SONIQUE- Interview

Interviewed by Duzzy Clayton

Sonique Talks To Fanbase Music Magazine About Her New Single, ‘Uncaged’, And Also Talks About Her New Music Video, & More 

Intro 

Sonique is an amazing musician who just keeps making more and more headway in the music industry with every release. Sonique has just released her latest single called ‘Uncaged’. 

This happens to be Sonique’s first ballad, and she couldn’t have done a better job with it because it is so amazing. The track also comes with an equally great music video, which I do urge everyone to go check out. 

Enjoy The Read

Inteview

Hi Sonique, Welcome back to Fanbase Music Magazine. Last time we spoke, you were collaborating with RADA and RADA Unearthed. How has it been working closely with such a great organisation? 

It has been an eye-opening experience. I am so thankful to be part of such an amazing organization. Everyone in the RADA team is dedicated to making a real positive difference in people’s lives. I have seen some heartbreaking situations that RADA deals with. I’m grateful that there are organizations like RADA that are happy to help and provide long-term support.

It has humbled me to be part of the RADA family, and it makes me hopeful that there are many good people out there working hard to change lives.

Can you tell us, in case there is anyone who doesn’t know about RADA, what it is? 

RADA is a humanitarian organization that focuses on empowering communities. They work on making a lasting positive impact on people’s lives. They do this with various projects that they have on the go:

The RADA MiPad project, which aims to educate and empower, by distributing reusable sanitary pads to young girls with the aim of enabling them to attend school throughout the year.

The RADA Unearthed project aims to get up-and-coming artists and well-known artists to write music for RADA, and all of the royalties made from streams and downloads of these songs go towards funding the RADA projects situated in vulnerable communities.

The RADA Tough Times project, where the RADA team focuses on providing food to vulnerable communities as well as toys to the kids at RADA’s adopted centres.

The RASI project, which stands for Road Awareness and Safety Instructor.

This is a fun, interactive road safety animation video intended to teach young children the fundamentals of crossing a road safely.

There are many more projects that they have on the go. If you want to know more about Rada, please check out their website rada.co.za

Can you tell us what your genre and sound is?

Alternative pop

Among various influences, I know you are a big fan of Amapiano, what about this genre do you like?

I don’t stick to one particular genre, so this answer always changes. I love house/trance music. I also love indie, indie/pop, indie/rock. The list goes on.

My playlists on Spotify cater to my every mood.

Let’s talk about the latest single, Uncaged. This is your first ballad. How did you tackle

This track compared to your previous work?

Writing this song was different in every single way. Since I have never written a ballad before, I decided to go about writing in a completely different direction. I have no idea how to play the piano; I only know the basic notes and chords, and I knew that this song needed to be written with a piano. I then started off on the guitar, getting the chords together, then I researched the chords on piano and taught myself the basic chord progression, and recorded it. I knew that Mark Beling, my producer, would get my vision when I sent him the demo, considering he is a brilliant pianist. I then wrote the lyrics and recorded the rest of the 1st demo; it came back with Mark’s honest opinion and advice, and then he told me to do some research by listening to other ballads. My demo came back to me about 3 times before Mark and J-P, my executive producer, said it was good enough to start the recording process.

Mark and I then got into studio and created magic with this song. I am so grateful for all of the advice because you can’t improve without honest and true criticism. I learnt so much writing this ‘Uncaged’.

Were you intimidated doing a ballad?

YES, I was intimidated because, to me, a ballad means to get real about how you feel, and I didn’t feel comfortable enough to get that vulnerable yet. Through the process of writing these lyrics, I learnt that getting out of your comfort zone is how true magic is made. The truth is, we will never feel comfortable being vulnerable and exposing how we truly feel, but when you do, it is the most freeing feeling I have ever felt.

What is Uncaged About?

‘Uncaged’ is a song about that urge to want to run, hide, or fly away from our problems instead of facing them. I used metamorphosis as a metaphor in this song to symbolize going through difficulties before coming out of them stronger and more resilient. Research shows that the process the butterfly goes through to come out of its cocoon is extremely painful for them; some butterflies don’t even make it. This symbolism is really important because it reminds me that, yes, we are going through a really hard and painful time right now, but we will come out of it transformed and stronger than we have ever been before. It is okay to not be okay, but it’s how you come out of it that makes the real difference.

Mark Beling once again produced your track. You have a great working relationship with Mark. What is it about him that keeps you going back to produce your music?

After working on my first track, ‘Marinade’ with Mark Beling, I was hooked. His ability to understand my vision for a song, as well as add his ideas without taking away from the original idea of the song, is amazing. I learn so much from him that all I want to do is make amazing music and absorb as much of his music knowledge as I possibly can. I trust Mark with my music, and that is crazy to say because I don’t just trust people with my music. I don’t think that just anyone can understand my vision for a song the way I do, where the music tells the story that the lyrics are telling you.

Music is poetry, not just the lyrics, and to know that Mark fully gets that makes me want to continue working with him.

What was the recording process like for this song? 

When I went in to record the vocals for this song, it was amazing!

The energy of this song is just different, and the fact that both Mark and I were very passionate about this song made this song so much more meaningful to record. I loved every minute of it.

The funny thing is I had some sinus issues going in to record ‘Uncaged’, and I didn’t need to tell Mark that for him to know, so he made me sing the song over and over and over again until I was all warmed up, he even got me waters, and made me warm tea to loosen my vocals up. We eventually got my voice to where it needed to be. Those high notes that you hear behind the main vocals in the 2nd chorus are me singing. To this day, I have no idea how he got me to sing that.

You also have a music video for the track. Can you tell us what the concept of the music video is and where it was filmed?

Working with Rici Martins, my videographer, to create this music video was an awesome experience! We recorded at the Roodepoort Theatre, main stage.

There is so much symbolism in this music video which I absolutely love.

Mark Beling is also in this music video. I love sentimental value and having my producer, the person who helped me make this song so magical, in this video playing the piano piece he created, is special to me.

The metaphor of metamorphosis is shown in subtle ways in the performance. The dress I was wearing signified the cocoon; you can see this in the organic-looking material, the dress being sheer and hinting at being naked, which shows the vulnerability in this song. I am also wearing a small butterfly ring.

In the dance scene, we wanted the dancers to tell the story through movement, poetry in motion. The dancers show being separated by an “invisible barrier”, keeping them from getting to each other. The one dancer shows herself feeling free and trying to show the other dancer that she can also be free, this is shown in her flowing, large movements. On the other hand, the other dancer shows limited and staggered movements, showing her inability to feel free, feeling ‘caged’.

As the dance progresses, the dancers are seen making their way towards each other without realizing, and once they finally touch, the dancer who was once ‘caged’ was now free. Realizing it was her own limiting beliefs that held her back and kept her captive.

This dance signifies the process we go through in our minds when we are dealing with something really difficult. On the one hand we feel like we can’t make it through, but on the other hand it is simply our thoughts that keep us ‘caged’.

It was really awesome working with the Choreographer, Marshal Guswani, together with the dancers, Lesego Manamela and Ashleigh Devega. They really brought our vision to life. The amazing thing is, they are all university students!

Who else worked on the video?

The amazing team behind me and who made this amazing music video possible was:

The Videographer and DOP, Rici Martins

The Executive Producer, John-Paul Nobrega

Producer and Pianist, Mark Beling

The Choreographer, Marshal Guswani

Dancer and co-choreographer, Lesego Manamela

Dancer and co-choreographer, Ashleigh Devega

Do you have any other songs coming out that you can tell us about?

I do! I have a new song coming out in Spring, which I am excited for!

Thank you for doing this interview, do you have any last messages for our readers?

Thanks so much for all of the support from everyone, it means the world to me. I just want to say, when you are in a tough situation and it feels impossible to get out of it, take time to be silent. Instead of focusing on the details, focus on the bigger picture and take small steps forward.

 Social Media 

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/sonique.p2

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/soniquepitout/

Check Out The Uncaged Music Video  HERE

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