Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2011

Courtesy of Monumental Japan

Most overseas artists still follow a conventional path to Japan: a domestic record company distributes their album, and if it’s successful, an invitation from a promoter follows.

Things were rather different for 24-year-old English diva Gabby Young. “We came out in November with Tokyo Tomorrow, an NPO trying to do live music out there,” she explains from her home in north London. “The tour was put together by Fumio Ito, the former singer of [renowned Japanese ska-punk band] Kemuri. He invited me out, and I got a chance to spend a week doing gigs, and fell in love with Tokyo.”

Young formed Gabby Young & Other Animals two years after her recovery from thyroid cancer, and the group has since been raising eyebrows with its cabaret collision of rock, jazz, folk, opera and gypsy music—not to mention the singer’s shock of red hair and penchant for wearing candelabras in it. When Metropolis catches her, she’s busy preparing for her biggest concert yet, at London’s Barbican. Then it’s off to Japan and Australia, followed by Canada and the US.

She’s using what little downtime remains to work on the follow-up to 2009 debut We’re All In This Together. “There is one new song in particular that I really love that we’re going to be playing in Japan, called ‘The Male Version of Me,’” she says. “It’s more my folk side, but it’s got a real French-jazz swing to it. I’ve never stuck to a genre, and everything I write is different. I don’t know where my songs come from. They are born and have their own lives and go off on their adventures.”

The product of a strict classical upbringing, Young was headed for a career in opera before her pop predilections got the better of her. “I was a big fan of Maria Callas growing up, and I kind of wanted to be her,” she recalls. “But as you delve into opera, you realize that it’s such a heavy discipline, your whole life is taken over. You can’t do a bit of opera and a bit of jazz…

“The notes on the page [also] worried me because I would want to rewrite them. I would add blue notes to arias, and people would be like, umm, that’s not there. So I realized I should start writing the notes myself.”

Young doesn’t merely bring opera’s full-throated vocals into the pop sphere, but also its love of gorgeous costumes. “In the past, people would dress to the nines and there was a lot of showmanship to pop, but now people get up on stage in what they rolled out of bed in, and I find that a bit sad,” she laments. “I love the space where fashion meets music.”

For the first of her two gigs in Tokyo, at Aoyama club Le Baron de Paris, Young will be working with hair salon Peek-A-Boo and DJ-slash-fashion-icon Mademoiselle Yulia. “One of the things that drew me to Japan first was the fashion, and I’ve had these books of Japanese fashion for years,” she says. “Mademoiselle Yulia has bright blue hair and I’ve got bright red hair. We’re going to play with that and set the scene for the place to be really decorative and different.”

On top of her music and style, Young has taken an innovative approach to funding. Her website invites fans to “become an animal,” taking out subscriptions whose perks range from free albums and gig tickets to invitations to hang out backstage or appear in music videos.

It’s this entrepreneurial spirit that first brought her to the attention of Tokyo Tomorrow. “It meant so much that they were the kind of people getting in touch with me, because that’s what I’m all about,” she says. “It’s one thing trying to do it in your own country and be DIY, but the fact that someone in Japan was noticing that in me was very special.

“Instead of being industry types in suits throwing money at something and trying to make a buck, they really care,” she adds about the NPO, which includes members of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. “You can get to a certain stage in your career where you can start helping other musicians, and looking for exciting music. They’re not into it for the money, just for the music.”

Gabby Young
British cabaret singer with eclectic influences. Feb 5, 9:45pm, ¥3,000. Le Baron de Paris, Omotesando. Tel: 03-3408-3666; Feb 10, 7pm, ¥2,500 (adv)/¥2,800 (door). Club 251, Shimokitazawa. Tel: 03-5481-4141.