You would be hard pressed to find a style of music that Kristine W has not put her magical musical touch on. Whether it’s soaring duets with icons like Patti LaBelle, collaborations with mix masters like Tony Moran or Tracy Young, or her stunning and acclaimed jazz album of classic Kristine W “Straight Up With A Twist”, everything Kristine W delivers is with a healthy dose of heart and love for the LGBTQ community. As she prepares to take the stage with Thunders
(Photo Courtesy-Korby Banner)
MC: Tell me about Pride on The Drive event with Thunderpuss 200 at Hunters…Nightclub in Wilton Manors….
Kristine W: It’s gonna be fun! Thunderpuss 2000 is going to be there, so we go way back! I am always in the studio with Chris Cox and we just did the US Pride Conference which was insane, and really fun. It was so organized was so much fun, probably the best that I had been too. It was upligiting and a lot of togetherness which really made me feel good. People supporting each other and all that, it really made my heart happy.
MC: Thunderpuss 2000 reuniting last year and you being on a bill with them is dance legend overload for the fans!
KW: Oh yeah! I’m friends with both Barry (Harris) and Chris and have been trying to get those guys back together for like eighteen years; and it finally happened! I guess relationships like that are so close and there is just so much that you don’t know about. It was a blessing and it feels good that everyone encouraged them for so long to heal whatever wasn’t working. They are just magical together.
MC: Your new single “By My Side” seems to be another amazing era of Kristine W. What’s wonderful is that no matter the era, the fans return to the dance floor and still love supporting you!
KW: And that makes my heart so happy! It’s really not easy creating music with the people that I want to work with. At least fifty percent of them are located in the UK, its much easier to work with and talk to the US guys. It’s much more difficult when you have guys in Holland and England; we’re all vampires anyway, so that makes it ever harder, no one knows when anyone is awake! So it takes a lot longer than people think to release an album that you are super proud of. I am super picky about what I put out because you can’t take it back, you can’t say “I changed my mind”. There are rare instances that a major label will pull anything and they can’t do it when you’re an independent label, so you have to be really careful what you put out; you can’t really make any mistakes. It’s gonna be right, the remixes have to be right, everything.
MC: What can you tell us about the brand new album?
KW: It definitely covers a vast range of stories. The people on the album that have co-wrote, remixed and produced songs is like a who’s who of dance music. Tracy Young wrote a song with me, 7th Heaven are amazing, Chris Cox wrote a song with me and is working on production, and Lee Dagger wrote a song with me. We’ve all dealt with loss, romantic love, and friendship love and losses of proportion over the last three years. It is lifting people up and letting them know that they’re not alone with the feelings that they have. You’re not alone in the journey, it might be slightly different, but we’re all feeling the same thing. It feels like it’s good medicine for people. If the stories are deep, than we make the production happy and we balance everything. It’s supposed to lift you; it’s okay to cry in your Wheaties for a little while, but we have to keep it cracking! It’s my job to encourage you guys to get out there and slay dragons!
MC: What do you think, after such a storied career and being the eighth highest dance artist in history, that you have learned the most about the dance and LGBTQ community or a lesson you have learned?
KW: I used to tell everyone that dance music is the pop music of tomorrow and people would stare at me like I was out of my mind! I would say that gay people would be able to legally get married, it’s going to happen. I can see great things happening; but you have to fight through the negative energy of humans to get through to it. “Land of the Living” was me experiencing the people having cancer, friends dying of AIDS, that was letting them know that good things happen and you will be able to live with AIDS, they’re working on it, stay hopeful & don’t give up. Here we are and those same friends are out on the dance floor with me and they have huge careers. They’re in the land of the living and I am just so proud of them.
MC: You mentioned “Land of the Living” and I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you about working with the iconic Patti LaBelle on this track on her album…
KW: Well when she called me and said she wanted to do a duet and her assistant Sammy called me, who I adore. He had been to a couple of shows of mine and said Patti “listens to ‘Land of the Living’ all the time, her mom and sister had passed, and that keeps her going and fires her up to go out on stage”. You think they’re just saying that, then you get the phone call that Patti LaBelle wants you to go into the studio and do “Land of the Living” with you; it was like I was getting punk’d (laughs)!
When I came to the studio and she had her mink coat and her glass of wine I was like “Wow this is how we do it, okay”! She had been in the studio so much she basically had made it like her home. It was a little chilly in there so she had her fur coat on, her glass of wine and it was just so fun; she is just amazing. We had an evening session and she was really relaxed and I was just in awe. I was at the board watching her and to this day, it is just surreal; absolutely iconic.
MC: In today’s music industry, so much music is churned out from “the machine”, but your music always seems particularly and specially curated for your fans. What do you want fans to take from “By Your Side”?
KW: I think sometimes we take for granted the people that have been with us and supported us, friends and family that have always been cheering us on. I think after a while you expect them almost to be there. One day for whatever reason…like my mom passed away (pauses). My dad died when I was three, so her being by my side was very pivotal. She was also a working musician, small rooms and things like that. I learned so much from her, her rapport with the audience, and just how wonderful she was. It’s just a message to celebrate the people around you, don’t take them for granted. It’s a celebration of those people that championed us.
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