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By Melisa Tang

Meet Trinity Stone, three young and talented ladies on a mission to make the British music industry stand up and take note.

Made up of Londoners Jade (19) and Cherri (22), and Dublin-born Azi (22), Trinity Stone was formed in early 2005, and after a lot of showcasing, attending open mic sessions, handing out demos and networking, a couple of months later the girls signed to Brightside Records/Sony.

Since then, the trio have been working on new material for their debut album, which has seen them fly from London to Los Angeles to write and record with some of the best producers in the industry, including Soulshock & Karlin (Toni Braxton, Monica, Brandy), Cee-Lo Green (Goodie Mob, Gnarls Barkley), and the Grammy Award-winning Brian Rawling (Lemar, Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias).

In fact, it was in Rawling’s studio where friends Azi and Jade first met Cherri, who was busy recording backing vocals for tracks by her auntie, the one and only Mica Paris. That was over a year ago, and now, having spent the whole summer on the road promoting their upcoming album, Trinity Stone are ready to take the UK by storm.

The Situation caught up with the girls amidst all the anticipation for the 2006 Music Of Black Origin (MOBO) awards.

You’re the latest female R&B group to emerge from the UK, following in the footsteps of the likes of Eternal, Honeyz and more recently, Mis-Teeq. How do you feel you differ from other British girl groups before you?
Azi: Well, when it comes to comparisons, it doesn’t really bother us, ‘cos we just wanna do our own thing, and no matter what we do, there’ll always be a comparison.
Jade: I’d say our material is very much about the song and the lyrics, as opposed to the beats, but we’re try’na come with our own. We’ve all got individual influences: Cherri’s got her gospel, Azi’s got her acoustic set-up with The Cranberries and stuff, and I’ve got my big power ballads, the Mariahs and that sort of stuff, so we’re try’na bring something original to our project as well as being a very strong vocal group, ‘cos it’s more about the music and the songs. We can drop an a capella as opposed to have a track where you rely on production and a huge beat to make it successful.

You’ve been busy working on your debut album – what can we expect to hear from it?
Azi: You can expect to hear a mixture of a lot of stuff, erm, African Caribbean beats, acoustic, erm, you can hear the a capella on it… A lot of edgy, rocky music!

Is ‘Move A Little Closer’ a good indicator of how the album will sound?
Jade: That’s just a taster, and it is a good example of what you can expect to hear, but at the same time, it doesn’t give too much away…

Does the album have a title yet?
Azi: It’s a work in progress! There are a few ideas, but nothing really concrete yet.

What was it like working with top producers like Stargate, Brian Rawling and Soulshock & Karlin?
Azi: It’s just been an honour. To work with Stargate and Brian Rawlings, and also Cee-Lo; we worked with Cee-Lo recently. That was an absolute honour. I mean, to be sitting in the same room with these guys was an honour!
Jade: And also Soulshock & Karlin who’s worked with Toni Braxton and Whitney (Houston), like wow!
Cherri: You learn so much from them as well, just being in a recording booth alone with them in a working environment, so it’s really been a good experience.
Azi: Yeah, we’ve worked with some amazing people.

Which artists/producers would you like to work with in the future? Do you have a dream collaboration?
Jade: Timbaland!
Cherri: Yeah, Timbaland, or Pharrell or… Diane Warren
Azi: Yeah, we love her!
Jade: Yeah, she’s unbelievable!

Who were your musical inspirations in the making of this album?
Azi: Well, for me, when I was growing up, I listened to The Cranberries, and I liked that kind of music, so they were kinda my inspirations, and you’ll come across that through the course of the album.
Cherri: For me, obviously my aunt has been a big influence, and a lot of gospel artists like The Winans and the Clark Sisters; R&B artists like Janet (Jackson), especially performance wise.
Jade: Mine was like I mentioned before, the Mariahs, the Whitneys, all the big power singers, the power ballads!

What are the group dynamics like? What do you each bring to the band?
Jade: Well, personality-wise, I’d say we’re all big characters! We’re all very up for it and all very opinionated, so it’s a lot of fun!
Azi: I suppose Cherri’s the more sensible one…
Cherri: Oh whatever!
Jade: She is! She’s trying to act like she’s not, but she is.
Azi: (impersonating Cherri) ‘Ooh, it’s fantastic! That’s fantastic! You look fantastic!’ Everything’s fantastic to her at the moment!
Cherri: Jade’s the mildly scatty one in the group, but she’s the youngest so she can get away with it.
Jade: Vocally, Azi’s the bass; you can feel it vibrating in your chest! And we’ve also got the alto and soprano – both Cherri and I can swap between the two.

Most bands tend to have a lead singer, or one who tends to be more of a spokesperson for the group – is that the same with you?
Azi: I don’t know, you know. I’ve never really thought about it.
Cherri: No one’s really the spokesperson, ‘cos we all like talking! But when it comes to vocals, I think it’s just when it comes to each individual track, like sometimes one person in the group would take more verses or whatever.
Jade: It depends on each track; the pitch, the tone, but we can each hold our own.
Azi: Of course, at the end of the day, we want to have a hit record, so whoever can bring out the best in the track will sing it. And there isn’t a lead, because even if it’s just one person on the track, it’s not ‘I’ did it, it’s ‘we’ did it, you know, so it’s very much ‘we’, not ‘I’ – there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’!
Cherri: But there is an ‘I’ in ‘Trinity’! Two, in fact!

What do you hope to achieve by this time next year?
Azi: Obviously we’d hope for a MOBO nomination, erm, big fan base, and just have a lot of support from the British music industry.
Jade: Yeah, we just gotta get out there and spread the word.

Watch out for Trinity Stone’s debut album and single coming soon. Keep up to date with their latest news by logging onto their official website http://www.trinitystone.co.uk.