegeocello. East Coast roots in New York and Washington D.C. exposed Ms. Smith to everything from go-go to rock in her family’s home and the melange of acts playing in the city. The Syberspace Social is the first album of her unfettered trippy funk to make it to print.
The music prides itself on creating a scenario instead of songs where a hook or focal point is needed to guide the listener through a typical karaoke exercise. Smith’s inclinations are vested with the chill vibe school that has graduated some Sade and D’Angelo’s Voodoo as two examples of Black music atomospherics. Squiggly funk organs, loose basslines and Smith’s soft but durable voice fill the Syberspace as the sound she says “one hears in the coolest lounge in the universe where the hippest people hang out.” Soulquarian production team member James Poysner and Tribe Called Quest alum Ali Shaheed assisted Smith with the production and songwriting. Collaborations with others go past her quirky R and B because the singer has also written music for television. A number of Gap ads and a couple of plays also grace her hipster-style resume. A resident of LA she recently joined the dancefloor-inspired band Airpushers onstage. In this chat Sy Smith sheds some light on the music behind The Sysberspace Social and her overall hustle as an artist.
How did you start singing?
Well, I never really sat down somewhere and said “I’m gonna start singing.” I’ve always heard music and sounds in a way that was different from most of the people I knew, so I was drawn to sound. I begged for piano lessons around age 7 and studied classical piano for about 8 years or so. During the early part of that time, I was a closeted singer. Didn’t really start singing in front of people until about 6th grade when I joined the school choir and then was selected for my county’s Honor’s Chorus. I continued singing classical and chorale stuff all the way to college! And then began singing more contemporary material right after high school.
What has singing back-up taught you about singing?
Singing back-up (or being a “supporting vocalist” as I like to call it) hasn’t really taught me too much… I mean, I’m really a natural when it comes to that kind of supporting role. I’ve always gravitated to vocal arrangements, horn arrangements, strings, etc, even when I was very young. So when I started singing back-up, no one had to teach me how to do it because I already had an ear. I think I got most of my technique from the many years of chorale/ensemble work in school.
Who were you listening to ? Who inspired you?
Listened to lots of MIchael Jackson. Loved him, always thought he was the best… Especially his background vocals!! Listened to lots of bands like EW&F, Cameo (especially when they had lots of horns), Chaka Khan, SOS Band (and anything that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced) and I was a b-girl… Lots of early hip-hop. UTFO, Run-DMC, Beasties, BDK, BDP, PE… Lots of go-go too (EU, Rare Essence, Junkyard). I listened to almost everything I could.
How did you end up with the team that worked on The Syberspace Social?
There really was no team. I had some songs tucked away that I had never used, and when I came up for the concept of the album I drew from some of that material. Then I asked Ali Shaheed what he thought of the concept and if he’d produce some songs for it… Most of the new material came from that collaboration. I also produced some of the newer material for that project (“Stand Alone”, “Drop That”). James Poyser and I are good friends, that’s how he ended up producing a song (“Bruise”), he just came over one day and brought his laptop. I played a song idea for him on my Rhodes and he sequenced the whole track in about 20 mins!
I did notice you produced a lot of it. my favorite song is “Turnstyles” what can you tell me about it? What are the similarities and differences between Psychosoul and The Syberspace Social? I love that squiggly keyboard at the beginning kind of like your funky worm.
Funky worm! Ha ha!! That’s funny… I don’t know that there are many similarities between “psykosoul” and “The Syberspace Social” other than that it’s the same artist. yeah like the ohio players. My mind was in a completely different place in 1999 when I made “psykosoul”… I was in a different space.
What was it like working with The Brand New Heavies?
Working with the Heavies was just alright for me, and in all fairness, N’dea warned me about that. I do like Drew (bassist) a lot, he’s a really funky dude!
You’ve written and performed a few songs for film and TV, How is writing for those mediums different than writing for your personal albums?
Writing for something that’s commissioned is like playing a character for me. I like to come up with a back story and approach the song as if I’m another artist sometimes. It really depends on the project though. Sometimes they want it to be very “Sy”, sometimes they want me to do stuff that’s completely outside of what most people know me for.
Do you plan to spend more time in front of the camera as well?
I would like to… We’ll see what the universe has in store for me… Seems like whenever I say I wanna do more acting work, I wind up doing more behind-the-scenes work and vice versa. I honestly like being in both places.
What do you see as your biggest accomplishment so far?
Graduation from Howard University, Magna Cum Laude.
What’s next?
Don’t forget to check out my new bootleg. It’s Psykosoul Plus, featuring all the songs from the never-released Psykosoul album plus more tracks and a remix! It’s available at www.sysmith.com! (Shameless plug)
Check out Sy Smith on the web.
