She's Face Alchemizes Feeling to Sound & Song
Photography by Andrea Lee
With two impressive albums under her belt, Paragon and All In Your Mind, Face creates soulful music shaped by the sounds of the world she grew up in as a kid. Raised in a family of musicians and church singers in the late ’90s, her influences have always been rooted deeply by her family and in her spirit. A tenacious, self-taught musician and producer, Face learned everything on her own when she felt called to create, beginning with her EP At My Place, where she honed her skills and discovered how to communicate her artistry.
When it comes to songwriting, Face works in a meditative way, always beginning with the beat, the foundation that anchors the emotion she wants to convey. She relies heavily on feeling and soundscape to tell her story, letting the lyrics follow and carry what lives behind them rather than lead the way. Still early in her career, she continues to create from deep wells of honest emotion and difficult places, using music as a way to ground and rebuild herself. She avoids overthinking, letting the feeling speak through the sound.
With a sweet sensibility and a playful, silly demeanor, She’s Face steps into the coming year with new collaborations on the horizon and more videos on the way.
Face, thank you so much for chatting with us about your craft. To start, your voice is so reminiscent of the greats like Brandy, Ari Lennox, Sade and other unforgettable voices. Where did you learn to sing like that?
Wow, thank you so much. All of those artists have very distinct tones and abilities so I appreciate that. Coming from a musically inclined family, singing along to some of my favorite artists, and being in church choirs is where I’d attribute my vocal progression thus far.
In your life and upbringing, what were your biggest influences? What got you into this style and how did you first start making music?
My biggest influences as far as my style of music were Fred Hammond, Tri City Singers, Erykah Badu, India Arie.. I could go on. Something a little outside of the box that I’ve recently noticed influenced my vocal approach would be TV show theme songs haha, shows like That’s So Raven and Living Single. A lotttttt of the music I grew up on influenced my vocal and lyrical approach, and as far as creating.. I started singing very young, well before I could talk according to my family.
You made a project called “Paragon” last year that was so striking and you released some beautiful videos of some of the songs in a gorgeous space with a full band. Can you speak to the songs you chose and what you wrote those songs about? “Love you Still” and “Journal Entry #4”?
Thank you for taking the time to explore the Muse Mix. I chose those songs because my listeners love them, hahaha, they were two of the best received songs from Paragon. Love you, still, is still a tough one for me to talk about… I think I did the best I could with lyrical transparency, so we can kind of see the picture through the words just enough for my comfort, hahaha. Journal Entry 4… I’m actually mad as hell in Journal Entry 4. Like I expressed my moments of sadness, don’t get me wrong, but I consistently reassured myself that the relationship was not something I wanted.
Do you feel excited right now to be a musician in Chicago?
Hell yea, I’d be excited about being a musician anywhere though, making music makes me feel too good. But with Chicago being home to so many Greats, from Artists, to Instrumentalists, to entire genres and various other art forms… It's definitely a blessing to be from here. There’s a spirit in the city that pokes you through art that nobody can deny.
Do you play instruments yourself? In your family is there a history of musicianship or music fans?
I used to play piano but I stopped, bought a guitar and never got around to it… I want to, eventually, but so far I haven’t mastered anything enough to perform with an instrument so no. My parents played in their high school band together. My mom played the flute, her, my aunt and cousin were all drum majors at one point as well, and my dad played the drums.. Still does. My dad got into rapping, producing and touring a bit as well, he also could play lead guitar. Another aunt played the violin, and piano, she still does. Oh and the aunt who was a drum major played saxophone. All of these relatives were at the same high school by the way, so they took the town over in the late 90’s, I’m telling you, hahaha. We all love music, deeply.
What is a fun unexpected fact about you that not many people know?
Probably that I’m sociable and silly. Ummm.. I don’t know, I was on a winning Powder Puff Team. But I didn’t play, I was a Team mom - yelling “that’s MY baby!” from the sidelines to my friends hahaha.
You started releasing music around 2021 with your debut EP “At My Place” with a breakout song being “Shadows”- How did making that EP feel and what kind of place were you in at that time?
Depressed as hell. I wrote Shadows in my first apartment at a time where I was very fragile and just overall feeling like a plant in fresh soil. Making the EP felt good, but also very terrifying. It was my first time feeling called to release music, so I was very sensitive. It felt like a secret of mine, so I taught myself everything.I bought my macbook from a pawn shop, ordered a mic, interface, headphones, Logic and studied on Youtube University to learn to mix and master every I recorded. It’s “At My Place” cause it all was.
Growth wise- how has your lyricism improved or how have you started doing things differently since the earlier projects to now with the brand new release of “All in Your Mind”?
I honestly didn’t spend a lot of time with my writing in the past. I made sure not to over analyze or judge myself as I created, so I had a much heavier focus on beat selection rather than the words I said. I was more so translating my feelings rather than telling my story. It just so happened that the right words found me. A lot of my songs are 1 takes for the main vocal.
Who in the scene has been an important guidance system in the music industry just starting out?
A lot of people, but off the top of my head, I’m gonna go Haze (@goldxhaze). I’ve experienced a lot in the creative scene here and he’s been the most consistent character throughout my journey… just someone with nothing but focused, genuine, and positive energy.
Getting into singles you worked on like “Wide Awake”, “Bless Yo Soul” and “Need This” these were all released all in the same year in 2022! What a year for experimenting! How did these singles come about and where did you get most of your recording done?
That’s a great way to describe those singles haha, I was absolutely experimenting and it was fun. Every song I have out was recorded in the comfort of my home, specifically my bedroom closet.
I must say- I love your cover art for everything you’ve released! Can you talk about your approach to choosing these images and what they represent to you? I mean the cover for “All in your Mind” is stunning and embracing self and “Bless Yo Soul” brings forth nostalgia.
Thank you so much. The cover art for “All In Your Mind” is actually from an impromptu shoot I did with Paul (@araki_img). I didn’t see all of the photos, but he showed me his favorites, and I chose that from the bunch. I loved the coloring most, he took full creative control with the final product of every image from that shoot. Truly one of my favorite creatives to collab with in the city.
When assembling this fantastic live band here in Chicago, how did all those connections work out? Who are each of the bandmates as well?
I’ve collaborated with a healthy amount of Chicago musicians thus far, and look forward to connecting with even more until I’m able to lock in my forever unit. Everyone I’ve worked with has been extremely kind, professional and possesses a talent out of this world. I’m not musically trained, but I have an ear, so many of them have taught me how to articulate what I’d like to hear and just overall providing their own touch to live renditions of songs when we perform. I’ve tagged them all in everything we’ve done together, please check them out! Music is a frequency, so having that live feel is a requirement for me at this point, for sure.
How is your rehearsal/practice schedule? With a live band I bet it can be a lot of moving pieces and people to get in one place at one time with life's trials and opposing schedules. How has that been navigating organizing a bigger live music project like this?
Honestly, not bad, I’m a bit of a stickler, haha. I send contracts out pretty early, and if issues arrive I adjust accordingly. My tolerance for hiccups after signing is pretty low, but I extend the same amount of respect and professionalism that I expect to receive with every person I work with. So it’s never the end of the world. Overall, I’m making nine out of ten shots when it comes to shooting for “perfection”, and we have a very focused and fun time preparing for shows or filming.
I love your style might I say- Where and how do you choose your chic outfits? I guess a better question might be- How does your spirit, your energy reflect in your style?
Aww, thanks so much. I’m a very cozy person, so I stay true to that honestly. I don’t like to be uncomfortable or too heavily made up… I do want to get experimental with looks at some point but for now, everything you see is what you’d typically get. I’ve partnered with stylists but even in those cases, I’m offering what I’d like to wear and we align with that vision. They’re also tagged in photos where they’ve contributed to looks as well!
Within your music community you have appeared on a single of “myfriendnate” with NombreKari called “Anything You Want”- Can you speak more to that collaboration and how you met them and how the idea came to life?
I met them through our mutual friend Sonny, and the collaboration was super random honestly. Since the first time I heard Kari’s music, I knew I wanted to work with him, and I loved a lot of beats I heard from Nate, so I knew it would happen, but as you know - I record in isolation so it took me some time to get comfortable enough in a creative environment to write and record with them. But I did, and the result is definitely something I’m proud of.
When song writing- How is your approach to making the song? Do you find yourself inspired by the music first or are you a part of the beat making process or do you think of the lyrics first?
I’m always inspired by the beat first, but I also always have poems on me. Beat selection is something I have a lot of fun with cause it’s sort of a call and response experience for me. If the beat makes me want to sing, I do. So I’ll get with a melody and let the words find me… if I get stuck, I refer to my poems and meditate with the progress I made so far until I’m done.
So- I understand you are new to live performing but- seeing as you pulled about 100 people or so into Epiphany Center for the Arts on a weekday, It’s clear there's something special happening and people want you outside! How does the future of performing shows feel?
That was such a beautiful experience, I still smile thinking about it. The future feels amazing.
Any exciting news coming up or anything else you’d like to add?
Videos and new music! <3