Jacqueline Constance on the Philly music scene and loop pedal R&B

Jacqueline Constance has a style and sound that is all her own. The Philadelphia native admits that she is new to the Philly music scene, but that hasn’t stopped her from making a splash. Her 2014 album “The Jacqueline Show” shows how creative the young artist is and she shows no signs of stopping. We chat with the singer about her upcoming concert at Pub Webb.

Are you excited for the Soundcheck Series at Pub Webb?
I’m uber excited. This is one of the first shows I have been able to headline in a long time. I’m really excited to just get on stage and have people pay attention to what I am doing.

What can people expect at the concert?
People can expect a little bit of everything. I’m heavily influenced by a lot of different genres and artists. I know people are used to seeing me use the loop pedal but they will be able to see a live band, some loop pedal and some integration of R&B music. Just everything that I am accustomed to doing, but times 10.

The concert series really concentrates on upcoming Philly artists. What do you enjoy about the music scene in Philly?
The Philadelphia music scene is so alive and vibrant with talent. I don’t think there is another city that can really challenge Philly with the level of talent that we have. It’s one of those cities that no matter where you go, no matter what genre of music you are in to, you can find something that tickles your fancy.

This Soundcheck Series features industry mentors as well as artists. Who is your mentor?
At this point my mentor is also my manager. His name is Kaodi and goes by DJ Ambush is some circles. I ended up meeting him two years ago. We ended up talking music and the culture of music in Philly and we just clicked from there.

How did you get interested in singing/music?
I have always been interested in music. I have been singing since I was 9 years old. I didn’t know that I wanted to sing until I was about 9 and my mom — without me knowing — took me to a talent show. That was my first performance ever on stage and I have been doing it ever since.

Your sound is so different than anything I have heard. How did you get inspired to create it?
I wish I could give some sort of ethereal experience, but I just create. What you hear a lot of the time is me just creating music that I want to listen to and it just so happens that other people want to listen to it too. It’s one of those things that is very fluid for me and I just do it. I don’t really have a process.

On your Twitter you describe yourself as a “loop pedal artist.” What exactly is that?
A loop pedal is a piece of musical equipment that you use. It’s been around for a little while but it has gained some traction recently because of artist like Kimbra and Ed Sheeran. It’s a device where you are able to stack and loop segments of audio on top of each other. It adds a different level of creativity on top of the fact that I can sing. It allows me to be super creative on stage and have full control of what I am doing.

Do you like experimenting with different sounds?
Absolutely.

Who are you listening to right now? Who are your top three picks?
In my favorite playlist right now, I just got into a young man named Gallant. Chance the Rapper’s album is one that I have been playing everyday and Kendrick Lamar’s “Untitled” album. Those three artists I have been listening to at least once a day.