Interview with Alesia Dessau from Natural Selection


Q: Natural Selection exists since 1996. Congratulations to your 10th anniversary by the way. Please tell me more about these ten years. Your website says you started as a jazz quartet. What did happen that made you change your sound?

Alesia Dessau: Thank you! I started singing jazz in restaurants for extra money while in college. I had written some songs and started bringing my charts to gigs. The musicians liked my music and that gave me the confidence to share more of my music. We then began to rearrange jazz standards and adding R&B songs such as "Feel Like Makin Love" by Roberta Flack and "Superstar" by Lauryn Hill to the sets. After college, it was hard to keep a band together, so I concentrated on writing songs while looking for new musicians.

Q: How would you describe Natural Selection's music to someone who hasn't heard you before? And who has influenced you in the ten years of existence.

Alesia Dessau: I would describe Natural Selection's sound as "Original Soul". Some of our influences are Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Donny Hathaway, Phyllis Hyman, Incognito, Brand New Heavies and Stevie Wonder. Given the various backgrounds of the musicians of Natural Selection, our sound is truly eclectic. We mix a bit of R&B, funk, rock and hip hop into our sound...and it's always groovin!

Q: How many members are there in the band? You website lists six, Come On Over features eleven musicians and in the liner notes you mention your manager Jose Perez as nineth member. So I'm a little confused about the numbers of band members.

Alesia Dessau: Currently there are six members in Natural Selection. There were eight members at the time of the recording and we had three guest musicians. As for Jose Perez, he helps us out with everything from taking me to my voice lessons to writing songs to handling most of our business relations.

Q: It looks to me like Come On Over is your debut album. How come it took you so long to release an album?

Alesia Dessau: Everything has its season.

Q: I really like the inclusion of Monica McIntyre and her cello. Please tell me how you've teamed up with her and what was it like working with he

Alesia Dessau: I met Monica at the Philadelphonic Jam Session at the Khyber in Philly. She was playing cello and singing. I liked her style and I thought that a cello would enhance our sound. She played with us for about three years.

Q: In songs like Unity you also address political issues. Why do you think it's important for musicians to write about politics as well? And what's your opinion why there aren't so many musicians in the soul genre nowadays that mention political affairs.

Alesia Dessau: I think it's important to write what's on your heart. I don't think of myself as a "political" person but rather a socially conscious one.

Q: Philadelphia is reported to have one of the highest murder and violent crime rate in the USA. Does this affect your everyday life? And does it have an impact on the music scene

Alesia Dessau: It does affect my music. "Get Through" was written about someone close to me that was taken away by senseless violence. It was a way to express myself but also to help someone who listened to it, get over their loss.

Q: Would it be an option for you to sign with a major label? And what do you think of the music business the way the majors handle it these days with releasing copy-protected CDs and mainly investing in one-hit-wonders for example.

Alesia Dessau: If we were offered a good deal, yes. We would reach more listeners and we could reach them faster. We're not pressed, GOD BLESS THE INTERNET!!! It allows us the freedom to not have to be dependent on a major label. Many musicians are doing the "indie" thing these days. It's a business and like any business, you need to be well versed and have an excellent lawyer.

Q: Your website tells us that "Natural Selection truly excels in live performance". What chance do we have in Europe to see you live in the near future

Alesia Dessau: We are working with some contacts in Germany and in the UK to see what we can do about that in the very near future. We are definitely a band hire, so anyone who is interested in having us play for them is more than welcome to check out our website and contact us. Our website is naturalselectionmusic.com.

For more infos visit naturalselectionmusic.com, cdbaby.com and read my review of Come On Over.