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Mabel shares autobiographical debut album to make people feel less alone [VIDEO]

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Mabel, 23, talks about her new debut album 'High Expectations,' in an interview with The Korea Times at InterContinental Grand Seoul Parnas in southern Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min
Mabel, 23, talks about her new debut album 'High Expectations,' in an interview with The Korea Times at InterContinental Grand Seoul Parnas in southern Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

By Jung Hae-myoung, Video by Lee Min-young, Kim Kang-min

On Tuesday morning, Mabel, a 23 year old singer who rocketed to stardom after only a few singles, met with the Korea Times at the InterContinental Grand Seoul Parnas in Samsung-dong, southern Seoul.

Born into a musical family ― her mother is Swedish singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry and her father producer Cameron Mcvey ― Mabel was given a solid introduction to the industry. Now with her first album, "High Expectations," about to be released, she is travelling to promote it in Korea and other countries in Asia.

"I have set the bar really high, dreamt big and it just felt like fitting title for my debut album," Mabel explained.

Mabel is of mixed heritage and has been exposed to a range of cultures. She was born in Malaga, raised in Sweden, and now lives in England.

"I think where you are really affects what you are creating," Mabel noted. "I feel so privileged to have all these different places to draw inspiration from. Being Swedish, English and West African, it is giving me a strong foundation for my music."



"Stckhlm Syndrome," one of the soundtracks in the album, is about a past relationship.

"The song is actually about a relationship I had with a guy, kind of destructive. I tried to write about Stockholm Syndrome in a sense when you are falling in love with a captor," she said.

Stockholm is also where Mabel grew up, and she felt she was trapped in a box while living there. "I grew up in Stockholm and even though there are many positive things about it, I felt kind of trapped in the box. So I liked the idea of looking at my childhood as well as the syndrome," she said.

Relationships and love are other sources of inspiration.

"I discuss relationships a lot because I love falling in love," Mabel said. "For me, it is my way of processing things. To be able to understand what is really happening, I have to write about it."

Mabel's songs are all autobiographical, even her famous song "Don't Call Me Up," was also drawn from her own experience which became the core reason that many resonated with the song. Disclosing so much of her personal life to the public is something a number of artists may be reluctant to do, but Mabel says she can do it if it will help someone going through the same things.

"Yes, sometimes it is scary. I felt quite alone growing up, and thinking about my childhood, my teenage years and my anxiety, music really helped me get through that. I thought I can do that for somebody else," she said. "If being really honest and opening about things can make somebody else feel less alone, then I will just keep doing that scary thing and sharing."

Compared to other songs about love and relationships, Mabel said storytelling was her strength.

"I try not to think about what other people are doing too much. But I think that people maybe relate to that storytelling. I think it is quite open, honest and specific," she said. "In terms of R&B and pop music, I sometimes feel like it is too sugar coated and almost too poetic."

Based on her own storytelling, her single "Don't Call Me Up" put her in the spotlight, ranking first in the U.K. R&B Chart and third in the U.K. Singles Chart.

"I think when I wrote it, I knew it was something different. Definitely excited about it, but I had no idea it was going to do the thing that it did. I am just so happy I've come to places like here, and over the world now with basically one song," she said.

This is only her beginning but she has yet more dreams to achieve. One of her goals is to collaborate with Pharrell Williams. However, she said she wouldn't just want a collaboration to happen with a manager reaching out to a manager.

"I want to know somebody who really loves my music and I want to personally love their music as well," she said. "It depends on who I will end up bumping into within the next couple of years."

In a way, she was says she is already living her dream, but wants to carry on making good music.

"There is obviously things I would like to achieve, but I want to focus on one deal at a time," she added.

For a young artist, she seems to have become strong through times of anxiety and self-reflection which brought her to where she stands today. Although she may not know what will happen to her in the future, she knows what she has to do.

Mabel's first debut album will be released on Aug. 2.




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