House Gospel Choir Talk New Album, Tenth Anniversary And More

House Gospel Choir are not only celebrating the tenth anniversary but they have also released their second album ‘Love Is The Message’ which is out now on Swear Down Music. Founder and Creative Director Natalie Maddix graciously took time to talk to us:

Who is in House Gospel Choir and how did you meet?

I’m from Brixton, South London, we’ve got a few Londoners in the choir actually, but we’re mostly from all walks of life. We’ve got members from Birmingham, Scotland, Trinidad and Wales.

We went from 12 friends learning the harmonies to Barbara Tuckers ‘Beautiful People’ in April 2014 and through word of mouth became a choir of 30 vocalists performing at Glastonbury in June of the same year. Since then we have performed all over the world and have had over 400 members in our monday night sessions and closer to 1,000 if you include all of our online members from outside of London. It gets a little harder each year to remember everyone’s name but the fact is people love singing, they love house music and human beings are social creatures that need each other.

What is your earliest musical memory?

I must have been 4 years old, laying on a pile of coats with my cousins in the “quiet room” of a family party listening to lovers rock, reggae & rare grooves vibrating through the walls.

Your second album ‘Love Is The Message’ is out now. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

I write with Lizzie Nightingale mainly and every lyric comes out of the long conversations we have on the way to the studio. We talk our ideas through with our producers, and they play us some bits they are working on, or they simply start by playing some chords for us to work with. The whole process is just us going on a musical adventure, never sure of the final destination, but we commit to enjoying the journey and leave space for God to guide where the song should go. It’s called “playing” music because it’s supposed to be fun. If it’s not enjoyable we move on to something else.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

We worked at a few studios across London including Miloco Studios – The Pool and Strong Rooms in Shoreditch. We also spent a couple of days recording in a disused working mens club in Dalston with Rudimental and I think that was my favourite tbh!

Tracks were produced by FromLondon, Nicky Brown, Rudimental and our very own Harrsn.

 One of the tracks is the single ‘GLOW’ featuring Rudimental and Afronaut Zu. What was the inspiration/story behind the track?

This song came out of a conversation about the fear of not achieving our goals and trying to encourage each other not to dim our light trying to fit in. Comparison really is the thief of joy, we were all designed to shine as brightly as possible using our own gifts.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

To encourage people and show them that the world is full of love and good people. If you can’t find one, be one.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Our live show is super energetic and there’s quite a bit of choreo, so we love a radio mic if possible. The amount of times one of us has tripped over a wired SM58 is shocking! lol

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Brixton, London. Culture, Community, Vibes, Smoke, Love

How do you look after your voices?

I swear by steaming first thing in the morning and last thing at night, especially when touring. Proper warm ups are a must and no clear liquor ESPECIALLY vodka.

 You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Probably ‘Parable of the Sower’ by the incredible Octavia Butler. It’s afrofutrism at its finest so I could really have some fun using soulful voices and samples over techno and house. Think Labrinth’s choir productions for ‘Euphoria’ + Louie Vega’s ‘Elements of Life’ meets Jamie Jones version of ‘Hungry for the Power’.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the album recording sessions?

Janice Robinson being in the UK for 2 days and having a 2 hour gap in her schedule that just so happened to align with when we were recording, felt like divine intervention.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

I believe great music is always created with the input of others, so I really love artists that collaborate and showcase the power of community. Ezra Collective, Rudimental, Louie Vega’s Elements of Life and Sault. I’m also still a soul-jazz girl at heart so I love listening to the voices of Kyra, Cleo Soul, Samara Joy, Yasmin Lacey, Jill Scott & Shay Universe. Highly recommended the latest one from Ezra Collective & Yasmin Lacey “God Gave Me Feet For Dancing”

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2024?

We have a couple of festivals left this summer and then we have some tour dates for our HGC & Friends DJ Set Tour. It’s a proper rave vibe with around 4 vocalists and our DJ Harrsn. We’re also planning a tour of the full choir show in 2025.

Who created/designed the album artwork?

There is this photo of a couple breaking fast in the ruins of Gaza under some streetlights that I couldn’t get out of my head. So it got me thinking about the resilience of the human spirit and our need for connection, so we briefed the brilliant Arthur Coppens and loved how he interpreted the idea for where we are coming from. https://arthurcoppens.com/ 

The House Gospel Choir is also celebrating ten years. Do you have any career highlights/memories?

Honestly there have been so many pinch me moments but playing Southport Weekender festival is a personal highlight because that was a real bucket list moment to perform at one of the places I love raving the most. Selling out Brixton Electric is another because I used to go past it all the time as a kid when it was still called the “Fridge”. Also doing a surprise PA at Pikes in Ibiza recently is up there as a top moment.

What makes House Gospel Choir happy and what makes you unhappy?

For me, happiness is an inside job and a lot of unhappiness is just a result of your expectations not being met. I try my best not to have too many expectations of others (super important when you spend your life collaborating) because being let down when someone doesn’t keep their word makes me unhappy and sad.

If I can be so bold as to answer on behalf of our members I think it would be when we get a chance to vibe and freestyle together, coming up with new harmonies and stuff. We work and train really hard together but there are these moments where it just becomes like an adult youth club meets rave and those are the best times! Lol

Also seeing our audiences enjoy how all of that joy comes together in the live show and how seeing us encourages them to free up themselves too.