Chanelmarie Brooks is a young jazz/Soul/R&B singer who is releasing her debut EP, A Soulful Silhouette. Her music is soothing and touching at the same time. A great blend! You can catch her December 15 at the MacPhail Center.
Please tell us about yourself and your music.
My name is Chanelmarie Brooks (Stage name and preferred name), and I am an aspiring soul-infused jazz singer in the Twin Cities. I am currently studying music with the Dynamic Voice based out of New York. I am a no-nonsense, sassy, down-to-earth diva and bad-ass feminist who is passionate about creatively expressing myself through music. I’m a regular girl doing regular stuff who enjoys singing, songwriting, poetry, and the arts. My music reflects me and is a catalyst for expressing my feelings and emotions. I strive to creatively blend Jazz, R&B, and Soul while staying true to myself and paying homage to the legendary artists who have inspired me. My work is influenced by Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Otis Redding, and Aretha Franklin, to name a few. I admire the emotional journey of soul music because to an extent, my emotions guide me and I tend to think with my emotions ( reasonably). My music aims to candidly share the pages of my diary, be poetically provocative at times, relate to people, and build a community of music lovers.
My style is about creating raw, honest, and soulful songs that people can relate to.
I grew up an avid music lover. All of my life I knew I wanted to be a singer. I was exposed to an electric assortment of genres such as R&B, Pop, Country, Rock, and World music, but Soul was the genre that captivated my heart.
I recently completed my debut EP, A Soulful Silhouette, set to be released in March 2025. This EP is about sharing personal yet retable diary entries. I cover a variety of topics such as stress, family relationships, and childhood memories. I decided to call my EP A Soulful Silhouette because it is my attempt at creating and singing soul music. Even though the album is not a hundred percent soul, I drew from elements of Soul and Jazz such as syncopated rhythms, scat singing, improv, and tapping into emotions to create my songs.
When I started recording the album, I had no idea what I was doing. I had a lot of help from mentors, teachers, professional musicians, and a professional producer. I took an agile approach to recording this album. After the first song was recorded, I had time to reflect on what I learned and implement that into the next song. After the second song was recorded, the process repeated. In between recording each song, I had time to receive feedback and mentorship and strengthen my musicianship. I am truly blessed by that experience and I appreciate being able to take my time recording in a professional studio. I learned a lot about songwriting, music theory, and the art of singing. The EP represents my journey of stepping into soul music and growing as an artist. I wrote each song from the heart and I cannot wait to share it with the world.
As an independent artist, I hope this EP is the beginning of creating a sustainable music career. I aspire to create music that inspires, motivates, and makes people feel while being authentically me, Chanelmarie.
When I am not studying music, creating music, or performing or working at my 9-5, I love to volunteer and be involved with social justice issues! I am dedicated to fostering community, helping others, and doing what I can to make our society a good place to live. Recently, I had so much fun volunteering to sort books that will be donated to children at local homeless shelters. It was a pleasure strolling down memory lane by looking through the books that were donated. I am currently trying to find opportunities to get involved with feminist organizations and social issues.
You have a great blog post on your song writing process. Can you share of a little of it here. Are you still watching cartoons?
Yes! Absolutely! I am still watching cartoons. I am so in love with the reboot of Disney Channel’s The Proud Family. That was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid. It’s really interesting to see how much time has changed. We see it in the culture, topics discussed on the show, and even the colloquial language used. I love watching cartoons that reflect our culture as a society, it’s fascinating to see our world interpreted artistically.
My songwriting process is quite convoluted and sometimes a little serendipitous lol. My feelings and emotions are the catalysts that fuel the songs I create. Music is always on my mind and I am always humming a unique melody that could potentially be my next song. I have close to 400 voice memos of song ideas! I like to start with a motif and then the lyrics start to flow naturally. Once I have a solid idea of what I would like to write about, I start to expand on the melody and the lyrics simultaneously. I do this until the song feels good to me.
Calm Down is upbeat, jazzy poppy sound through most of the song. Then there’s a entire mood shift for the last 20 seconds. It’s something that makes the whole song really pop. How or why did you decide to add the calming Calm Down ending?
I decided to add the subdued ending to Calm Down to emphasize my soulful vocals. In that section I was vulnerable. It was an impromptu performance based on what felt good to me at that moment. I wanted to emphasize the message of the song and interpret it musically.
Can you tell us about the inspiration for Carnations for You? It’s a slower, more somber, soulful.
Carnations for You is a deeply personal song. It was inspired by my mother. I grew up in a single-parent household and my mother was not in the picture. Ironically, this song was inspired by a picture I took with my Mother when I was five years old. Every time I listen to Carnations for You, I think of that picture. My mother had personal issues that prevented her from being capable of being in my life. I understand it was for the best and I come to terms with that in the song. This song is a letter to my mother, letting her know that I loved her and that I never stopped thinking about her throughout my life. I wanted the music to be tender, and soft, almost like a lullaby a mother would sing to her baby.
Do you have any upcoming shows? Or open mic nights where we might be able to catch you live? Or any ideas of where you’d like to play? (Maybe we can help manifest it!)
On Sunday, December 15th from 3-5 pm, I will be performing at the MacPhail Center at the adult performance soiree event. I usually go to open mics; Finnish Bistro on Sundays, Sociable Cider on Mondays, and Flava Cafe on Thursdays. My goal is to do an album release party at the Finnish Bistro! I think that would be so awesome!! 😀Oh absolutely, if you have any suggestions for intimate shows or gigs I am open to it. I would love to perform in an intimate cozy setting. Thank you so much for your time. It has been an absolute pleasure!
Mostly Minnesota 