Name: Bre Kennedy
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Bre Kennedy's Scream over Everything is out November 10th 2023 via Nettwerk.

If you enjoyed this Bre Kennedy interview and would like to stay up to date with her music, visit her official website. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.
 


Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in your voice and singing? How and when did you start singing?

Absolutely. I grew up screaming songs from Aretha Franklin and Fleetwood Mac and studying the words Tom Petty wrote. My father played guitar and it was always around.

That expression of self and feeling … and I couldn't wait to figure out how to use these tools to share my own.
 
If you're also playing other instruments, how does the expressive potential of these compare to your own voice?

I am so drawn to piano and any string instrumental because of its dynamic. I love being able to sing close and personal and then get to really sing and emote in moments where it's all I can do. I love that part of piano and violin.

With my guitar, Honey, I love getting to use her as a percussive expression like a heartbeat and using her like my voice.
 
Singing is an integral part of all cultures, and traditions. Which of these do you draw from – and why?

I grew up listening to so many different kinds of music. Soul, blues, rock & roll, folk, singer-songwriter.

So many of it influenced me by my father and each of them has inspired me to hone my craft of self expression.
 
What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer/vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or experiences were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

I never took any lessons growing up singing and now I am actively aware of how much I want to learn how to control my breaths and how to maintain my energy and voice on stage for long stretches of tour.
 
How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?

I love this question. Harmony, rhythm and melody are church. When each of these come together with authenticity and control ... it is one of the most universal sounds in the world.

As a child, I annoyingly had to harmonize EVERYTHING. I love the magic of it. My guitar is something I use to keep rhythm on stage and melody is the first thing that comes to me when I write a song.
 
What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

Authenticity
 
How would you describe the physical sensation of singing? [Where do you feel the voice, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or tension etc …]

For me, when I sing it kind of feels like I'm going into alignment in real time. It takes over me; it comes from my whole core being.
 
What kind of musical settings and situations do you think are ideal for your own voice?

I love getting to perform in theaters so much.

We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

I think they come from the same place of self expression.

From whispers to screams, from different colours to dynamics, what are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?
 
I keep finding new tones and layers to my voice everyday. Especially with this new album.

I can't wait to see how I feel inspired to use my voice on the next album.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

Yes! There are definitely certain words I feel drawn to because I know how they will feel coming out.
 
Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

Water and breath. I have strained my voice many times growing up playing in clubs and I have learned I don't have to push so hard.
 
How has technology, such as autotune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?
 
Not so much for me. So much of that is in post but reverb definitely inspires my performance.

For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What, from your perspective, makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?
 
There is something you cannot capture on a record that happens live. Maybe it's the spark of the moment that only happens when we are performing live.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression, and culture in general. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

My voice is the direct line expressing my experience. It's why my new album is called "Scream Over Everything."