Get To Know: Sipprell

Sipprell taken by Matt Allen

There has been a renegotiation of motherhood in relation to music, especially in the genres of Soul and R&B. The following come to mind when thinking about women who are either new mothers themselves or who have recently engaged with the thought of motherhood, Cleo Sols’ Mother, Mira May’s Tales of a Miracle, Marie Dalhstrom’s A Good Life and Mnelia’s Closure Tapes’ EP all explore motherhood through the gaze of the mother through in some capacity, during and after pregnancy.

And now, in the comfort of our own homes via Zoom on a blue skies Sunday morning I had the chance to meet Sipprell, a highly solidified presence of the UK R&B and Soul scene.

We spoke about her debut album Peace in the Madness, a collection of experiences that stem from a variety of feelings that include loss, grief, love and a close look at personal relationships and yes, motherhood.

Growing up in a very musical family, her dad was a pianist who was always playing classical music in the house and her mum of Greek-Cypriot descent used to sing in the Greek clubs. Fondly, Sipprell remembers going with her on one occasion and performing at the 10.

Composed of 13 tracks with a minimalistic approach to production you are immediately entranced by a deeply moving tone of voice that the South Londoner taps into effortlessly. It flows with care at a leisurely pace sharing with us her personal stories.

Moments of stillness and clarity can be found in abundance in the therapeutic project, an artistic attempt to slow down time and be present in the moment.

“there’s always so much chaos going on around us so sometimes, we need our little escapes whatever that is, Sipprell says.

Continuing, “I don’t think we need to feel guilty for not focusing on a million things. Sometimes just zone into what gives you peace.”

Explaining the reasoning for the title of the album, Sipprell says “ So it didn’t start off as a concept album, nothing I normally ever make does because I just like to see where things go. I don’t want to box myself in.”

And as the project developed "‘Peace in the Madness’ was one of the tracks that sort of summed up where I was at making the album. Zoned in and blocking out the world."

Speaking about her experiences of being an independent artist and the financial restraints, Sipprell shares “I’ve always been self-managed, self-funded self-everything.

It takes time to get the money together to put into these projects, so I’ve never really committed to making a full album because I’ve always tried to finish off with the means I had.”

She approached a now-or-never moment when the singer found out she was expecting, feeling energised and motivated by the news, “ it gave me a new sense of purpose and I was much more inspired and motivated to commit to sitting down and finishing this album.”

The majority of the album was finished before her daughter was born, and explaining the music industry's old notions of motherhood with frank honesty, Sipprell shares “Before it use to be, oh her careers over and I’ve even in the past looked a certain people and thought oh gosh that’s the end now for her”

“Seeing it as a negative thing, and even for me it surprised me how much it helped me, how it’s helped me mature as a person. My daughter has inspired me so much I can’t even put it into words.

“There are ways of juggling your career and motherhood, it is more difficult in some ways”, admits Sipprell but she notes there has been a change in attitudes, “ I’m so glad it’s celebrated because it isn’t an ending but a new beginning, a new chapter and I think motherhood and parenthood do inspire beautiful music.

Speaking about the current state of the music industry “There’s so much saturation with so many artists, obviously, there’s a lot of distinction between many artists but a lot of them are doing the same type of style and I think there’s room for people to just be themselves.”

On navigating the ever-growing and expanding music scene she says, “There are a lot of hungry young artists who have a lot of time to do whatever they can to be noticed.”

(But) “That pressure kills a lot of art", she continues "and I think for me I’m one of those artists that if I focus too much on content I just won’t make music. I think once you make the music, then make the content. It should never be at the expense of your art.”

Previously she released three EPs in the past Bad History in 2020, I Could Be Loved in 2018 and Letter D in 2015. There are tracks on the project that can be found on the project that has appeared first on Letter D such as crowd favourite ‘King Confined’.

“That track has resonated with a lot of people”, she shares “I always knew that I wanted to redo it at some point and I thought, this is my first album I need to get this on here.”

“ I think it’s quite a vulnerable album and I think when people listen to it I want them to be able to relate to things and feel more open themselves.”

Drawing the interview to a close, Sipprell goes to perform on VicMeets hosted by BBC Radio 1’s Future Soul presenter, Victoria Jane who’s a champion of the ever-growing R&B scene

The album is a demonstration of artistic growth, and personal development, as well as a nod to the contemporary independent artist and if one thing can be taken from the album it’s the importance of finding the time to be still to enjoy the moments in the chaos of life and appreciate the ones you love.

“That’s life aint it”, she says with a laugh. “Everything can be related back to love.”

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