Renée’s latest track, “Call U Mine,” is a mesmerizing fusion of garage, jazz, and dance with a pop twist. In this exclusive interview, she delves into the inspirations behind this unique blend of genres, her early forays into the arts, and her creative collaboration with Curt Lopez Faulkner Jr. But “Call U Mine” is more than just a song; it’s an introspective and uplifting journey that explores the delicate balance between love and personal growth. Renée’s music is a reflection of her journey of self-discovery, and she shares her vision for the future, promising more exciting projects and a commitment to celebrating her own story and perspective fully. Join us as we step into the captivating world of Renée and “Call U Mine.”
Renée, “Call U Mine” is described as a captivating blend of garage, jazz, and dance with a pop twist. Can you share what inspired this unique fusion of genres in your latest track?
I’d been listening to a lot of artists like PinkPantheress, Raye and Disco and find the dance-garage fusion trend so exciting – you’ve got a beat that always does the job, and complete freedom to go anywhere you want with it. I’d also been listening to the Listen Without Prejudice album by George Michael, and I love his blends of jazz with a thumping house beat. I always thought I could do a good job at making a track like that, and so I put myself in a room with independent producer Curt Lopez Faulkner Jr, who is a DJ, producer and also a great jazz pianist.
Growing up in the Netherlands, you started expressing your spirit through poems, songs, and school plays. How has your early involvement in the arts influenced your songwriting style and approach to music?
Any Dutch person will tell you we’re not necessarily encouraged to pursue art for a living, and it’s incredibly undervalued in most schools and funding programmes. But I was a funny, angsty child with a lot of nervous energy that needed to go somewhere, so writing poems came as a release for me. It always felt like it came from somewhere safe, outside of my own head, from a source that just knew all the answers. It wasn’t until I was 10 that I realised, I could put the melodies in my head, to those same words. Even today, I write my best work when I pretend its not really me, writing them. I like to think they were written already, and I’m just locating them to put it on paper.
Could you tell us more about your collaboration with Curt Lopez Jr. on “Call U Mine”? How did the creative process unfold, and what role did personal experiences play in shaping the song?
I came into his room, where he has a little studio installation. I mentioned to him I wanted to try garage mixed with something soulful. I was in a bit of an agitated mood, as I’d just had an argument with my mom over the phone, which is where the lyric ‘start a fight so i can feel an emotion’ comes from.
While I pulled myself together, Curt laid out this thumping beat, which I liked. Then he started playing these gorgeous luscious jazz chords and it reminded me of this hook that I’d come up with, half asleep in the middle of the night, on my way to the bathroom. Curt played off what I was singing and it became the chorus. The rest of the song just wrote itself from there.
I think it’s really important to work with people who are able to feed off you and you off them, rather than people who just have to have their way. That’s when you can really create electricity and make the best song possible.
“Call You Mine” appears to capture the struggle between love and personal growth. How do you balance these themes in your music, and what message do you hope listeners take away from this track?
Ultimately, you can dive into the song as deep as you want. I hope it makes women feel sexy and poweful, and helps them embrace their duality. People are too harsh on young women in love – you’re either a prude or a slut and there’s no room to be whichever version of yourself you wanna be for a while. If the men can sing about knowing they wanna fuck girls, hell, I can sing a little celebration song on not knowing what I want. Shit is never that deep and it’s your life to live, so live it without inhibition or fear of judgement, darling
You mentioned that moving to London has led you to focus on personal growth and your music rather than seeking a romantic relationship. How does this journey into self-discovery influence your songwriting and creative direction?
I’ve spent the last 6 months between my latest releases in search of my identity as a woman, as an artist. I’ve found the point is to tell the world how you see it, and how you exist within it – not the other way around. Once I stopped trying to fit into boxes, and just made what I wanted to make, I started being so much happier and more productive. I see the world as one to be enjoyed and experienced, in which I have a lot to prove.
It’s become my mission to accept the extremes of myself, and use them to do exactly that. I love how the coverart of this single represents that. I proposed the idea of a dual woman to Maximiliaan van Es, who is also a Dutch creative living in the city, who liked the idea and proposed we photoshop a kiss between my two selves. It literally reflects me embracing myself fully , echoing the process of self love and growth I’ve been through over the past half year.
“Call You Mine” is described as an introspective yet uplifting journey. Can you elaborate on the emotions and experiences that inspired this song and how they manifest in the music?
I always struggle to balance loving another and growing myself, in life. Call U Mine, in the instrumental alone, already represents that struggle perfectly. Personal growth to me means working on music, my body, my mind. Uplifting myself, doing what makes me feel good, creating a life that I can be proud of and really live. The thumping beat – it makes you wanna move, get active. And then those romantic chords are so comforting and seductive. The lyrics are also.contradicting – the first verse pushes the lover away, and in the second verse I change my mind. But the chorus really says it all..
In your musical journey, you’ve explored a wide range of styles, from electronic R&B to jazz rock. How do you approach incorporating such diverse influences into your music, and what do you find most rewarding about this versatility?
I don’t sit and go: ‘i’m gonna make a dance track influenced by jazz and hints of whatever’ – I think we’re gifted an idea by the spheres, and its up to us artists to express it outward, whatever that is at a time. One day that might be a deep soul ballad, the next it might be a meaningless pop anthem about sex – it’s my two sides at play with each other, and if one runs out I know I can always count on the other. I need them both to stay interesting and to keep myself entertained. I get too in my own head otherwise.
It excites me to see more women in music express their multitudes and be rewarded for it, in music, in film. I want to be a part of that movement and show that women can be pop without selling out their creativity.
With the release of “Call You Mine,” what can your fans expect in terms of future projects or upcoming releases? Are there any exciting plans on the horizon that you can share?
I’ve finished a bunch of songs that are all in the dance realm, in which I’ve really found my rhythm. Dance is fresh, fun and anthemic but you can take so many different directions within. It’s the ultimate loophole of pop, I think. These projects are in the mix now, and I’m preparing the visuals as well.
How do you see your music evolving in the near future, and are there specific themes or artistic directions you’re eager to explore in your upcoming work?
For my next projects, my goal is to push myself past my comfort zone vocally, while preserving and nourishing my essence and strengths. In writing, I wanna celebrate my version of myself and my femininity without rejecting inherent parts of both. I want to shout out my origins, my quirks and more boldly show who I really am, at my best. Not overthink, do what I’ve always wanted to do.
I also want to work exclusively with other independent immigrant creatives in London, specifically from the Netherlands. There are so many countries being underappreciated internationally, and I want to prove to the rest of the world that young independent creatives can create something hugely successful together, that we don’t need to be born into connections, nor do we need a label’s approval to be successful.
In a few words, how would you describe the essence of “Call U Mine” and its significance in your musical journey? What makes this track stand out in your discography, and what do you hope it brings to your audience?
A celebration of female duality. It represents the beginning of a new creative era, in which I’m accepting myself fully, pushing my boundaries toward reinventing my essence, and finding my sound. It’s the first track in which I’m not the producer and the start of a series of collaborations with other young immigrant creatives, musically and visually. It’s the song from which onward I begin to value my own story and perspective enough to tell it in my songs, as it is. The one where I finally stopped ignoring myself, and started celebrating her.