Local Luminaries: Joslyn Hampton

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By the time she was 5 years old, Joslyn Hampton had a clear idea of what she wanted to do when she grew up. 

“It’s the dream,” she said. “I have always wanted to sing.”

As the lead singer for the popular Lexington band Joslyn & the Sweet Compression – which has played its recent share of sold-out shows and high profile festival gigs – Hampton has been living out that childhood dream for the past several years. And with the debut album from the deeply talented and dedicated band set for widespread release this month, her career is poised to take off even further.

As a child, Hampton’s love of singing led to solos in her church choir and later to being cast in school musical productions. These early opportunities became the first steps toward becoming a performer who audiences are now lining up to hear at a wide variety of local and regional venues.

One of the key players in getting Hampton’s musical career to the place it is today is Marty Charters. A member of the band and a seasoned musician in his own right, Charters married Hampton’s mom when Hampton was in high school – making him the singer’s stepfather as well as her biggest cheerleader. 

“She is just so musical,” said Charters, who spent many years of his own career as a touring musician playing alongside notable performers like Junior Wells and H-Bomb Ferguson. “Her talent was obvious from the start.” 

When the life of being a full-time touring musician ultimately took its toll, Charters settled in with a band in Cincinnati. The band offered regular gigs but a lack of real fulfillment. Charters said he was starting to feel like he was on a dead-end path. 

“I started to wonder what the future looked like,” Charters said. “I wanted something new and challenging.”  

At the same time, Hampton was also feeling restless. She had dropped out of college at Kentucky State University a couple years earlier, and music had drifted out of her life. 

“I was working so much I quit singing,” she said. “It just fell away, and I felt a bit lost.” 

“I didn’t realize how much I missed it,” she added.  

A chance to sing backup vocals with a local cover band soon reignited her love of music and her hunger to be a performer, but Hampton was still left with an unquenched thirst and desire to perform original music. 

Conversations between Hampton and her stepfather often centered on how they could live their shared dream of making music of their own.

“I was so aware that she had the talent – I knew she had so much more in her if she could ever get in a situation [to] develop all that she brought to the table,” Charters said. “All she needed was some guidance and some experience, and I knew she could explode as a performer.”

Ultimately, they decided to take a leap into the unknown. They assembled a band teeming with talent and seasoned local musicians: Smith Donaldson on bass, Steve Holloman on keyboards, Rashawn Fleming on drums, Joe Carucci on saxophone and Kyle Fox on trumpet. The chemistry within the group was as fiery as either had ever experienced, and they soon realized they could cook up their own sound, write their own songs and take more control of their destiny. 

“We all agreed that with this chance to gain some confidence, get some experience in front of an audience as a front person and have the opportunity to develop her sound, she’d be unstoppable,” Charters said of Hampton. The two began writing songs together and found they were creating some great grooves, with Charters coming up with riffs and melodies and Joslyn adding heartfelt, in-the-moment lyrics that immediately connect with listeners. With a neo-soul sound ripe with funk and R&B influences, the songs speak of big love, heartbreak and owning all the ups and downs life sends our way. 

Having quickly become one of Lexington’s most unique and sought-after acts, the band looked to the most natural next step: making a record. The group turned to Lexington engineer Duane Lundy at Shangri-La Studios, finding in him another champion of Hampton’s talent and the potential of the group.

“It’s been great working with such a unique and focused set of people ,” Lundy said. “Marty, coming from his background in music, incorporates a lot of respect for the players, and both he and Joslyn really enjoy what they are doing. That spirit carries into the work.”

Hampton is quick to confirm she does, in fact, enjoy what she’s doing. “I love everything about it,” she said. “I love recording; I love writing songs; and I love connecting with an audience.”

Her voice has been compared to timeless greats such as Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston and Sharon Jones. And with the band’s sound being at once smooth and hard-driving, touching on elements of funk, smoky blues and soul, it becomes hard to define the group – which is fine with Hampton.  

“We’re not trying to sound like anyone else; it’s just our own mix,” she said. “It’s real.” 

“It’s hard to be part of the music business and not be part of trends and whims – there’s pressure to fit in,” Lundy added. “These guys are having none of that. They are not affected. She steps up to the mic and she’s a powerful force all her own. My job is to capture that and stay out of her way.”

Joslyn has one main hope for the songs: “I’d like the audience to not only listen but to experience the music.”

CD versions of Joslyn & the Sweet Compression’s self-titled debut album are now available locally at CD Central, Wild Books and Coffee, as well as at any of the group’s live shows. Vinyl and digital release is set for May 17, at which time it will also be available at Pop’s Resale, on the group’s website (www.joslynandthesweetcompression.com) and on all major digital outlets (iTunes, Amazon, etc.). 

Writer Celeste Lewis recently sat down to chat with Hampton in advance of the band’s new CD release.  

What’s your favorite part of performing in front of an audience? That energy that I get from the crowd. It fuels me and I try to give it back, and we just keep feeding each other. I was so nervous when I first started performing. I still sometimes feel nervous energy – you have to push that back. In time, you learn to redirect the fear. You can communicate with an audience and an amazing relationship forms. You use that as fuel. 

How do you describe your music? Real R&B and “Funk & Roll.” It’s new material with a classic approach – we’ve got real people playing instruments, on stage and in the studio. There’s no machines.

What has it been like to get in a studio and record your own songs? At first it was so new and felt weird – I didn’t want everyone looking at me. Duane [Lundy, owner of Shangri-la Studios, where the album was recorded] put me in a closet where I could sing alone and it worked. I could be in my own zone. Professionally recording songs we wrote is an amazing feeling. Marty knows how it should sound; Duane knows how to get that; and for me to be able to arrange vocals, lay down backing vocals, harmonize with myself … it’s exhilarating.

When did you first really know you could sing? It started with me singing with my grandmother riding along in the car listening to the radio when I was little. She was my first duet partner! I started getting lots of attention for singing at a very early age, like 4 or 5 years old. Then in church I could see and feel people connect with my music. People’s reactions made me realize that not everybody could do this. 

Who are some of your primary musical influences? Jill Scott, Chaka Khan and Whitney Houston to name a few. People like Sly Stone, Prince and Frankie Beverly have influenced my songwriting and the band’s approach. 

What have you been listening to lately? I’ve been working so hard on the record I feel like I only listen to Joslyn and the Sweet Compression! I listen to everything – neo soul, soul, country. I like it all! I listen to Leon Bridges “Bad, Bad News,” Luther Vandross, Jill Scott, Janelle Monae, OutKast, and I like Snarky Puppy a lot.

What is your songwriting process? Songs normally begin life with Marty. Then we get together, focus on a theme, a bass line, maybe even a title gets it started. Then we develop the lyrics, refine the bridge, etc. In R&B the rhythm is often first – the bass and drums – [so that’s where] we get the germ of an idea. By the time it’s finished, we’ve both had a hand in the music and the lyrics. It’s crazy how songs sometimes write themselves – sometimes we’ll both be thinking the same words or phrasing! It’s very collaborative. I never saw myself as a songwriter, but Marty encouraged me. I thought my ideas were crazy, but he said to write it all down. Now it gets shaped into songs from all the parts and pieces. We demo it for the band, teach it to the band, and their individual influences and personalities are felt a lot in the final version.

If you could sing with anyone, who would you most like a chance to perform with? A show with Jill Scott or Tank and the Bangas would be really exciting!

What is the most recent thing that made you laugh out loud? I hate to say it, but it was when a band member, who shall remain anonymous, fell off the stage the other night! I knew he was OK, so I just busted out laughing!

What have you learned about being a performer you’d like to share with someone just starting out? I’ve learned that singing is only half of it – engaging the crowd and entertaining them is the equally important other half. It’s a whole separate skill you need to develop. And to get started doing your own music, you just do it! If you get it into your head too much you won’t do it. Jump and fly!

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