Tricia Lee Kelshall: Trust your voice within

She describes the launch at Fiesta Plaza as a highlight of her life given the fact that the album is her first solo venture. Creating the album also required sacrifice as it called on her to be away from her daughter for short stints.

“I attacked [Heart be Light] with every fibre in my body,” she proudly states of the album which she hopes will stand the test of time and live amongst some of the local and regional greats.

But the soft croons on first single “Call me baby” should not fool you; Tricia Lee’s foray into singing and performing started in the roots of soca music.

“I actually got my start on Denyse Plummer’s stage,” she says of her entrance to what has proven to be a long and successful career. “She [Denyse] would invite people from the crowd at her shows, if they thought they could sing, to come and do just that.” It was during her performance on Plummer’s stage that she was heard by Johnny Soong, who passed along the word to a band that was auditioning for a frontline singer at the time.

“The rest was a fantastic start to my career,” Tricia Lee says fondly of making waves with the band, Second Imij on both the local and international music scene. “We brought a new, exciting twang to Soca music and it was dubbed Hip Hop Soca at the time.”

She says the band’s youthful members were all shaped on the stage as their careers unfolded. “I think what we were feeling onstage was infectious and we amassed a huge dedicated following,” she says, adding that their fun was guided and disciplined. It was during this time she was dubbed “the Soca Diva”.

As her time with the band came to a close, she explored new opportunities and ways of expanding her talents. She tried live theatre with Wayne Berkeley, starred in local films, presented on local television, and acted in local classic “Westwood Park”.

She left Trinidad with hopes of auditioning for stage plays in London’s West End, where she recorded a song with band Way Out West. The song reached Number 1 on the UK Billboard Dance Charts, charting in other European countries as well, and eventually mainstreamed its way into the UK Top 40.

“Suffice to say, this was the highlight of my career. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.” She spent the next two years touring around the globe, experiencing what she describes as “true success”: the marriage of her passion for singing with a career as an international performer – true happiness.

“Well, after the high comes a knock occasionally and I got mine literally when crossing a street in Bristol; knocked down by a car which brought me back to Trinidad,” she recalls of the temporary crash her life took. It was while waiting for her body to heal that she married her husband, which led to the birth of her daughter, Chloe. During this time, her career was also put on pause while she made the decision to devote herself to her family.

But even as a full-time mum, she revisited songwriting, which she says has been a part of her fabric since her teenage years. Her songwriting and art is what “kept her sane”, for as much as she acknowledges her want to be present at home with Chloe, “my creative side needed quenching as well.”

To this day, she continues to write songs that go on to be signed to independent and heavy-hitter labels alike, and muses that she found it miraculous that she became a successful songwriter, “quite by the way”. “Writing is one of my truest joys; it’s my most comfortable space.”

She reflects that Heart be Light is the sincerest part of her that she is excited to share with everyone at such a special time of year, which also happens to be one of her favourite times. “[Christmas] is such an expression of joy and harmony and love, a time for forgiveness and letting go, for letting the Christmas spirit in and doing random acts of kindness,” she explains her love for the season.

The album “was living comfortably on a quiet shelf in the back of my mind. It was awoken when I passed into Jason Dasent’s studio and we got to talking about it.”

She says making the album was not a walk in the park but it was definitely worth the many nuances and challenges.

While most of her professional career was handled by record labels, Heart be Light required Tricia Lee’s attention at every turn – something she credits to her growth as an artist.

“I was a pampered artist on my tours and even with my musical projects. On this project, I learnt about and handled every tiny detail.” She enjoyed the learning curve but also notes the exhaustion that comes with such work and attention. Putting her all into her first solo album does come with its fair share of emotions and Tricia Lee is not immune. She admits to bursting into tears upon hearing her songs on rotation in local malls (“Talk about validation for your work,” she says breathlessly).

As for the day-to-day life of a seasoned professional (she and her family reside in the US), she says her key is balancing her passion for creating her songs and artwork and being a dedicated and focused mother as well as supportive and present wife. She has begun developing her entrepreneurial side – another unlocked talent – by making her art into a thriving business.

She says the thrill of getting everything on her list done is what drives her to succeed. She also describes herself as sensitive to her surroundings as she is an observer of the world and the people in it and credits this as one of her greatest inspirations. “I feel things very deeply,” she shares, “it could be as simple as a droplet on a hibiscus leaf and I’m off running with an idea.”

Lastly, she reflects on the secret to her success, which she says has never been her looks or her charm, but her talent. “Let your voice be your art form,” she advises artistes, old and new alike. “It’s the only way you can trust the accolades which further inspires you to create.” Her talent has taken her far and continues to blossom, something she believes requires trust in self.

“Trust your voice within, never go after the glamour; go after the opportunity for creativity. And never turn your back on your passion, no matter how many times you get the door slammed in your face.”

Tricia