Meet The Soulful Singer-Songwriter Dionne Bromfield

After taking time to hone her craft, Dionne Bromfield is ready to make her glorious return to music. The young talent first made her debut in 2009, with a performance of her hit single ‘Mama Said’ on Strictly Come Dancing. With undeniable star power, Dionne signed to Lioness at Island Records, which was created by her godmother Amy Winehouse. The singer-songwriter wasted no time in releasing music and soon dropped her debut album Introducing Dionne Bromfield – which scored a top spot in the top 40 UK charts.

Over the years, the 25-year-old singer continued to wow music listeners with her captivating releases and soulful sound. Fast forward to 2021 and Dionne is back with her new single ‘Silly Love’ and her new docuseries Amy Winehouse & Me: Dionne’s Story. The series and its accompanying track showcase a more vulnerable side to the songstress than ever before. With her acclaimed documentary making the rounds, her forthcoming EP release and ever-growing fanbase, Dionne Bromfield is ready to make her mark on the music industry. We were able to chat with Dionne about everything from her single ‘Silly Love’, her musical upbringing and so much more. Read the full interview below.

We are nearing the end of 2021, how’s this year been treating you so far? 

This year has been a pretty good one I have to say. Thankfully everyone I know is healthy and well which is the main thing plus finally releasing new music and everything else going on, life is good. I’m happy with where I am now.

Let’s talk about your music journey. Taking it back to your childhood, how did you get your start and what artists, or genres inspired you to pursue music?

It’s funny because I never really thought that singing was a special talent. I always used to think that anyone could sing. But quickly realised that is not the case! My mum used to play a lot of old school stuff particularly Motown, Lovers Rock and R&B around the house. And I remember one day I was about 8 years old and I saw a Marvin Gaye vinyl and asked my mum what it was as I didn’t know, so my mum put it on her record player and I just remember being infatuated by what I was hearing. I think it was the moment of hearing something new as during that time I was heavily into my 90s/00’s pop!

After that, I jumped on the internet and just started to find more Motown songs and fell really in love with the genre. I was lucky that my godmother had clocked onto the fact that I could sing from about 11/12 years old and her being in the position she was in music she started to guide me and put me into sessions with people she knew in the industry. I started to record old 60s covers in the studio and slowly it turned into an album which was my first album I released at 13. During that time in making the album, I knew that this was something that I was meant to do. Music is just in my veins.

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

I didn’t really start writing until after my first album. I used to always get told you need to start writing, just little things even if it’s about your day and I remember being like to someone “ but I don’t have anything to write about. all I do is get on the bus and go to school” and they turned round to me and said ‘but that’s something!’ And they were right. But the first song I wrote was called Friend For Real. And it was rubbish! haha

What’s your process when creating your music – what comes first, the melody, production, or lyrical content? 

It depends if I’m being honest. I usually have to pull for a situation so sometimes I will have some lyrics down before going to the studio and then hear a beat and place the lyrics to the track. But sometimes I’ll go into a session and hear sounds or a beat and then that will immediately prompt some melodies and the lyrics just start coming from there. For me, there isn’t one way I create my tunes. The only thing that always stays the same is that I must have some connection to what I’m singing about, otherwise what’s the point of singing about something you haven’t or don’t connect with.

Let’s talk about your latest single ‘Silly Love’. Absolutely fantastic! What themes and messages did you want to explore with this track?

Silly Love is a track written about a past relationship of mine that had red flags from the start but I tried to convince myself that the person was the right one when …they weren’t. I learnt the hard way but I guess that’s what makes you who you are today because of your past experiences. 

You recently released your amazing and heartfelt documentary ‘Amy Winehouse & Me: Dionne’s Story’ obviously you are massively influenced by your godmother Amy. How did it feel creating a documentary about a subject that’s very close to you?

I felt therapeutic. I knew I wanted to do something as that felt like the Amy I knew and love, that hadn’t been shown in that light to the public, so wanted people to see that side of her. But also for myself, I struggled with a lot of stuff after her passing and ultimately it made me close off from my feelings and situations that I up until doing to the documentary wasn’t addressed but knew I wanted to face. I also wanted to be able to move forward with my life and career so needed to take steps back addressing all those things to be able to take one step forward. Overall I’m so happy with how it turned out and glad people are seeing Amy for the woman I knew so well.

What can fans expect from Dionne Bromfield in the coming months? 

More music! I have an EP that will come out at the end of the year, I’m just very excited for everyone to hear what I’ve been working on. It took some time to get to this point but for me, this is the best music I’ve made

Make sure to listen to Dionne Bromfield’s latest single ‘Silly Love’ below or here.