Between them, musicians Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony have written and produced for the likes of Fantasia, Ledisi, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Christina Aguilera, and more. In 2015, they formed Louis York and released their debut album American Griots in 2019. We chatted about their musical journey, their upcoming album, and their work with girl group The Shindellas. 

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The whole world is in chaos at the moment, and the US has also been having its own particular issues. What’s your take on everything that’s been happening?

Claude Kelly: That’s a loaded question right there.

Chuck Harmony: That’s a loaded one. Mr Kelly?

Claude Kelly: Well, first I’ll say that the most important thing is that I’m grateful that both myself and Chuck and our families, for the most part, are healthy and safe during this time, which is the most important thing. Because not everyone can say that, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s security, safety, good policies, all that stuff. With that being said, the world is a fucking mess right now. That’s not a secret, and it’s very confusing right now. And, more than anything, I think the problem is that, unfortunately, we often don’t choose common sense when it comes to our political leaders, when it comes to our decision-making, when it comes to how we deal with crisis.

Chuck Harmony: I really hope that in this time we can take a look within and see that everything that we’re dealing with are direct repercussions of who we’ve been and what we care about, and who we’ve praised, and who we’ve magnified, and the education and healthcare systems we’ve had. If we can take a look inside and see our own fault, then maybe we can move forward instead of standing still or, God forbid, moving backwards.

You both have worked with some incredible artists. What are the truly stand-out projects for each of you that come to mind, and what is the thing you’re most proud of?

Chuck Harmony: Well, for me it has to be Louis York, you know what I’m saying? I was about to say something else, and then I was, ‘I can’t say that.’

Claude Kelly: Let’s keep it real, shall we?

Chuck Harmony: And it’s not because I’m not proud of everything we’ve done. We’ve done some amazing things, separately. I wouldn’t dare minimise that, especially with who I’m partners with. It’s been an amazing journey for Claude, so I wouldn’t minimise that with my answer, but Louis York, to me, is the breeding ground of all of our music. It’s not just a side of us or giving a part of ourselves to make somebody else happy, it really is the culmination of all the things that we’ve learned on any given day. And we’re still learning, that’s why our music changes from song to song still to this day. Because we’re still learning, and growing, and studying, together and separately, but it really is, every time we step in the studio as Louis York it is the culmination and the manifestation of everything that we’ve learned musically being put into motion. And I’ve never been able to do that outside of Louis York, ever, you know what I’m saying?

Claude Kelly: I second that answer, and I’ll add to that that I think people see Louis York as something that we made up a couple of years ago for whatever reason. But the truth is that Louis York started the first time that Chuck and I met. So, there have been a lot of songs that people outside of us love that we’ve done, and that’s a sliver of our story. So, there’s a beautiful song you hear on the radio, but some of those experiences have not been great. I’m keeping it real. Some artists have been disrespectful, some labels have been disrespectful, some songs have not gotten their fair shot. But what hasn’t changed is that, when Chuck and I met, and we first started writing together in a studio in Atlanta, no matter who the artist that came through the door was or who was footing the bill, or whatever that was, there was a creativity that was birthed at that moment.

I read in an interview that you were frustrated with what was being played on the radio and what was being put out in the mainstream. Could you elaborate on that?

Chuck Harmony: I think it was Claude that said that, but we both agree with it. What I missed from the radio was originality and thoughtfulness. I hear a lot of people creating music and, with technology, that’s so easy to do. And so, when I hear the radio, I hear a lot of people making noise, I hear a lot of people making money, but I don’t hear a lot of people thinking and being intentional about what they’re presenting to the world.

Claude Kelly: Exactly. And the same thing goes for behind the scenes. I mean, the frustration wasn’t just, ‘Oh, these songs are not my favourite songs.’ They’re not, but there’s also a lot that we see about how the business gets done that can often times be shitty.

So much of contemporary music, and not just R&B or soul, is no longer about melody. It’s about vibe and atmosphere rather than actually having those hooks. Is that something you would agree with?

Chuck Harmony: Yes, it definitely is.

Claude Kelly: I’d agree.

Chuck Harmony: It’s all vibe and no meat. There’s no substance, and that’s the crazy part, once again, about how technology is really affecting music. It’s because vibe is the easiest thing to create, you know what I’m saying? And it sounds like that, and it’s no shame to people that are doing music, because I listen to it all and I applaud it all. But, at a certain point, we’ve got to keep it real. That music has to change, you know what I’m saying? We have to grow this thing because, if we don’t, what is our value to society?

When you are putting your songs together, what is your approach?

Claude Kelly: It’s the most organic process. I suppose I should explain. We write together. It’s always a conversation that leads to a melody, or leads to chords, and it’s always around an instrument. So, we allow life to drop the songs in our laps for lack of a better term. Our studio, which is in Franklin, Tennessee, where we have our workshop, is our dream place. It’s colourful, it’s moody, it has all the instruments we want, so we literally go in there every day to dream. And it starts with a conversation about, ‘What do we want to talk about, the truth?’ And then, ‘Make me something that the world needs, not just something that’s just feeding our ego.’ So, that’s why we’re just melodies, and not just vocal melodies but musical melodies and hooks, and chord changes and bridges and things, because that’s the stuff that we’re missing. And so we spend a longer time that people realise, especially now, more than we did when we were writing for other people, making sure that every note counts, every chord counts, every word counts. Because we know right now that that means the most now, because it’s lacking. So, we get by a piano or a guitar, and we just hash it out until we both start getting chills, and jumping around, and getting excited. Then we know that the work is done.

What’s on the roadmap for the future?

Chuck Harmony: Well, we’re in the process of finishing up our next project. It’s called Healing Feeling and we’ve been really, really inspired in 2020. We could have dropped it in 2020, we switched our focus to our girl group for a while, just to make sure they were up and running before we jump back out the gate, because we locked it. We quarantined in the studio, and so we were just knocking them out, and it’s really inspired music. We wanted to make sure that music was essential again, and so this is what this project’s about. It’s about us being essential workers, basically, and so Healing Feeling, that’s what it is. That’s what’s next. It’s great.

How different musically is Healing Feeling from American Griots?

Claude Kelly: I would say that Healing Feeling is more introspective. American Griots is all, like, ‘Ta da, here we are. This is a big thing.‘ And this feels like we’ve been in quarantine, it feels like we’ve been thinking. It feels like we’ve been doing a lot of reading and study, and questioning our beliefs, and questioning our relationships, and being more responsible. So, all of that mental work, and spiritual work, and musical work that I think last year required is in the music. It’s not as bombastic. It’s more soulful and organic, and close to the heart.

Chuck Harmony: Yes. And just to add to that, musically we wanted to reintroduce the world to what it means for me and Claude to be locked in a studio, you understand? We were quarantined and so, with American Griots, I really stepped out and used other musicians, just to paint the picture, like he said. To make it more bombastic. But this time, it went back to us. Just me and him in a studio, by ourselves. I’m actually recording Claude, recording his vocals too, so literally just it’s two people in the studio, and what comes of that.

How did your project with the Shindellas come about, and what is your vision for them?

Claude Kelly: Well, the Shindellas is something Chuck and I actually dreamed up long before people heard about them. In fact, when we first met the first thing we talked about was the impact that girl groups had on our lives, and how we’d love to do that again. And so, when we finally had the access to do that, before we even moved to Nashville, we were, ‘Alright, now that we have Weirdo Workshop and we’re focused, let’s give the world what they’re missing.’ Because there has not been, in my opinion, a formidable group since Destiny’s Child. And they’re not like Destiny’s Child at all, but that was the last time that we saw three powerful women together. We were missing unity, harmony, women empowerment in a way that didn’t only involve the body, but also involves the mind, and the intellect, and the heart, and culture. Other parts of culture, rather. So, as soon as Louis York was off the ground, Chuck and I went searching for three women that we could put together and wanted to take this journey with us. And so Kasi, Stacy and Tam are the Shindellas, and they moved to Franklin, Tennessee, with us to be artist-developed, which is a strength I don’t think Chuck and I get enough credit for. So, I think you’re seeing our whole display.  In a world that’s so broken right now, you need to see powerful black women singing their behinds off, speaking their minds, being unified. And the music is absolutely, absolutely the best music we’ve ever done. It’s insane. I’m not lying. I’m smiling because it’s that good.

Claude Kelly: There’s new music coming. Chuck, you tell it.

Chuck Harmony: The reason why we’re smiling, actually, is because we’re mixing and mastering their core single for their debut album, and listening to it 25 and 30 times a day, and just really being like kids in a candy store. Because it is the culmination of a vision that we’ve been developing in our minds for a long time. So, to hear the first single, and to know that it really is what we said it was going to be, and we’re really going to deliver on our promises to ourselves, but to the world. As creatives, we feel a real sense of responsibility as it relates to our past success because we feel like we should be the ones that present what’s next. That’s the charge. Once you get on, you should create what’s next, and so we’re really, really proud of what we’re presenting. It’s the best thing. The best album I’ve ever heard, straight up.

Claude Kelly: It is.

When is the album being released?

Claude Kelly: We’re doing a different and strategic, staggered approach to this, because we’re building their fan base, and their fan base is rabid for new material. So, we’re going to be dropping several singles back to back to back, and lead up to a big body of work. But the point really, without giving away too much, is to fill this entire year with new Shindellas music. I want you all to feel flooded with their perspective. Up tempo ballads, soulful. And, by the way, you in the UK, we have big expectations for how well they’re received out there, because we spent a lot of time out there and we know how much soul music is appreciated out there. And I can’t wait for the world to open up so we can get out there and give it to you all out there, because live is a whole other situation. But a lot of music is coming in 2021, and beyond. This year’s going to be exciting.