Q&A with Shukura Chapman
Meet Shukura Chapman: born in the U.K., she has lived in New Zealand and is now based in Brisbane, Australia, where she self-recorded her debut three-track EP “Rearview”. Aside from singing, she plays guitar and drums and even the ukulele to stunning effect as witnessed on her single “One by One”. Her music, while clearly a nod into the direction of soul and funk, still feels fresh and contemporary.
Listen to “Rearview” here:
Read what Shukura herself answered in our Q&A – after listening to her music, I believe that some of her dreams will come true faster than she may think:
Q: What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
A: Bon Iver – ‘33 God’. Such a great track!
Q: Do you have a song from your childhood, one you always enjoy hearing again?
A: I remember hearing Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t she lovely’ growing up and really connected with it, it’s so joyful and still makes me happy when I listen to it now.
Q: What was the first album you have ever bought? Digital, vinyl, CD or cassette tape?
A: The first album I owned was The Spice girls ‘Spice’ on cassette! It was a present when I was about 6. I had this karaoke style cassette player with a tiny microphone attached to it and I sang my favourite songs of the album at the top of my lungs and danced around the house.
Q: Is there a song you’d like to cover?
A: Chance the Rapper – No Problem. I love Chance and have had this song on repeat since Coloring book dropped.
Q: What’s your songwriting process like? What comes first, melody or lyrics?
A: Every song I write has a different process; I follow what’s organic in the moment. Sometimes a melody will come first and then I’ll loop a guitar riff, play around with vocal melodies and write lyrics listening to the loop on repeat. Other times I’ll have a strong feeling on what I want to write about and the lyrics will pour out first and I’ll set them to music after.
Q: If you could have any musical instrument in the world, which one would it be and why?
A: A pearl custom drum-kit with heaps of cymbals. I miss having a drum-kit to jam on.
Q: Where would you love to perform live one day?
A: One day I’d love to play SXSW, Madison Square Garden and the Tivoli in Brisbane, Australia, where I live now, because it’s a really intimate space for live music.
Q: You have lived in different places in your life. Can you imagine to move on to somewhere else or do you want to stay in Australia?
A: I was born in the UK, grew up in New Zealand and moved to Australia when I was 18. I love living in Australia and creating music here. My dream has always been to live in New York and to live in and travel around Europe, so I see myself continuing to move around in the future.
Q: If you could choose to live in a decade (music, style, etc.) which one would it be?
A: The 70’s. I love hip-hop so to be around when the whole movement was first created would be so exciting! I love a lot of different artists from around that era too, like the Jackson 5, and appreciate how they influenced music today.
Thank you very much, Shukura for answering our questions and we hope to see you on stage in New York soon!
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