Brit Pack Interviews
CARON WHEELER
9/20/13
Name: Caron Wheeler
Profession: Singer/Songwriter/Producer
Current Residence: New York
Previous Residence: Dulwich, South London
Left UK in: 1994
Summertime, all-day raves, African map medallions, house parties and sound systems.
Nearly 25 years after some of their biggest hits Soul II Soul’s music still has the ability to take you right back to where you heard it first.
Founded in 1982 Soul II Soul was initially a sound system, but it became an empire.
As one of the most influential British acts of all time the collective has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and received international acclaim.
Their mix of soulful harmonies, dub-inspired beats and pop melodies was unashamedly British - a sound that the band’s frontman, Jazzie B, says ‘could only have been created in London’.
But not long after the height of their success the group’s most memorable vocalist, Caron Wheeler, left the UK spotlight and moved to America. She’s remained there for the last 20 years.
“I’ve been coming back and forth to the States since I was about 19,” she tells me from her home in New York. “I was so in love with Motown artists and for me I just wanted to go to America because they’d been doing it the longest. I just felt like I wanna be like them. It made no sense staying in England.”
I’d caught the busy singer at a rare calm moment. She was just about to start her day and with her 8-year-old daughter sleeping peacefully it was the perfect time to find out what prompted her to relocate in the first place.
Despite riding the wave of success from hits like ‘Back to Life’ and ‘Keep on Movin’ Caron was going through a tough time in her personal life and wanted to get away.
In 1994 she made the permanent move to Los Angeles, sponsored by EMI Records.
“I lived there for a year,” she remembers. “I rented a fabulous house and about 6 weeks later the Rodney King incident happened and then the riots. They had the National Guard at the end of my street which I’d never experienced before. There was an 8pm curfew, all this craziness going on. I thought, ‘what have I done?’ I really felt my American dream crashing.”
Like every new Brit in town, she was amazed at how much attention her accent received.
“I got a bit annoyed with it. I was like why are you so stunned that a black person with dreads is talking like a white English person? Calm down and keep your hair on! That’s one of the reasons why I wrote the record ‘UK Blak’ because I was so fed up with it and I just needed to say something that helped me get if off my chest.”
Although the album did produce one of her biggest solo single’s, ‘Livin' In The Light’, it didn’t do as well as she’d hoped.
“It wasn’t a big success because the record company didn’t know what they were doing,” Caron admits, her tone a fervent mix of irritation and regret.
“I was supposed to sign to Warner Bros with Benny Medina but EMI took over the deal. They didn’t know what to do with me but Benny did and I was so gutted. EMI was just trying to go after what they thought would be the next big thing.”
Profession: Singer/Songwriter/Producer
Current Residence: New York
Previous Residence: Dulwich, South London
Left UK in: 1994
Summertime, all-day raves, African map medallions, house parties and sound systems.
Nearly 25 years after some of their biggest hits Soul II Soul’s music still has the ability to take you right back to where you heard it first.
Founded in 1982 Soul II Soul was initially a sound system, but it became an empire.
As one of the most influential British acts of all time the collective has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and received international acclaim.
Their mix of soulful harmonies, dub-inspired beats and pop melodies was unashamedly British - a sound that the band’s frontman, Jazzie B, says ‘could only have been created in London’.
But not long after the height of their success the group’s most memorable vocalist, Caron Wheeler, left the UK spotlight and moved to America. She’s remained there for the last 20 years.
“I’ve been coming back and forth to the States since I was about 19,” she tells me from her home in New York. “I was so in love with Motown artists and for me I just wanted to go to America because they’d been doing it the longest. I just felt like I wanna be like them. It made no sense staying in England.”
I’d caught the busy singer at a rare calm moment. She was just about to start her day and with her 8-year-old daughter sleeping peacefully it was the perfect time to find out what prompted her to relocate in the first place.
Despite riding the wave of success from hits like ‘Back to Life’ and ‘Keep on Movin’ Caron was going through a tough time in her personal life and wanted to get away.
In 1994 she made the permanent move to Los Angeles, sponsored by EMI Records.
“I lived there for a year,” she remembers. “I rented a fabulous house and about 6 weeks later the Rodney King incident happened and then the riots. They had the National Guard at the end of my street which I’d never experienced before. There was an 8pm curfew, all this craziness going on. I thought, ‘what have I done?’ I really felt my American dream crashing.”
Like every new Brit in town, she was amazed at how much attention her accent received.
“I got a bit annoyed with it. I was like why are you so stunned that a black person with dreads is talking like a white English person? Calm down and keep your hair on! That’s one of the reasons why I wrote the record ‘UK Blak’ because I was so fed up with it and I just needed to say something that helped me get if off my chest.”
Although the album did produce one of her biggest solo single’s, ‘Livin' In The Light’, it didn’t do as well as she’d hoped.
“It wasn’t a big success because the record company didn’t know what they were doing,” Caron admits, her tone a fervent mix of irritation and regret.
“I was supposed to sign to Warner Bros with Benny Medina but EMI took over the deal. They didn’t know what to do with me but Benny did and I was so gutted. EMI was just trying to go after what they thought would be the next big thing.”
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America was having a love affair with Soul II Soul and EMI had jumped on the love boat.
The country embraced the group’s fusion of tribal energy and cultural pride almost in an instant and welcomed the sultry, dreadlocked singer with open arms. In 1990 the group received two Grammy’s; ‘Back to Life’ reached the Top 10 and was certified platinum and the album, 'Club Classics Vol.1', sold over two million copies. You’ll still hear a Soul II Soul anthem during an old school hour over here. Caron has no idea why Americans connected so deeply with their music. “I’m just glad they did!” she tells me. “I was surprised that ‘Keep on Movin’ set it off like that. New Jack Swing was big at the time and it was a lot slower than anything else that was going on in America.” |
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That slower tempo was Caron’s suggestion. She reworked the disco track into a mellower arrangement, so the song’s message could be fully absorbed.
“I wanted to make it so people could remember it, keep it simple and keep it pure to bring people up.”
There’s an undeniable magic that occurs when Caron and Jazzie are in the studio together. So much so that, in a transatlantic thirst for scandal perhaps, rumours in the American press at the time hinted the pair were a couple.
But Caron squashes that speculation.
“There wasn’t anything going on,” she says about her relationship with Jazzie. “We’re like twins, both born the same year, in the same month, both Capricorns.”
Their unique connection created timeless, classic music but it also resulted in fierce disagreements and the pair stopped speaking for over a decade.
During that time Caron thrived on the US underground scene. She moved from LA to New York and has continued writing and performing across the US. She also formed her own company, Power Phoenix Entertainment and describes it as a place where creative people can get a great deal.
Despite not having major visibility in the last few years, the singer still gets recognized in the street and asked the inevitable question - when are Soul II Soul coming back?
7 years ago Caron and Jazzie started working together again, to the delight of die-hard fans.
The group have been touring the UK, drawing huge crowds who are thirsty for a band who were never forgotten. The collective's achievements were recently honoured with a Music Heritage Award from the UK’s Performing Right Society (a society of songwriters, composers and music publishers)
“The fact that people have accepted us for over 25 years is crazy" Caron says humbly. “I’m just grateful that anyone remembers what I did with Soul II Soul because there were so many singers in those years after I left. I’m grateful that we all get on now - it’s a more fun environment for the fans.”
“I wanted to make it so people could remember it, keep it simple and keep it pure to bring people up.”
There’s an undeniable magic that occurs when Caron and Jazzie are in the studio together. So much so that, in a transatlantic thirst for scandal perhaps, rumours in the American press at the time hinted the pair were a couple.
But Caron squashes that speculation.
“There wasn’t anything going on,” she says about her relationship with Jazzie. “We’re like twins, both born the same year, in the same month, both Capricorns.”
Their unique connection created timeless, classic music but it also resulted in fierce disagreements and the pair stopped speaking for over a decade.
During that time Caron thrived on the US underground scene. She moved from LA to New York and has continued writing and performing across the US. She also formed her own company, Power Phoenix Entertainment and describes it as a place where creative people can get a great deal.
Despite not having major visibility in the last few years, the singer still gets recognized in the street and asked the inevitable question - when are Soul II Soul coming back?
7 years ago Caron and Jazzie started working together again, to the delight of die-hard fans.
The group have been touring the UK, drawing huge crowds who are thirsty for a band who were never forgotten. The collective's achievements were recently honoured with a Music Heritage Award from the UK’s Performing Right Society (a society of songwriters, composers and music publishers)
“The fact that people have accepted us for over 25 years is crazy" Caron says humbly. “I’m just grateful that anyone remembers what I did with Soul II Soul because there were so many singers in those years after I left. I’m grateful that we all get on now - it’s a more fun environment for the fans.”
There’s much to look forward to in Caron’s world, including watching her spirited daughter Asha blossom into a well-rounded American kid. She is always mindful about raising her in the best environment possible, which may mean having to leave the States.
In between performing and flying back and forth to the UK she's been working with British soul heavyweight Omar.
She's also accumulated a mountain of material for her solo album and written a bunch of songs for a new Soul II Soul record. The release dates for both projects are still uncertain, but what is for sure is her passion and humility have only intensified.
“I’ve been very blessed so far and I’m just grateful that at my age people still want to see me doing this. I love what I do and when Soul II Soul are on stage there's a great collective energy - we're still just happy to be nappy!"
In between performing and flying back and forth to the UK she's been working with British soul heavyweight Omar.
She's also accumulated a mountain of material for her solo album and written a bunch of songs for a new Soul II Soul record. The release dates for both projects are still uncertain, but what is for sure is her passion and humility have only intensified.
“I’ve been very blessed so far and I’m just grateful that at my age people still want to see me doing this. I love what I do and when Soul II Soul are on stage there's a great collective energy - we're still just happy to be nappy!"
Follow Caron on Twitter @caronwheeler
