Chanelle Dupre

By Alex Teitz

Chanelle Dupre has been studying music from an early age. Her range of music ability includes voice, piano, violin and percussion. Classically trained at The Royal Conservatory of Music, Dupre moved into a dance, R & B style. In 1999 she won the best Urban/R&B category at The West Coast Music Awards. Her current release, Make Your Move, is available on her website. FEMMUSIC was able to catch up with Dupre for an e-mail interview. For more information visit chanelledupre.com

FEMMUSIC:  Can you describe your songwriting technique?

CP: When co-writing with a songwriting partner, I will usually get musical tracks from the collaborator and listen to the track a while until an idea for lyrics and melody develop. I begin to write lyrics based on the idea and hum the melody to fit the pockets of the song…in the past I’ve done all the vocal and musical arrangements of the song..

I’m not really a disciplined writer, when I write on my own I write when I’m inspired…I can be inspired at anytime doing anything.. Sometimes driving my car….when I hear a melody in my head I will sit at the piano and play some chords until I feel I have a descent chord progression that fits the melody… At this point I write the lyrics and develop it to fit the music…sometimes this approach is more challenging because the lyrics have not yet been written and trying to say what you wanna say to fit the melody and the music is quite the task… But I’m generally a groove-oriented and inspired songwriter and most of my songs were developed from musical tracks given to me or written by me….

FEMMUSIC:  Who have been your biggest musical influences?

CP: My biggest musical influences have been Mariah Carey for her vocal style, Madonna for her versatility, Janet Jackson for her showmanship, and Sara Mclaughlan for her brilliance in songwriting

FEMMUSIC:  How did you meet Dale Penner? How was it working with him on your CD?

CP: I can’t quite recall how I met Dale Penner.. Must have been through recommendation as many of the artists he works with are through referrals and recommendation… I handed him a press kit with some demo tracks to audition. Shortly after he decided to work with me, I received a F.A.C.T.O.R (foundation to assist Canadian talent on records) grant to do the album so I had at least 50% of the recording funding….

FEMMUSIC:  What was your biggest challenge making your CD?

CP: The biggest challenge was time constraint and funding… Because of the tight budget we were only able to do the entire album in 10 days… And I found myself doing a vocal marathon with back to back recording of vocals 4 days in a row 8-12 tracks per song with all the leads and background…. About 6-8 hours of singing each day….

FEMMUSIC:  What was your best experience making the CD?

CP: The best experience was the performance part (singing) of course, which I enjoyed a lot, and also the programming and producing part when we were getting musical ideas and sounds together…

FEMMUSIC:  Tell me about The Women Rock! Society & your role with it?

CP: The Women Rock! Society is a non-profit organization comprised of 5 female society members including myself. This organization was founded by Joyelle Brandt, a university student and musical artist from B.C., whose idea was to establish a scholarship made available to young female aspiring musicians and songwriters looking to further their career in music.

We held an event on march 7th at a Vancouver nightclub to raise the funds for the scholarship. We had an array of talented, female musical artists perform that evening. It was incredibly successful….

I am the spokesperson for the foundation and a society member. Along with my publicist, we sought as much media attention to get the word out about the event thus making it a successful one…

FEMMUSIC:. As a woman in the music industry, have you been discriminated against?

CP: Being female in the music industry as a performer has been beneficial.. But as a business woman in a male dominated industry I’ve had some challenges… The difficulty in this business when you are female, independent and self-managed is that sometimes men will not take you seriously.. I’ve had my share of sexual harassment in this business but it hasn’t discouraged me from persevering…. I think a woman just needs to know how to use their sexuality without compromising it to get where they want to get to… I think using a combination of charm, wit, intelligence and professionalism will gain respect for the artist more than anything….and to me, the basis of success in this business is talent, perseverance and passion…

FEMMUSIC:  What one thing would you like to see changed about the music industry?

CP: I’d like to see more opportunities for independent artists to be heard on radio via specialty programming and I’d also like to see more Asian and other minority artists breakthrough to the level of Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion etc…

FEMMUSIC:  What advice would you have for an artist just starting out?

CP: I would advise an artist to always keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to perform your music, to write with other talented songwriters, and to get as much exposure possible. Perseverance, patience, enthusiasm, professionalism and passion are characteristic of any successful person in any industry and adopting these traits will help them get further in their career…

FEMMUSIC:  What are your plans for the future?

CP: My plans include touring and showcasing throughout Canada starting with Edmonton in august, doing a few shows in Seattle again, opening for bigger acts and hopefully going over seas to perform as well…