Showing posts with label music video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music video. Show all posts

Monday, March 14, 2011

Jessie And The Toy Boys "Push It"


























Taken from "PUSH IT" EP available on Itunes










Jessie Malakouti is ready to push some buttons.

Upon introduction, her disarming smile and runway-ready blonde beauty might inspire you to quickly peg her as the latest addition to pop music's growing army of disco dolls. But you would be wrong. Jessie is far more than merely meets the eye. As the voice and creative mastermind behind Jessie and the Toy Boys, she reveals herself to be a clever, driven young woman on a mission.

"I don't mind that people approach me with one attitude and leave with another," Jessie says. "I like having the power to play with stereotypes... and then shatter them. It's fun and gratifying."

First and foremost, Jessie smashes preconceived notions by being the primary architect of her band's sound. This girl can write. Every note of every song is the result of a self-imposed musical boot-camp that saw the artist immerse -- and isolate -- herself in the European club underground.

"I'd been in a band that left me feeling like I needed to break out of my comfort zone and gather new perspective and experience," she says. "So, I went to the U.K., which is where a lot of important and trend-setting music is made. I went alone. I needed to live by my musical wits and instincts for a while, and see where it took me."

It was a brave move that tested Jessie's determination. "I won't deny that those first few days were difficult," she recalls. "It's challenging to be that far from the places and people who feel familiar and safe. I even contemplated giving up and going home at one point. But that feeling didn't last very long. The intention behind going abroad was to grow, and to learn more about who I am as a person and as an artist. You can't achieve that without a little pain, so I toughed it out."

The result of Jessie's determination is a sound that brings listeners to the next sonic dimension of electronic-rooted pop music. The first single, "Push It" (featuring a playful rap interlude by Yelawolf), combines an urgent club bassline with vibrant, sixties-spiked girl-group colors. Jessie's vocal, by turns, has sex-kitten and brash, rock-diva qualities.

"A great song, to me, is one that sticks to your brain long after you've heard it for the first time," Jessie says. "What I'm trying to accomplish is music that is catchy, but smart. Part of that is combining elements of different genres in ways that you might not imagine working together at first."

Jessie deftly succeeds in her creative mission with songs like the new-wave-spiced "Valentine" and the introspective, retro-soul-infused "Long Way From Home." It is during these songs, in particular, that Jessie most effectively proves herself as a vessel for widely varied concepts, while also indicating a remarkable talent for genre interpretation.

It's been an intriguing journey up to this point for Jessie Malakouti. This enigmatic bombshell admits to starting her own rock band just to piss off her parents and then promptly left home at 16. Growing up in rough patches around Southern California's Inland Empire added a dark tinge to her savvy pop outlook.

Going from friends' sofas to audition to odd job and back again, Jessie would live off various paid acting/dance gigs as well as teaching at the local dance studio. She earned her stripes by fronting her rock band Shut Up Stella hitting the sweaty LA club scene and building a West Coast fan base.

Then things started to change. "I just wasn't in the same head space anymore," says Jessie, "they wanted to carry on making angry music and I was writing happy pop songs."

From there, Jessie began to believe that she could navigate her own creative ship. "When you have a vision for yourself, you have to take risks," she says. "I'm completely comfortable with that, because I decided a while ago that I was going to live or die by my own sword. I'd rather people love me or hate me, nothing in between, thanks."

Given what Jessie Malakouti has beneath the surface, there's little chance that her future is anything but bright. If there's a boundary, Jessie is going to push it.

www.jessieandthetoyboys.com

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Robyn: New Album, New Single

*Press Release*

“DANCING ON MY OWN,” LEAD SINGLE FROM ROBYN’S BODY TALK PT I

OUT TODAY ON ITUNES

Body Talk PT 1 Due Out June 15th

Robyn Launches North American Tour On July 16th At Pitchfork Music Festival
And Appears On “Late Show With David Letterman” On July 19th








Robyn’s new digital single, “Dancing On My Own,” is available beginning today on the iTunes Store. Recently named “Best New Track” by Pitchfork, it’s the lead single from her forthcoming album, Body Talk PT 1, which is scheduled for release by Cherrytree Records on June 15th. Check out Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” video, directed by Max Vitali:


Robyn 'Dancing On My Own' (Official Video) from Robyn on Vimeo.



Robyn, who will perform on “Late Show with David Letterman” on July 19th, will kick off a North American tour on July 16th with a performance at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. Other tour highlights include appearances at the inaugural Disco Lemonade: Summer Mashup Festival in Toronto (July 30th) and Montreal’s Osheaga Festival (July 31st). She’ll also play numerous European festivals this summer. See below for itinerary.

MySpace.com will host an exclusive global listening party for Body Talk PT 1 from June 11 – 18. Early reviews have been stellar. “Genius,” proclaimed NME. “she’s still ruling the school.” “Her new CD is the perfect example of how she eschews the norm,” said the New York Post. “The dynamic pounds and clicks behind each track are beyond anything that exist in my musical library.” Nylon, which ran a four-page fashion feature in its July music issue, noted: “Robyn isn’t afraid to be a bit—ok, very—different. and we love that obviously.”

A mix of cool electronica, heartfelt pop and tracks that have all the hallmarks of becoming classic club and radio hits, Body Talk PT 1 is the first in a trilogy of albums Robyn will release this year. It is the follow-up to her self-titled 2007 album, which produced the international No. 1 smash single “With Every Heartbeat” and the Top 10 hit “Be Mine.” The album was nominated for a GRAMMY® award and ranked in the Top 10 of Entertainment Weekly and Blender’s year-end critics polls.

Robyn.com
http://www.myspace.com/robynmyspace
http://twitter.com/robynkonichiwa
http://www.cherrytreerecords.com

ROBYN – UPCOMING TOUR DATES

6/17 London, England Heaven
6/19 London, England G.A.Y
6/25 Cologne, Germany Spex Live event
7/1 Borlange, Sweden Peace & Love Festival
7/3 Roskilde, Denmark Roskilde Festival
7/4 North Wales, U.K. Wakestock Festival
7/15 Arvika, Sweden Arvika Festival
7/16 Chicago, IL Pitchfork Music Festival
7/17 Detroit, MI Crofoot Ballroom
7/22 Solana Beach Belly Up Tavern
7/23 Los Angeles, CA The Music Box
7/24 San Francisco, CA Mezzanine
7/27 Boston, MA House of Blues
7/30 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre
Disco Lemonade: Summer Mashup Festival
7/31 Montreal, QC Parc Jean Drapeau - Osheaga Festival
8/2 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
8/3 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
8/5 New York, NY Webster Hall
8/13 Oslo, Norway Oya Festival
8/20 Trondheim, Norway Pstereo Festival
8/21 U.K. V Festival
8//22 U.K. V Festival
8/27 Stockholm, Sweden Popaganda Festival

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Leela James: My Soul

*Press Release*

LEELA JAMES DIGS THE ROOTS OF SOUL ON HER STAX DEBUT

My Soul set for release on May 25, 2010


From the very first track on her 2005 debut album Leela James has captured the gritty, emotion-drenched essence of artists like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Mavis Staples, Marvin Gaye and has made it her mission to bring it all back – pushing the music forward with a fresh, contemporary perspective that remains faithful to the music’s deep and powerful roots.

My Soul, set for release on May 25 , 2010, marks Leela James’ debut on Stax Records, a division of Concord Music Group. The move to Stax – the legendary home of some of the greatest soul and R&B artists of the past half-century – is a fitting destination for a vocalist who has committed herself to preserving the soul tradition.

The new album comes on the heels of high praise from soultracks.com, the online source for all things soul and R&B, who recently bestowed a 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards to James in the category of Female Vocalist of the Year. Indeed, James has come to own the music that has inspired her since her teenage years. Her commanding live performances have become can’t-miss thrillers, placing her among today’s most electrifying international concert draws.

“The title of the album pretty much says it all,” she explains. “I just wanted to go into the studio and do what moved me at the time, and not think about it too much or not allow it to be something that was too planned. That’s what great soul music has always been about from the very beginning – something very raw, very authentic and very true.”

The first single off My Soul is “Tell Me You Love Me,” a track that James co-wrote with Andrea Martin and Gordon Williams. The track was produced by rap and hip-hop producer Gerrard Baker (Toni Braxton, Billy Crawford, Masta Ace), who deftly inserts a sample of James riffing on a line from “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye,” the classic ballad made popular among soul audiences by the Manhattans in 1978.

“This is one of my favorite tracks on the record,” says James. “It’s a song about someone who’s really trying to make love work, which is the same message you hear in ‘Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye.’ Great songs are great songs, no matter when they’re recorded, or by whom. And sometimes two great songs blend together well, like they do here.”

Other noteworthy tracks on My Soul include the churning opener, “Ain’t New To This” (also produced by Baker), a proud and defiant declaration of survival in the minefield known as the music business; and the bouncy “Party All Night,” penned by James and produced by Carl “Chucky” Thompson, who previously worked with Leela on 2005’s Change Is Gonna Come. Other notable producers on that debut record were Kanye West and Commissioner Gordon among others.

Thompson also handled the production of “Mr. Incredible, Ms. Unforgettable,” a sultry duet between James and vocalist Raheem DeVaughn. “Raheem and I are good friends, and we’d been talking for some time about doing something together,” says James. “We finally happened to be in the same place at the same time, and we just made it happen. It really wasn’t something that we planned. It was just something spontaneous that took its own course.”

Aside from Baker and Thompson, James enlists the services of a number of other producers on My Soul, including Kadis & Sean (“So Cold”), Carvin & Ivan (“It’s Over,” “If It’s Wrong”), Steven “Supe” White (“The Fact Is”), Ray Murray (“I Want It All”) and Butter (“Supa Luva”).

While James may have been surrounded by talent in the making of My Soul, the record is ultimately her personal statement – not just about the music’s rich past but about its present and its future as well. Her arrival at Stax may position her among legends, but she’s well aware that she still has much to do and say.

“To be on the premier soul label is a validation of what I’ve accomplished with my music and what I stand for,” she says. “I’ve always been a champion for this music. This album is my version of soul. It’s my experience of soul. It’s what soul means to me, and I want to share it with you.”



http://leelajames.com/
http://www.myspace.com/leelajames

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Sarah McLachlan: New Single and Album

**Press Release**

CHECK OUT SARAH MCLACHLAN’S NEW SINGLE (AND COVER ART) “LOVING YOU IS EASY”

AVAILABLE MAY 4TH


SARAH’S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM THE LAWS OF ILLUSION IN STORES JUNE 15TH, 2010!!!

CHECK OUT WWW.SARAHMCLACHLAN.COM FOR MORE INFO.





Friday, March 19, 2010

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Agnes: New video for Release Me

Get to know Agnes

Growing up in the small town of Vänersborg, Sweden, music was always an integral part of Agnes Carlsson’s life. Her career took off at the tender age of 17 as the youngest-ever Pop Idol winner (Sweden’s “American Idol” counterpart), triggering a string of chart successes in Sweden. As she grew up, her style evolved. She was introduced to songwriter and producer Anders Hansson in 2008 and the creative sparks began to fly as Hansson’s dance-flavored production allowed Agnes to express her drive, energy and attitude…and of course, let loose with her incredible vocals. “Release Me” is the result of this studio alchemy and announces the arrival of a major new talent.

“Release Me” was released earlier this summer, and became a pan-European smash before spreading to airwaves around the world, from South Africa to Israel to Australia. The video for “Release Me” has already hit well over 5 million views on YouTube.

The album Dance Love Pop is soon to be released internationally and contains smashes like “On And On” and “Love Love Love”, both already proven hits in Sweden. Through beats and ballads, the album showcases Agnes at her best.

With her infectious enthusiasm, sparkling energy and stunning vocal ability, Agnes is on the way to becoming one of music’s biggest new names.



www.agnesmusic.com

Saturday, September 26, 2009

La Roux's Self Titled Debut Street Date Sept.29

La Roux’s Self Titled Debut Album Available This Week Exclusively on ITunes! Bulletproof is Single of the Week on iTunes.

South London synth-pop sensation La Roux are set to issue their self-titled US debut on September 29th via Cherrytree Records.

Starting TODAY, though, fans can purchase the UK smash hit album for just $7.99 exclusively on iTunes which will also feature first single Bulletproof as Single of the Week.

21-year-old Elly Jackson and co-producer co-songwriter co-hort Ben Langmaid, who are La Roux, have made an impressive impact on UK’s music scene since joining forces two years ago. What began in London’s burgeoning underground warehouse scene has since landed the pair a highly coveted Mercury Prize nomination and hot singles on daytime radio and the upper echelons of the British charts. La Roux the album continues to make waves in the UK. Dazzling current single “Bulletproof” entered the UK Singles Chart at #1 and “In For The Kill,” the album’s first single in the UK, sold more copies than any other single this year!

Catch La Roux on Tour This Fall:

10/18/09 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
10/19/09 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
10/21/09 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
10/23/09 Toronto, ON @ The Guvernment
10/24/09 Montreal, QC @ Studio Juste Pour Rire
10/26/09 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
10/27/09 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club


Raves for La Roux:

“Elly Jackson is the perfect London pop star of the moment…” **** Rolling Stone

“Elly is no clichĂ©d electro-minx. Her whipsmart modern take on the heartsore side of the 80’s is centered around her vulnerable voice and big-hearted love songs, drawing on a youthful infatuation with classic pop. It’s the raw humanity contrasted with the crispest, glassiest sounds and Langmaid’s bright beats that make La Roux as accessible as they are irresistible.” NME

“With pop songs like “Quicksand” and the synth-heavy “In for the Kill,” it’s time for them to set the U.S. on fire.” Bust

“something new and effortlessly winning.” Pop & Hiss – LA Times

www.larouxonline.com
www.myspace.com/larouxuk

Space Cowboy: Digital Rock Star Available Oct.27

Those familiar with Lady Gaga’s platinum album “The Fame” will know her bold rallying cry from the song “Starstruck,” her duet with Space Cowboy featuring Flo Rida: “Space Cowboy just play that track.”

Indeed, the heavy bass, neck-breaking clap, sharp synths and duet vocals on that album’s “Starstruck” are courtesy of supa-producer/instrumentalist/vocalist Space Cowboy. As Lady Gaga’s collaborator and main foil in her intergalactic adventures (as chronicled in the episodic Web series “Transmission Gagavision”), Space Cowboy has built a loyal following as enigmatic musician/dj/producer extraordinaire.

But Space Cowboy’s story begins before that in the United Kingdom where he moved soon after being born in Paris to a guitar-collecting father. Once in the UK, Space Cowboy began spinning in the sweaty London dance club scene. There, he found himself injecting the subliminal rock influences from his father into a new, stirring blend of techno, electro, hip hop and dance. Wrapping it all up in one cohesive pulse, Space Cowboy dubbed his new sound “Digital Rock” and began to experiment with the production of original recordings.

It wasn’t long before his first album, released on indy label Tiger Trax, began causing a commotion in Japan where he was invited to perform at the prestigious Fuji Festival. The reaction to his new sound there were such that another indy release followed and yielded the break-out track “Across the Sky.”

In 2006, Space Cowboy released his electronic-dance-rock manifesto “Digital Rock” in the UK with an early incarnation of the song “My Egyptian Lover” which was added to BBC Radio 1. It was a satellite transmission of the Radio 1 feed that caught the attention of Cherrytree Records whose roster also included a new, up-and-coming New York-based artist named Lady Gaga. The label made an introduction and the two hit it off creatively.

“I remember our first conversation was on the phone,” recalls Space Cowboy about his first chat with Lady Gaga. “She was talking about sequins, disco balls, Prince, David Bowie and body paint. Basically, she was speaking my language.”

Following that initial call, the two met up in LA where Lady Gaga invited Space Cowboy to join her touring ensemble. In the process, the two collaborated in the studio on the duet “Starstruck” as well as the futuristic Christmas song “Christmas Tree.”

Maestro of the portable studio and master of the multi-task, Space Cowboy not only crafted the personalized musical sound beds to each Lady Gaga show, but has also been recording part 2 of his “Digital Rock” opus: his new album “Digital Rock Star”.

Expounding on his unique combination of dance, hip hop, electro and rock, Space Cowboy has written all new songs as well as flipped a couple favorites from “Digital Rock” – in some cases, with a little help from his friends. For example, the hybrid rock-club anthem "I Came 2 Party" features German electro-glam rockers Cinema Bizarre.

"Falling Down," the first single off “Digital Rock Star" features vocals from Chelsea Korka of The Paradiso Girls. The influences in the tracks are varied but the marriage of dance and rock is consistent as is Space Cowboy’s vocal delivery; an exotic tenor shaped by the trials, tribulations and travels of his dj career. His delivery is a unique electronic patois somewhere between Sting and Hal, the computer from the film “2001.”

“I’ve always had a warped delivery, but it matches the idiosyncrasy of my beats.” Indeed, by harnessing the strange and wonderful, Space Cowboy has invented a new sound and made way for the first “Digital Rock Star”.

Check out the "Digital Rock Star" mash-up via: www.cherrytreerecords.com/spacecowboy


Space Cowboy "Digital Rock Star" (CherryTree/Interscope) available Oct. 27



"Falling Down"

Noisettes: Wild Young Hearts Available Sept.22

With Noisettes, it’s always best to expect the unexpected. Two years on from a debut album awash with punk spirit and scorching blues-rock, the London trio return with Wild Young Hearts, a set of sleek pop songs steeped in soul, dizzy on disco and harking back to the days of blues and jazz greats.

From the stomping electro-rock of Saturday Night and galloping funk grooves of forthcoming, first single Don’t Upset The Rhythm, to the joyous, jazzy title track, the glorious ‘60s-tinged soul of Never Forget You and the sultry, shimmering pop of 24 Hours, in Wild Young Hearts, Noisettes have made what is set to be one of 2009’s most adventurous albums.

Never fond of a formula, the trio always intended on a radical musical detour from their acclaimed debut, What’s The Time Mr Wolf?, an album that spawned five singles and took them on tour for over a year, sharing arena stages with Muse and criss-crossing the States with TV On The Radio and Bloc Party.

“Some bands stick with the same style forever,” says singer Shingai Shoniwa, whose versatile vocals have seen her compared to everyone from Deborah Harry and Kate Bush to Billie Holiday and Diana Ross. “They get together because they share identical musical tastes, then never do anything different. We’re a gang, but we’re also three divas with different record collections who constantly introduce each other to new sounds, whether it’s African music, jazz, Van Morrison or Black Sabbath. For us, making music means keeping our ears open.”

Noisettes certainly took an unconventional approach to starting songwriting. Fresh from tour in summer 2007, guitarist Dan Smith (a man known to pair silver trousers with a yellow, sequinned shirt) and bearded drummer Jamie Morrison (who still seems surprised to be in a band at all) began sonic experiments that involved getting stoned before trips to the Natural History Museum, then attempting to cover the likes of Britney’s Hit Me Baby (One More Time).

“We wrote over the top of lots of brilliant, outright pop songs, then removed the backing track to see what was left,” explains Morrison. “None of what we ended up with appears on the album, but the process inspired us to come up with new ways of songwriting. We also hung out in a lot of clubs, then came home and tried to copy the sounds we liked. That freed us from the conventions of writing guitar-based tunes.”

Come autumn, the trio piled their equipment in to a van and spent random weeks writing at residential studios in the likes of Devon and Brighton. En route, they listened to early Prince and Portishead, Queen, Talk Talk and Fleetwood Mac. The theme of the songs was captured in the album’s title.

“Wild Young Hearts – it’s about feeling young and acting young, whatever your age,” says Smith. “It’s about having fun and not following the pack. The three of us became genuine friends making this record. We got drunk together and even trashed the odd hotel room. We’re very different people, but we formed a bond which you can hear in the songs.”
The new material was road tested at sporadic shows last year, including a performance at South By South West and a tour of France, where Don’t Upset The Rhythm brought the house down every night, convincing Noisettes they were on to something special. Yet the band still weren’t sure how the album would sound until they holed up in a London studio last June with Arctic Monkey’s producer Jim Abbiss.

“We knew we wanted soul and an atmosphere that captured a specific period of time, the way Portishead albums do,” says Morrison. “But we had never played the songs together in a studio. All the parts were demoed separately on computer, with no real instruments. The idea was to feel like we were covering songs we vaguely knew, so the album sounded fresh and spontaneous. It was so much fun we recorded a tune a day and didn’t argue once!”
Friends came in to add bass parts and strings and both Shoniwa’s little brother (a semi-finalist on TV talent search show I’d Do Anything) and a baritone from her childhood choir contributed backing vocals. Most striking though is the range of Shoniwa’s own vocals - soft and beguiling on album opener Sometimes, jazzy on the acoustic Atticus, strident and sexy on Don’t Upset The Rhythm and bright and bluesy on the Motown-tinged So Complicated and future single Never Forget You.

“I grew up with traditional music from Zimbabwe – Afrobeat mixed with reggae and funk, which my uncles played,” says Shoniwa. “Then I studied musical theatre, sang in choirs and jazz bands. Dan even got me a job singing vocals in a Diana Ross covers band. Because of that background, I can wrap myself around anything from a sweet soul ballad to a jazz song to noisy rock’n’roll.”

“We all felt Shingai’s voice was sitting idle a bit on the first album,” adds Smith. “Because most of the songs were guitar based, she had much less to play with. Shingai has an amazing jazz voice, but that didn’t come through before. Now, you can hear all her different moods. How she sings sets the tone for every song. On Never Forget You, she’s very upbeat and the lyrics sound like a conversation in a bar. On Every Now And Then, she’s more melancholy and reflective. The contrast is like going out on a Saturday night, then paying for it the next morning.”

What hasn’t changed with Noisettes is the energy they put in to performing. Described as ‘the best live band in Britain’ by The Guardian, a recent London show saw Shoniwa charge in to the audience playing guitar and sing clinging to a ladder suspended from the ceiling, a nod to the circus skills she learnt in her teens.

“The idea of putting on a proper show seems to be missing from a lot of young bands at the moment,” says Shoniwa. “We always go that extra mile to give the crowd a night they’ll never forget. I love artists like Hendrix and Bowie who fussed over their hair and took time choosing an outfit.

“We’re not trying to be trendy – we want to make music for everyone – but we put effort in to every aspect of being in a band. Our aim is to prove that pop music can still be alternative and exciting. With this album, I know we can do that.”

www.myspace.com/noisettesuk

Monday, August 31, 2009

Shakira: New Album, Debut Single- She Wolf

FIRST SINGLE, SHE-WOLF, from forthcoming NEW ALBUM
AVAILABLE OCT 13, 2009

Spanish language version, LOBA, made available on 6/29

International superstar SHAKIRA is set to release the first single, She-Wolf, from her forthcoming album on CD and digitally worldwide.

Shakira wrote and produced She-Wolf with John Hill (Santogold) and penned the, as usual, quirky lyrics. She weaves a mischievous tale of a metaphorical she-wolf in the distinctively dance – fusion style that fans have come to expect. An inventively sexy video directed by Jake Nava and featuring the metamorphosis of a woman told through her unique dance techniques, will follow the single in late July.

She-Wolf boasts the infectious and energizing sound that made Shakira a household name, with a slightly more dancey/ electronic beat (about 125 beats per minute). The song has an organic disco feel with a chorus, “There's a she-wolf in the closet, open up and set it free, there's a she wolf in the closet, let it out so it can breathe." At the start, an ominous fanfare through a vocoder hooks the listener "there's a she wolf in disguise, coming out, coming out, coming out.” Then a vibrant string section builds to a final crescendo at the end of the song.

The full album is due out in October 13, 2009 from Epic, a division of Sony Music. The album features a predominantly English track list with a follow up album of new and unique repertoire in Spanish to come in 2010. Though most tracks on the upcoming album will be in English, Shakira chose to service the Spanish version of the first single, Loba on June 29th, 2009, two weeks before the English single is launched. Loba will be made available globally in recognition of Shakira’s longstanding fan base and unique bi-lingual appeal.

Shakira boasts a string of chart-topping hits in both English and Spanish and sales of over 50 million records. Her last project, Oral Fixation Volumes 1&2, has sold in excess of 8 million albums worldwide with the singles La Tortura and Hips Don’t Lie having earned over 10 million digital downloads.




www.shakira.com

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Whitney Houston - The Megamix (Jody den Broeder & Warren Rigg Extended Video Edit)

Check the flawless video treatment jnxdb (as known on YouTube.) He really took a lot of time with this one, and it came out great, not to mention Jody and Warren's megamix is very good!

Although this isn't a video, this is the Freemasons remix of "Million Dollar Bill."
Here, they demonstrate their ferocious talent for the remix-
providing the top current club remix of Whitney.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Anjulie: Debut Album

Anjulie (Hear Music) available Aug 4, 2009

With her unique voice, disarmingly frank lyrics, melodic gifts, and exotic good looks, singer and songwriter Anjulie announces herself as a commanding new presence on the music scene. On her self-titled debut album, the Los Angeles-based songwriter comes across as a confident young woman who examines her life, loves, obsessions, and heartbreaks with fearless introspection. “I think what separates me from other artists is that I write from a really intimate place,” Anjulie says.“ This album is like me opening the door to my bedroom, literally. I come off as being pretty put-together, but my songs are the one place where I can pull the string and unravel. They’re where I can be vulnerable, insecure, jealous, silly, and childlike. It's too scary to do that in real life. You have to feel safe. I only feel safe with headphones on.”

The youngest of four children, Anjulie grew up in the Toronto suburb of Oaksville, Ontario, raised by immigrant parents from Guyana — a South American nation culturally influenced by its Caribbean neighbors to the north. As a result, her household was filled with everything from Afro-Caribbean calypso, reggae, and South American Latin music, to the pop and rock emanating from her older siblings’ radios. The mĂ©lange has definitely influenced Anjulie’s debut — a sophisticated blend of indelible pop smarts, hip-hop edginess, and world-music spice, topped by Anjulie’s sultry vocal stylings that she created with her producers and songwriting collaborators Colin Wolfe, who has worked with Dr. Dre and Monica, and her longtime collaborator Jon Levine, keyboardist for Toronto’s funk-pop combo The Philosopher Kings.

Anjulie and Levine first met when then-17-year-old Anjulie, already a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and performer hustling to catch a break, was doing an internship at Metalworks recording studio in Toronto. “I was basically cleaning the studio and getting coffee for people,” she says. “Jon came in and he was in a famous band, so I knew who he was. He asked me to have some lunch, but the people who work behind the desk are not supposed to hang out with clients, so I got fired.” Despite that minor setback, the story has a happy ending. Levine was intrigued enough to accept an invitation to hear Anjulie perform at an open mic night, which led to their current creative partnership. In 2005, the pair wrote two songs for actress-singer Emma Roberts’ debut album Unfabulous and More. Anjulie’s other songwriting credits include co-writing a track on the Philosopher Kings’ album 2006 album Castles, and penning “Don’t Call Me Baby” — a Billboard Top 10 hit in Canada for EMI recording artist Kreesha Turner.

“Anjulie’s songwriting is strong and confessional, but with a real pop sensibility,” Levine says. “As an artist, she is never satisfied to dole out the same empty pleasantries that most singers do. When we were making her record, I always believed what we put down on tape. Sometimes we’d have a song completely finished and we’d both be happy with it. Then the next day, she’d come into the studio with an entirely different verse written. She wanted to make sure it truly resonated and wasn’t just hooky. It’s that kind of determination that makes an artist great.”

The confident and eclectic mix of songs on Anjulie’s debut explore a wide range of moods, a sign that she is an artist with a lot of range and versatility. The slinky opening track “Boom,” works a dark, Nancy Sinatra-esque ’60s vibe, while ”The Rain” is a sleek, flamenco-flavored urban gem. Anjulie gets steamy on the feverish “The Heat,” the obsessive “Addicted2Me,” and the provocative “Some Dumb Whore,” before entirely switching gears on the uplifting acoustic-driven “Same Damn Thing” and the lovelorn piano ballad “Crazy That Way.”

“We were very particular about creating certain colors with the sound,” Levine says. “Most of the time it was a process of building a track up and then stripping away as much as we could till we found the bare essentials, or the heart of the track. We were really into carving out a lot of space to give the music a dark, open feel.”

It’s not surprising that Anjulie’s debut is as eclectic as it is, as the singer cops to a host of musical influences, everyone from confessional singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette and the always-enigmatic Annie Lennox, to hip-hop mavericks Kanye West and Lauryn Hill. “When you listen to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, it’s so unbelievably personal,” Anjulie says. “The songs are like snapshots of her life. I’m totally blown away by it.”

That honesty is something Anjulie strives to emulate in her own music. “I think I have something to say lyrically,” she says. “My background is in songwriting, so I’m really invested in melodies, song structure, and payoff choruses, but on this record, I tried to loosen up and just express myself how I wanted to. I really write for myself. I always tell people if they want to know about me, just listen to my music because I really do put it all out there.”

While she gears up for her album to be released by Hear Music in August of 2009, Anjulie is looking forward to putting a band together and taking her music out on the road.“ Being onstage performing is definitely a high point for me,” she says. “It’s so euphoric to perform live; you can really feel the energy from the crowd. I admire people who have the whole package and can really put on a show. That’s what I strive to do.”


www.anjuliemusic.com

Saturday, July 11, 2009