Clones of Dhy Berry appear on multiple instruments in the video for “Rather Be,” from her band Radclyffe Hall’s full-length June debut, Ghosts, and that’s a lot like the way she works in the studio. “I do 98 percent by myself,” says Berry, who starts from the rhythm up. “The bass and drums have to be the most captivating part, because I’m a bass player, so that has to be cool… or it’s not going to work.”
That makes the results danceable, though it’s her surrounding vocal and synth orchestration that truly makes Berry’s vision come to life. Her music reminds one of dark synth-pop groups like Depeche Mode, and she counts Toronto dance-pop band Metric and bassist/singer Meshell Ndegeocello among her influences.
But Berry also listened to R&B and funk in her Ohio youth and neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu and D’Angelo in college. She covers Janet Jackson’s “Control” on Ghosts, but her R&B side blossoms on the creamy, propulsive “Don’t Wait (It’s Now or Never),” featuring Raine, aka her onstage vocal/keyboard foil Jaqui Rae Stewart.
The Berklee graduate launched Radclyffe Hall (named after the English poet who wrote about loneliness and lesbianism) two years ago after extensive touring as a side musician with Canada’s the Cliks. “I always wanted to have my own thing,” Berry says. She drafted Stewart and two drummers, who would symmetrically face each other on stage, though she recently scaled back to drummer Sean Camargo alone.
Their sound was further stripped down at a recent New York show when Berry’s computer got wet and malfunctioned, forcing the trio to eschew their programmed layers—and, Berry says, lending them fresh perspective. “It was cool to hear it sound a little more organic.”
Striking a Chord
Catch 10 Local Bands Making Waves.
By Paul Robicheau | Photo Credit: Kassy Balli | Aug. 1, 2016
Radclyffe Hall
Clones of Dhy Berry appear on multiple instruments in the video for “Rather Be,” from her band Radclyffe Hall’s full-length June debut, Ghosts, and that’s a lot like the way she works in the studio. “I do 98 percent by myself,” says Berry, who starts from the rhythm up. “The bass and drums have to be the most captivating part, because I’m a bass player, so that has to be cool… or it’s not going to work.”
That makes the results danceable, though it’s her surrounding vocal and synth orchestration that truly makes Berry’s vision come to life. Her music reminds one of dark synth-pop groups like Depeche Mode, and she counts Toronto dance-pop band Metric and bassist/singer Meshell Ndegeocello among her influences.
But Berry also listened to R&B and funk in her Ohio youth and neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu and D’Angelo in college. She covers Janet Jackson’s “Control” on Ghosts, but her R&B side blossoms on the creamy, propulsive “Don’t Wait (It’s Now or Never),” featuring Raine, aka her onstage vocal/keyboard foil Jaqui Rae Stewart.
The Berklee graduate launched Radclyffe Hall (named after the English poet who wrote about loneliness and lesbianism) two years ago after extensive touring as a side musician with Canada’s the Cliks. “I always wanted to have my own thing,” Berry says. She drafted Stewart and two drummers, who would symmetrically face each other on stage, though she recently scaled back to drummer Sean Camargo alone.
Their sound was further stripped down at a recent New York show when Berry’s computer got wet and malfunctioned, forcing the trio to eschew their programmed layers—and, Berry says, lending them fresh perspective. “It was cool to hear it sound a little more organic.”
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