insideKENT Magazine Issue 33 - December 2014 | Page 18

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
WITH THE TALENTED

Ophelia
When you think underground hip-hop,
Kent isn’t the first place that springs to
mind. However, the county is certainly
no stranger to homegrown talent. Daisy
Dunne caught up with songstress and
unique new artist, Ophelia, to talk about
her budding music career and growing
up in Kent.
Ophelia – real name Laura Thomas
– first got into music while growing
up in Kent. Having attended
TWGGS (Tunbridge Wells Girls'
Grammar School), she dreamed of
making music; in fact, she recalls
performing at the school's Stars In
Their Eyes talent competition. “One
year, we did PJ and Duncan’s “Let's
Get Ready to Rumble”, with a street
dance routine. I was Dec and
rapped all of the lyrics. That was
the first song I ever performed live.
“I had a very inspirational theatre
studies teacher, Mr Snowball, who
helped me with my confidence and
getting up on stage,” explains
Ophelia.
“My local music spot was The
Forum in Tunbridge Wells, at which
loads of great bands and hip-hop
acts came to play.” She recalls a
big Brit hip-hop movement: "My
mates were into DJing, graffiti, and
MCing. We used to go to the hip-

Ophelia’s sound is raw and unique; she contrasts brash poetic verses with
angelic soft vocals on the choruses. Her latest single is an exciting
collaboration with house producer, Brijs, and goes by the name of "Don’t
Start (This is What I Think of You)". The critically acclaimed track has scored
radio play with Radio 1, Radio Kent, and 6 Music. Lyrically, the track is
a rallying cry against an abusive home life. “The song is really personal to
me. I had been reflecting on the story I talk about in the song, and it was
good to get it out there. The song came to me in a flash of inspiration. Brijs
sent me the beat and then two hours later the song was written.”

hop nights at the Forum; the group,
Task Force, were my favourite act.
“Kent has a thriving music scene
and it was great to have a local
hangout,” she adds. Ophelia counts
Kent locals, Slave, as an inspiration:
"They’ve crafted themselves such
an amazing music career. Beaty
Heart is also doing great things. I
saw them at Glastonbury, and was
blown away.”

Honest, hard-hitting lyrics
teamed with Brijs’ upbeat
house beats makes for a truly
unique-sounding music.
When asked how she would
describe the sound, Ophelia
commented: “It’s so hard to
describe your own music, but
I would call it 'crancing',
because it makes you want
to cry and dance at the same
time. There's something very
powerful about that
combination, I think. It wasn't
a thought-out choice, it just
happened. Brijs' song just
gave me this feeling, which
translated into the lyrics I
wrote.”

Hip-hop veteran, Tommy Evans,
inspired the quirky artist name,
Ophelia. "I based my name on his
song, "Ophelia". It wasn't until a
few years later that I got into song
writing myself, but being surrounded
by all of that, it must have rubbed
off on me."
Now living in London, Ophelia has
come a long way from her Stars In
Their Eyes school days. This year,
she has performed several notable
shows in venues such as the
legendary Camden Roundhouse.
She decided to move to London
after meeting one of her favourite
musical artists, Mr Hudson, on the
train to Tunbridge Wells. Of the
meeting, she explains: “He told me
to pack my bags and move to
London if I was serious about my
career, and three weeks later I did.”
Meeting celebrities on the train is
not an unusual feat for Ophelia –
just a few weeks later, she found
herself sitting next to Ellie Goulding
on the train from London to
Sevenoaks. “She gave me lots of
tips and inspiration for my music
career.”

The video for the track was shot in the mysterious River Medway, Kent.
It’s a modern portrayal of Ophelia, as she is depicted in Shakespeare's
Hamlet; heartbroken and driven to commit an act of madness. “I had to
swim in a freezing cold river,” Ophelia explained, “so I hope that the freezing
and suffering will be worthwhile.”
After a great year, it looks like things are only going to get better for Ophelia.
What’s she up to in the future? “I've got more songs in the pipeline and I
am working on an epic live set with a beatboxer, bassist, and more. I just
want to write more songs, perform more shows, and have more fun!”
www.ophelia-music.com
@opheliamusic

18