Why Shaprece Should be on Your Musical Radar

While
genres can be helpful in categorizing the multitudes of music out today, they
can also be limiting. Perhaps that’s why Shaprece chose to defy genres with
last year’s EP Molting. A departure from her funk and
soul roots, Molting
draws on orchestral
and instrumental influences to create a full-bodied yet ethereal sound. Local
producer IG88, along with Seattle-based cellist Phillip Peterson back Shaprece,
to create a rich, ambient experience. This marriage of soul, electronic,
classical and ambient music is getting great attention, and Shaprece has a busy
summer to show for it. Shaprece is playing at Timber! Outdoor Music Festival on
July 18 in Carnation, Washington. In May, Shaprece played Sasquatch! and while
there, she spoke with us about music, life and how cannabis lends a hand in the
creative process.

Where
are you from originally?

I’m
originally from Seattle.

Who
were your major musical influences growing up?

My dad
was a musician, so I was always inspired by the different musicians that would
come in and out of
our home. He was a
funk musician, so we listened to a lot of Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie
Wonder, Parliament, Minnie Ripperton and Sade. Sade was a huge influence. I
think Sade was my first female vocalist that I was like “I wanna be like her.”
She had that really smoky sound, and I kind of had a similar tone. So listening
to her I remember my dad and I used to slow-dance to her when I was really
young. It was such a loving sound, and that’s what I’m really trying to embody.
That was my earliest inspiration, and still one of my current inspirations. I
saw her at the Key Arena a few years back, and I was just like “You’re 50 years
old, and still gorgeous and graceful.” She is someone who carried over from
childhood that I still find inspiration in.

When
did you first start playing music?

It’s
funny, because with my dad being a musician, I have pictures of me as early as
two years old, sitting on his lap with a microphone in my hand. Then in high
school I was in a classical choir. And in my new music, I have a lot of
classical elements, cello and violin, and that’s kind of where that inspiration
came from. Just being able to recognize the beauty in stringed instruments. And
how similar they are to human vocal tones. So I really wanted to make sure that
that was something that was a constant. So it’s basically been my entire life,
with me picking different inspirations throughout.

Well
that’s such a perfect fit with Branden (IG88), your sounds go together
perfectly.

It is!
It’s been a really organic fit actually. I never wanted to force anything with
this project. But I had asked my manager if he knew any producers in the more
ambient, James Blake type arena, and he recommended Branden. So we met, and we
bonded over Toni Braxton, so I was like “Okay you have a sense of soul, and
R&B,” which is really important backbone to this entire project. But then
we’re also allowed to visit different tones and textures and ambient vibey type
stuff, and cross the two.

Do
you think the prevalence of cannabis in the Pacific Northwest has influenced
your sound, or creative process, or any of that?

Absolutely!
Obviously, I’m from Seattle, you can take that however you like. [Laughter]
Most of my album and music in general is created in nature. I do 90 percent of
my writing on hikes. So, you know, I roll a joint, take it with me, and just
kind of let my senses do what they will. Nature is so parallel to human
emotion, so that’s why I draw a lot of inspiration while I’m in nature. And
weed kind of goes hand in hand with that for me. It just kind of opens your
senses a lot, and it allows you to explore certain parts of your mind. You
know, you might be feeling a certain way, and then you smoke a little bit, and
you really pick apart why you’re feeling that way. Or you gain a better
understanding of what you’re going through. So I really enjoy smoking a little
bit, when I’m in nature, and creating from that.

www.shaprece.com

IN
CONCERT

Timber!
Outdoor Music Festival on July 18 in Carnation.