I have fallen out of love with Facebook of late, in favour of more inconspicuous forms of social networking such as Twitter and Instagram. And usually when I see someone post something like "Check out this video", "Guys, please like my page", or "Support me in my plunge off the Earth for charity", I often glide past to the one that says, instead "OMFG, STUPID IDIOT, GAHRAHAHA". That status, is more often that not, posted by me. However. This one, looking for support, caught my eye. I don't know why. Perhaps I was being nosey, perhaps I was being egotistic, or perhaps I was being judgemental, but either way I checked it out.
Made up of two, pretty and petite, girls, Fleur de-lis is unpredictable. Both currently students at East 15 acting school (one studying World Performance and the other Physical Theatre), Chelsea-Marie Gall and Alana Bloom describe themselves as "a mixture of ambient vocals, acoustic melodies, and jazzy blue rhythms", with an ambition to portray stories and emotions through music, in an alternative way to stage performance(something that is certainly taught heavily on the World Performance course). I claim that they're unpredictable because, firstly, they're not performing stereotypical 'drama school' music, all guts and chest voice and drama, that even I am guilty of doing. Nor is it sugary sweet sellable pop music, nor are they girl band wannabes. They are bringing us individuality, and soul, and truthfullness.
The first thing that struck me with Fleur de-lis was the musicality and bird like quality of Alana's voice. She has a smoothness to her voice not common in signed artists any more. Her voice is natural but perfect, sliding sweetly up and down her range, with a soulfulness that can't be imitated. This combined with the skillfullness in Chelsea-Marie's guitar playing is a really good match. Neither over powers the other, and both combine effortless into a style that is not often found in female musicians. They're like a female version of Ed Sheeran. In their songs Hummingbird, and their cover of Rihanna's We Found Love, we discover that both girls have charmingly smooth voices, that frankly I'll never get bored of listening to, like when you hear your favourite artist sings in a live lounge, and you wish they'd perform like that all the time - these girls do that. Chelsea-Marie's harmonies in these two songs combine perfectly with Alana's voice, and I wonder if they had never met, would they find another partner that works so delightfully with their calming, sultry voices? The lyrics written by the girls are wonderful. Poetic, lyrical, catchy and charming, and something I can imagine having on repeat until I'm singing along, word for word.
Despite performing the occasional cover, they write and perform there own music, in such a way that you'd think they were seasoned musicians, although often they've put the final piece together in a matter of minutes - One of the reasons why I know they will be successful with their music. Their newest song, Hummingbird(see above), is a beautiful, effortless song, with the atmosphere of a late Summer's evening combined with the melancholy of love. The lyrics are cleverly written, and incredibly catchy, I'm already singing along(another reason why I know they will be a success). The Fool has elegant lyrics, evocative for anyone whose taken a risk in love, which prove very emotive if you listen closely and chose not be lured into a peaceful lullaby induced by Chelsea-Marie's masterful guitar playing and Alana's smooth voice. She Runs shows a bit more of the jazzy style that the girls have, with a funky off beat rhythm, and a bit more sassyness from Alana. This one definitely got me moving, and was over surprising quickly, despite being three minutes long. We Found Love deserves a special mention, this is where Fleur de-lis show their power as duo. I am an avid Rihanna fan, to the point where I'm quite obsessed with listening to her music and checking out her pictures on Instagram, but the girls have got me on this one. I love listening to their cover, to the point where I think I prefer listening to this version. They really have made this their own, something which proves their versatility as artists. Firstly, they seem to have listened to the track and taken it from their, changing the rhythm and the guitar tab, to suit their more relaxing, ambient vibe. This is the first thing that kept me listening to this track, followed by the introduction of Chelsea-Marie's perfectly chosen harmony, something that helps to completely transforms the song from being a Rihanna cover, to being almost one of their own.
With music, I don't generally go along with the crowd, I like what I like, and thats that. I wouldn't say I like Fleur de-lis because I know Chelsea-Marie or because I've seen Alana around the corridors of Clifftown Studios(East 15's theatre, a renovated church), because frankly, there would be no point in that. I like Fleur de-lis because I was enticed by them the moment my ears caught their music, or perhaps their music caught my ears. I can't wait until I can catch them live, and there I'm sure the story telling will really prevail, something not always accessible via film captured music.
Finally, through their music, they seem like a pair of girls that you'd really like to have a chat over coffee with, or jam with them. They seem like two cool, fun, fashionable girls, with the ability to make great music... the only question I have is... Can I join your gang?!
You can find Fleur de-lis on Facebook- www.facebook.com/0fleurdelis
or on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/0fleurdelis
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