Selah Sue, Belgian revelation
A singer with a profoundly unique tone to her voice, Selah Sue writes her compositions in various styles including groove, neo-soul and reggae. From concerts to festivals, she is considered to be the new Belgian musical revelation and her performances are meeting with increasing success.
At the age of 15, Selah Sue, under her real name of Sanne Putseys, learned to play the acoustic guitar and started to write her own songs. At 17, she was the youngest and only female participant in the Open Mic Night by Het Depot in Leuven.
Selah Sue has often covered titles by Erykah Badu and The Zutons, but also has a wide range of her own songs. Two of her most well-known songs are Mommy and Black Part Love, both produced acoustically. She says that she has been influence by artists like Lauryn Hill, M.I.A. and Erykah Badu.
Alongside her solo activities, she records and performs blues music on stage with the Louvain-based electronic collective (Addicted Kru Sound). In 2009, Selah Sue performed on stage at the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Lowlands Festival. In addition, she regularly appears on television programmes such as De Wereld Draait Door on Dutch television and other Flemish programmes.
In 2010, she played at most of the major Belgian festivals including Les Nuits Botaniques, TW Classic Werchter, Les Ardentes, Dour, Lokerse Feesten, Couleur Café and Pukkelpop. She also performed outside her native country in large festivals like Lowlands in the Netherlands, Paléo in Switzerland and Les Eurockéennes de Belfort in France.
In November 2010, she was the support act for Prince in Antwerp and in 2011 she won the Prix Constantin.
© Photo: Alexander Brown