Diva Divo - Dance Magazine

She might acknowledge herself as a “workaholic,” but Colette took that term to a whole new level in making Push (released on August 21). Her debut artist album, Hypnotized, was the culmination of 4 gradual years of work in the house music scene; Push was written and recorded in a comparatively intense 11 month period. Luckily, this album came with a clear plan from its creator: “I think you always learn from previous projects,” Colette explains. “Push was a lot of work, but it was a little easier [than Hypnotized]. I had a clearer vision of what I wanted my second record to sound like. After touring with Hypnotized, I decided I really wanted to focus on house music… I do love downtempo, and I did still write some downtempo for Push. But I really focused on making music for the club scene; music that can be really exciting when I’m touring.”

The fast pace of the production mirrors the increased BPM of her sophomore effort. While Hypnotized earned Colette a legion of fans (and the oft-used moniker “First Lady of House”) with its seamless blend of electro house and downtempo grooves, Push harnesses the artist’s inner Spinal Tap. She’s cranked the proverbial dial to 11, concocting an album of entirely upbeat tracks; melodic vocal house that would be equally at home on pop radio as an after-hours party. With its lead single (the bouncy “About Us”) catching fire, Push is poised to succeed in making music that will give Colette’s fans extra energy on the dance floor.

“When I was touring with Hypnotized, I felt like I was really singing at a lot of my shows,” she says. Little did Colette realize that her fans wanted this DJ to spin even more of her own work. “People were always asking for more, saying ‘Sing another song!’” she explains. “That’s really great… I enjoy singing and it’s so great that people like the songs and want you to do more. But at the time, there really wasn’t much more for me to do!” Those unfulfilled requests inspired the direction of Push: “I wanted to make sure that with this record there were a lot of songs that I could do live, and that I could have a lot of fun with the performances.”

After all, performing has been Colette’s dream since childhood. She began singing at 8 in church choirs, and studied classical voice training by day. By night, though, this Chicagoan was reveling in the city’s famed House music scene. “Around the age of 10 is when I first started singing House music,” she says. “All through my tween years and high school years I was studying classical voice… but listening to House music and going to House parties. It wasn’t until I was 17 that I decided I wasn’t going to continue with my classical training, and that House music was my style… what I really wanted to do.”