In the unlikely event that Nelly Furtado’s music career doesn’t pan out, the Victoria-born singer-songwriter might want to consider a future as a talent scout for a major record label.
“People always tell me I’m more comfortable talking about music than I am talking about myself, and it’s true,” says Furtado, 21, whose startlingly assured debut CD, Whoa, Nelly!, hits stores Tuesday.
“I’m constantly referring CDs and tapes to people I know. I like finding new, unsigned stuff. That’s what I listen to. I always have my ear to the street, trying to find out what’s going on. There’s a lot of great stuff coming out of Toronto right now. Tonight, I’m going to see the Movement Collective, this great group of DJs from Toronto. And the New Deal? Have you heard of them? A really good live band.”
Furtado’s tastes are as wide-ranging as they are astute. Trip-hop acts Massive Attack, Tricky and Portishead and an entire roster of rappers, as well as pop-rock acts from the Verve, Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead to singer-songwriters Elliott Smith, Beth Orton, Rufus Wainwright and Ani di Franco are passionately cited in a recent interview.
Not that anyone is betting against Furtado making it on the strength of her own talent. Whoa, Nelly!, a DreamWorks release originally due out last summer, has received positive notice in Spin, which hailed her as an up-and-comer, and in Rolling Stone, which ran favourable reviews of both the album and a Chicago club gig.
The music itself is a seamless blend of world beat, pop and urban, with traditional Portuguese influences mixed in. It even opens with a song, “Hey, Man!,” that samples “White Man Sleeps,” from the Kronos Quartet’s Pieces Of Africa CD.
“There’s something for everybody on the record,” Furtado says. “But there’s enough of a pop sensibility that you can still get a bigger audience. If I wanted to make an underground record, I wouldn’t be on a major label. But I wanted to make a pop record because my songs are poppy and hooky, anyway.
“There are tons of bands that merge styles. But they don’t always tap into the collective subconscious. You need the song to carry it. Maybe my songs lend themselves to eclecticism, in the melodies or the phrasing. I don’t know. But people seem to be getting it.”
Furtado grew up in a musical household in Victoria’s relatively small but closely knit Portuguese community. She was 4 the first time she performed in public, singing a duet with her mother at church.
“Music was always around the house. My mother sang in the choir, and I’d hide behind the couch while the rehearsals were going on. Her father, grandfather, brother and uncle were all multi-instrumentalists in a band in San Miguel, Azores, where my parents are from.”
Furtado began writing her own songs at age 12 while grooving to the sounds of rap and hip-hop on a Seattle radio station. By the time she was 16, she was singing for a string of hip-hop and trip-hop outfits.
During a visit to Toronto, Furtado appeared at the Honey Jam talent showcase at Lee’s Palace, where she was spotted by Chris Smith, who became her manager, and Gerald Eaton and Brian West of the Philosopher Kings, who co-wrote several of the songs on Whoa, Nelly!.
“Gerald and Brian taught me not to be afraid of the pop stuff I was writing. And that’s great because I can be whatever I want. I’m not under any umbrella. It feels very free.”
Furtado’s distinctive singing is an alluring presence throughout, from the edgy “Hey, Man!” through the Macy Gray-ish “I’m Like A Bird” to the Latin-tinged hip-hop of “I Will Make U Cry” to the jazzy, world-beat stylings of “Scared Of You.”
“I say things on those songs that I would never say in real life. Part of what I like about urban music is that I get to be somebody else on stage. It’s such a culture in itself. It’s the walk, the talk. It’s more than just the music.”
Furtado, who opened for Jacksoul at the Phoenix earlier this month and is looking to headline her own show in November, is as at home on stage as she is in the studio. Riding around in a tour bus fulfills an ambition she has had since taking trips with her high-school band.
Next month, she heads to Portugal, where “I’m Like A Bird” is already a hit. Trips to England and Germany, as well as more touring throughout the U.S. and Canada, are in the offing.
“I always dreamt of sitting in the tour bus, writing in my journal or reading while travelling to the next city,” she says. “I’m a nomad. I love wandering. So being on the road is great for me. It’s a new thing for me every day.”
More than that, it’s a way to keep in touch with what’s current. “Kids show up at my shows with mixed tapes,” she says. “The tapes are totally eclectic, from Bebel Gilberto to DJ Shadow and Kid Koala to Elliott Smith. People’s ears are opening up.”
By Vit Wagner, Totonto Star
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