KABELLE
Ahh. Zoom©. So efficient…when it has connectivity.
In this case it did not work when I was scheduled to meet Katie Jones (Kabelle) the first time for our interview.
Relegating ourselves to a phone conversation on WhatsApp™ worked; however, note-taking was the end result of our interview rather than securing a recording.
It did not stop her presence from shining through, thankfully.
As a little girl from the Isle of Wight, Katie was raised in a supportive, musical family who embraced (“they knew from when I was 5 that I would do something within the arts”) her determination to hit all the same high notes as one of her idols at the time, Christina Aguilera, while dancing around her room. Many youngsters barricade themselves off behind closed doors playing on computers, but that wasn’t her.
Katie has been gigging since the age of 14 from a New Year’s Eve event with her father travelling to mainland England to enter many competitions, perform solo cabarets, and shows in London theatres. She has also performed at The Royal Albert Hall.
She attended drama school in Hertfordshire, England as its youngest student that year and completed intensive training designed for graduate students.
Who is she?
I began my exploration of her life and music on several different internet sites. Oh. Ok. She does Celine Dion (!) amaaaaazingly well hitting every high note from “My Heart Will Go On” just as comfortably as the grand diva herself and filling every molecule of air with her incredible voice.
Pop Culture Diva?
But wait…
…here she is singing her rendition of the song “Home” from the 2011 Broadway show,
Wonderland:
Home is not a place
An address you memorize
It’s more than seven flights
Or apartment 8A
It’s where you’ll never feel lonely
Whenever you’re alone
That’s how you know you are home
So, she must be a musical theater actress of Disney™ caliber…
Hollywood Bound?
Keep digging.
She is one-half of the lead vocals in the group MONROE “an established vocal house group” from the United Kingdom that she and her collaborator, Kelly Schembri established in 2009. Two young women, from different Islands (Kelly being from Malta), boldly stepping into the music scene and claiming their territory.
Several of their songs such as ‘Can’t Divide Us’, ‘Something Real’, ‘Wasted Tears’ and ‘Untouchable’ have climbed pop charts internationally.
Dance-pop star?
In 2019, Katie made a leap of faith into the expatriate world in Beijing, China. What does one do with an inner light beam that keeps driving you to do more? To stretch and to grow?
You connect with an eclectic, exciting world of expat musicians who carry “home” with them wherever they go. In this case, it was the group Soul Shake ( in residence in Guomao, Beijing) who invited Katie to China and gave her a safe place to test her solo ‘chops’ on an international stage.
The People’s Republic of China provided her a varied and sophisticated audience with a thirst for both traditional and cutting-edge Western music. To feel proficient as an artist she learned a repertoire of over 600 songs.
World Artist?
Finding her way ‘home’ during isolation-
Everyone on the planet has been affected one way or another during the reign of COVID19. But what has it done to the artist communities around the world who thrive on live audiences and make their livelihood in 3D? Adjust to the 2-dimensions of screen time, of course.
Katie Jones started teaching children from the UK (ages 3-18) thirteen years ago through various theatre schools. She began teaching privately in children’s homes. Due to the pandemic, she ended up teaching online and feels very blessed to have been able to grow her business during these times. “I now teach children all over the UK instead of just London and I also have a student in the States. ”I would love to expand my student base to include students from elsewhere around the globe, too, like China. That would be amazing.” Someday, down the road, she would like to add a school to her legacy. But not quite yet. “I’m just happy to be busy with my little business.”
She was worried she could not sustain herself through this quarantine. But, ah, the youthful students of today, whose brains are hard-wired to technology and screen time, have remained her true and loyal paying followers, enabling her to hunker down at home in England to explore her edges yet again.
Teacher?
And that she has.
ZOOM™ and virtual performance have made it “easier to find collaborators during the pandemic because people are at home more”, but it has its challenges. She does a lot of “writing and singing on my own” and some of the improvisation and spontaneity of jamming in a studio or on stage is lost. Despite all the challenges, she has found some tremendous collaborators from all over the world and is now working on her own sound. “If lockdown weren’t happening it [her metamorphosis from Katie to Kabelle] wouldn’t be happening.”
This pandemic, as awful as it is, has silver linings that pigeons can fly straight through!
Katie, now known as Kabelle (pronounced Cable) has been working closely with producers and bands in Germany, Los Angeles, and the UK. The fruits of their work will be revealed later this year and early in 2021.
Coming from a generation completely different from Kabelle’s, this writer was hilariously using terms to describe Kabelle’s sound that trended long before Katie was born. Patience again is one of Katie’s strong suits. Those of us who came of age in the 70s and 80s might hear Techno mixed with Disco mixed with Pop sounds. But no, that is really not it.
Kabelle defines her current music as a blend of Synth wave, Indie, and Pop. “I think I have found my niche in the genre I am using now.”
She has entered into producing in what she describes as a predominately “male-driven genre”. When asked if she found it difficult to operate in that environment, she casually said, “No, not really. Ambition and drive are a huge part of who I am and I only want to push myself to be heard.”
What motivates Kabelle to be so prolific in her work? Her style, her vocal range and flexibility, and wanting to always do better. Her personal and professional ethics have made her a veritable collaborator in the music industry.
Of course! What artist has ever looked at their work and said, “OK. I’m done. It is good enough.”? She sees what she wants her art to look like and to sound like and will not stop till it meets her approval.
As an experienced and passionate singer finding her voice in the music industry, Kabelle understands hard-work along with the importance of remaining open-minded. She has tried many genres and is optimistic that this new phase will be the one that connects for her, her fans, and the-fans-to-come.
Her first single under her new brand, Kabelle, is titled “Accept to Enter” and is a collaboration with the UK based artist Endless Wires. It will be released on December 1, 2020.
Early in December Morphoice, a German music producer, featuring Kabelle will be releasing, “Night of the Dance”.
In the same month, another original song by the LA-based band A Dollar Underwater and Kabelle will be ready for our listen as well.
On top of these exciting collaborations happening in the UK, Germany and the States, all done within the space of a few months, Kabelle is currently working on her solo material which will be released from March 2021 onward.
Producer?
I told her that I had looked through her Instagram and other internet resources to learn about her for this article. We talked about the power and fallibility of social media. Her cautionary tale after spending months living, breathing, and working on the internet was, “Put your phones down. The purpose of social media is to get ahead. No one Snapchats bad pictures of themselves. We need to check in with each other. Reach out. Get to know people.”
Pop culture? Hollywood bound? Dance-pop star? World artist? Teacher? Producer?
Ahhh. There it is!
COMMUNICATOR.
Underneath it all, it is Katie/Kabelle’s strong desire to connect authentically with people and to communicate with them through her incredible talent. And when asked what audience she would like to reach, she simply said, “Everyone”.
‘Home’ is where your heart is. Open the door and let ‘em in.
Save me a place at the table, Kabelle!
To follow Katie’s journey: www.kjslife.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kabelleofficial/
Instagram: KABELLEOFFICIAL
Author’s note:
As Kabelle said, though, put your phones down. Connect with each other.
So, go ‘home’ with Kabelle by letting her speak to you through her music.
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Have a sparkling day,
LoP
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