CULTURE CLUB
ON THE SCENE
Soul Life and
Lemar sits down with Miriam Balanescu to reflect on two decades since his breakout album and contemplate one of his first comeback gigs at The Cambridge Club Festival
T hinking back to 20 years ago, it’s likely that slouchy, low- waist jeans, unnecessary belts, brick-sized phones and Craig David are a few of the things that come to mind. The year 2003 was also when Lemar – a staple artist of the noughties – emerged, having grabbed the showbiz industry’s attention while on reality show Fame Academy . His debut album Dedicated spawned some of the decade’s biggest hits, from Dance (With U) to Lullaby , and though the singer has been keeping relatively quiet on the scene for a while, he is about to come roaring back. “It was daunting before I started,” Lemar admits. “But once I got the ball rolling, it’s been nice. The support has been really cool.” Though his last album release was 11 years ago, Lemar has by no means been on a break. The artist has been keeping busy writing for other musicians and has even begun to dabble in acting – most recently in Bridgerton spin-off Queen Charlotte . “I’ve always wanted to try a bit of
‘Yeah, I have new stuff.’ But, you know, I was busy doing other things. I can’t really say ‘come and celebrate 20 years of me’ without giving them something new.” Page in My Heart blends a familiar 80s soul soundscape with a modern edge. Electronics and synths spruce up the classic Lemar sound, bringing the music right up to date. Lemar reveals it was a balancing act between the old and new. “My voice lends itself well to particular types of songs, more emotional ones. To get that across but also move the sound forward a bit – without turning my back on people who like me for a certain style – was always a challenge.” The biggest change, the singer insists, is not his music but the way it is now released. “Music will always evolve and progress to new forms or flavours of the same thing,” he says. “But the way it’s being consumed, I think, has been the biggest difference: the fact that songs are now shorter, attention spans seem to be shorter.
Lemar has been sitting on since before the pandemic. The idea of celebrating the anniversary of his debut album encouraged him to finally take the plunge: “I wanted to do a few shows. But over the years a lot of my core fans have asked me, ‘When are you doing an album? Can we hear new songs?’ And I’ve told them:
DEDICATED Beloved singer Lemar returns to the fray with a fresh
album this year, titled Page in My Heart
“I try to keep my writing as personal and as true as possible,” he adds. At Cambridge Club Festival this summer, Lemar will be mixing up classic hits with fresh new singles. “At the end of my recent show, I got to see a lot of fans who have come along over the years, but this time they’re bringing their kids who are teenagers or almost 20. They’re also saying hello, how fabulous the show was and that their parents told them about me – it’s changing that way. But it’s pretty cool.”
acting,” the pop star says. “And it’s nice to finally get my foot through the door, start getting one or two roles and seeing how that feels. There is a parallel in that, when I’m on set, I feel a bit more comfortable in front of camera. Obviously, as a musician, you do make music videos!” This year felt like the right time to return to releasing his own music, some of which My voice lends itself to emotional songs
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK JUNE 2023 23
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