The Official Krystal Klearย is a daring singer and songwriter who embraces the complexity of womanhood through her genre-defying music. Her sound embodies a wide range of emotions and experiences: from tenderness and strength to freedom and revolution, raw sexuality to pure love, fantasy to heartbreak, and innocence to justice and divine spirituality. Listening toย Krystalย Klearย is an exploration of contrasts, illustrating the harmony between light and dark. Check out the exclusive Interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: Well, I was born in the deep South. My parents were born in the deep South. They moved our family to Syracuse, NY and thatโs where I was raised. We stuck out like sore thumbs in our neighborhood, being the only family of color, so we had to assimilate. However, Syracuse couldnโt take Louisiana out of us so we became chameleons able to blend into any group. We were naturally artistic and by we, I mean my sister and I. We sang, we danced, we were content creators from birth. But I was the one who excelled in the arts. I wrote my first song when I was about 4 or 5 years old called โWhat You Gonna Do When Iโm Gone?โ Notwithstanding, both of my parents were and are musical as well. My mother was part of a female trio; think Motown, and my father was a songwriter who loved the Blues.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: I was always a natural: singer, songwriter, choreographer, actor, you name it. I was a formally trained violinist and I did theater and choir/chorus, but everything else was just pure and natural talent.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name โKRYSTAL KLEAR?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: Well, my first musical influences were what was shared with me by my parents and my favorite Auntie. Music like Earth Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Rufus and Chaka and Teena Marie. My love of what they now call โclassic rockโ came from my dad and my environment. So, I loved artists such as Jimi, The Doobie Brothers, The Doors, The Eagles. Later on, I became obsessed with Prince, Vanity 6, The Time, and I still am to this day. Then all of the artists from the incredible 80s. And of course, I canโt forget 80s hip-hop. My Brooklyn fam lovingly teases me about being from Syracuse, but I say to them, โdonโt sleep.โ I loved Rakim and Kane as well as Tribe and De La. Make a long story short, I was influenced by many, many different genres and sounds. And my name? The name Krystal Klear was bestowed upon me.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: Iโm genre fluid. I have something for everyone. However, I do know that I must be authentic and I think that authenticity is what resonates. The different messages in my lyrics resonate. I can go from hard to soft; the light and the shadow. I can sing or rap about love, joy, hate, fear, anger or indifference: I write about the human experience. In terms of my singing voice, I donโt sound like other females. I thought that was an obstacle at first but now I realize that itโs not.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as POP?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: True. Well, once you learn that you may not be able to hit the notes like Chaka or Beyonce, or you canโt riff and project like Mary J., and you accept it, then thatโs when you embrace and develop your own style. Iโm not an R&B singer in the sense that I donโt have that typical R&B voice. However, I can sing R&B. And that goes for any genre: rock, pop, dance, nu-disco, whatever. Understand? When I first started recording with Juice Da Witch Docta and 12 Tribes Musik, my label and producer, we tried different things. I was given an opportunity to write to different genres and styles. And it all just elevated from there as I became more confident and more expressive and more inventive and more experimental.
6. Whatโs your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles โ and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: Definitely. Both. Again, I write about the human experience. I am a spiritual being in a human body. We all are yet most havenโt embraced that concept yet. So, when I create, I try to incorporate everything that I can into it from song to song, whether itโs social commentary or to express spirituality or just simply to entertain. I have something for everyone. Andโฆ Iโve been told that I have about 100 different sides. I share all of those sides in my songs.
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: Thereโs definitely more to come in the future. I feel that up to now, weโve been doing some A/B testing, if you will. 12 Tribes is now allowing me the freedom to creatively control my sound and my image, and youโll get to see that in 2025.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process
KRYSTAL KLEAR: All that. Sometimes, the songs write themselves and by that, I mean, Iโll be inspired by an idea or a sound, and then the Divine take over, like automatic writing. Often times, Iโve been asked to write and record a hook with just the track or with the leads already laid down. And I just do it.
There are times where I hear an idea or read a phrase, and then it develops from there once I get a good track to go with it. Then Juice works with me to refine it. With that being said, I canโt say that I have a defined creative process. Itโs not linear. It just happens and I allow it.
9. What has been the most difficult thing youโve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: The most difficult thing Iโve had to endure in life is life itself. Life has a way of taking over and by that I mean having to deal with the rat race. Itโs never-ending if you let it be. However, if you have a calling and a purpose, one day youโll decide to get out of the rat race and focus on that thing that will fulfill you and give you joy. Again, weโre spiritual beings. Weโre here to experience life and to learn certain lessons. At the same time, we all have something that makes us magical. We just need to embrace it and real-life it. For me, itโs music, itโs singing and songwriting. It always has been. And so it is.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
KRYSTAL KLEAR: Doing it. Going for it. Taking inspired action behind it.
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