This season of the BBC Proms will honour the late Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. With his newly formed ensemble, conductor Jules Buckley will join forces with vocalist and Quincy Jones protege Sheléa for this one-night-only event. You can find tickets for this Prom (22nd August) at the Royal Albert Hall HERE. Read our interview with Jules below!

Q. What does Aretha Franklin mean to you?

Goosebumps and the need to dance.

Q. What is your relationship to her music? 

I first heard Aretha’s music from very young through my folk’s collection. It blew me away from the first listen. Off the scale in every way. Since then I guess I journeyed through her sound over the years collecting records etc and would be part of the backing vocals on many a wedding band date in the 2000’s. Her music is some of the best to both listen to, and to play.

Q. Aretha’s catalogue is so varied and wide. How did you go about selecting a specific number of songs for this prom?

Always gonna be tricky – can’t keep everyone happy. We are still fine tuning, but for me it’s a case of both finding the best of the best, and also those smaller/hidden nuggets that not all fans may be aware of. I’m confident the audience will go home happy 🙂

Q. Will you be exploring the different eras of Aretha’s career e.g. Columbia, Atlantic, and Arista years? 

I didn’t approach it based upon the labels and eras. Sheléa and I based our set upon a flow that works within itself for one night only. Otherwise you end up going crazy as she has such a HUGE body of work!

Q. Once you have decided on the material, what is your process for determining the arrangement and how you want to use the orchestra?

Myself and a team of super talented arrangers like Tom Richard and Jochen Neuffer normally pull the tunes apart down to every last cog, then rebuild ‘em based upon the band we have on stage (in this instance it’s full gospel choir/pop horn section/disco strings/killer band etc) and aim to try to take the music as high as we can!

For this occasion the ensemble is my newly formed Jules Buckley Orchestra and every corner of the ensemble has been carefully considered. It’s kinda like an MVP in the same way as how Quincy toured Japan back in the early 80’s.

Q. You previously honoured Nina Simone at the BBC Proms. Have there been any differences in your approach to this prom?

Having one soloist streamlines the programming. Sheléa has the unenviable task of filling Aretha’s shoes for this prom so we have worked very closely together to find a collection of music that both befits Aretha’s legacy, but also inspires and works well for Sheléa and the orchestra.

Q. Tell me about Sheléa as a vocalist and interpreter of this material. What does she bring to the role?

Anyone who is good enough to be both Stevie Wonder and Quincy’s foil is good enough for me! Sheléa is a phenomenal vocalist with a crazy range and lighting sharp stage presence. We hope to bring a feeling of warmth and groove to the audience in August and to make a fitting homage to Aretha’s unparalleled legacy.

Photography Credit: Suki Dhanda