soulRocks » Rhythmic Soul

J*Davey

soulrocks — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:41:30 +0000

With a diverse array of influences, eclectic twosome J*Davey — female vocalist Jack Davey (b. Brianna Cartwright) and producerBrook D’Leau — deliberately evade the narrow categories of what urban music should sound like, not to mention that they defy normal conventions of pop music. Drawing equally from neo-soul, new wave, funk, and hip-hop, their melting pot of electronic soul and dance have made music-goers try to classify them somewhere between neo-soulstress Erykah Badu and new wave punks Talking Heads.D’Leau and Davey established the duo in the summer after their high-school graduation in 1999. Born and raised in L.A., D’Leau, whose taste for new wave and funk greatly characterizes the group’s music, learned to produce tinkering with his father’s studio equipment during high school. Davey moved to Los Angeles from her hometown of St. Louis, MO, when she was eight. She had her fair share of industry woes with a failed stint in a girl group, but when she met D’Leau, the two had a chemistry that they couldn’t ignore. For several years, the self-proclaimed “black Eurythmics” worked the live circuit around the country, steadily building their reputation and a unique following. They made some substantial strides on the recording side of things, scoring music for television shows CSI: New York and Entourage. However, their recording appearances began to accumulate in the mid-2000s with the most interesting being their cover of Frank Zappa‘s “Dirty Love” on Ubiquity Records’ Rewind! 5compilation in 2006. Early the following year, fresh off their stint performing with Prince, J*Davey signed a major-label deal with Warner Bros.

myspace.com/jdavey

Janelle Monae

soulrocks — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:36:23 +0000

Growing up, Janelle Monáe (born Janelle Robinson) felt constrained by the limited resources offered to her in her greater Kansas City, KS, home. When she finished high school, she moved to New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy with the intention of pursuing musical theater, but in 2004, after performing in a couple of off-Broadway shows and realizing there weren’t the roles available to her that she wanted, she moved to Atlanta to try her luck there. She soon joined a band and began touring the local college circuit, where she eventually got in touch with her future partners in Wondaland Arts Society (a collective/label that looked to promote experimental arts) as well as OutKast‘s Big Boi. The rapper was so impressed by what he heard of her that he put two of her songs on his 2005 compilation, Got Purp?, Vol. 2. Monáe also showed up on OutKast‘s 2006 soundtrack, Idlewild, even appearing in the video for “Morris Brown,” and in August 2007 she released the first of an originally planned four Metropolis installments, or suites, an EP entitled The Chase, a concept piece revolving around a character named Cindi Mayweather and the year 2719. The album — which melded cabaret, hip-hop, rock, and soul — was well received, which helped bring the singer into the radar of Sean “Diddy” Combs. Rumors about a signing were finally confirmed in March 2008, when Diddy officially announced Monáe as the newest member of his Bad Boy roster. Monáe promised that the move was not going to compromise any of her artistic integrity or creativity. A re-release of The Chase, featuring bonus content, appeared in August 2008, while the second and third suites of Metropolis were issued together as components of 2010’s The ArchAndroid.

www.jmonae.com/

Heavy

soulrocks — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 11:27:30 +0000

Casey (stutzmcgee) Benjamin & Nicky (Ampersand Jones) Guiland = HEAVy, a mind boggling mix of rock, soul and pop chock full of quirk and irony that is uniquely their own.

The Jamaica Queens, NY natives carry on the “power-duo” tradition of singer and producer, pulling influences from across the spectrum, Herbie Hancock, Rotary Connection, The Police, Prince to name a few.

Nicky, half Trini – half Jamaican, was born on stage. After years of dance training in local and professional programs, she grew tired of the restrictive discipline and at age 12 showed promise with vocal arts. Casey, Grenadian/ Panamanian, grew up with music all around. His fathers extensive record collection encouraged Casey’s musical aptitude and by age 8 the self taught pianist found himself in love with the saxophone. His high school years would prove to be both promising and heartbreaking when his band, Legacy, signed to Uptown Records, only later to be shelved by parent company MCA after Uptown folded. Their shared love for jazz and similar cultural backgrounds brought the two together in their senior year at New York’s infamous Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts. After a semester of collaborations and performances the two both accepted scholarships to New School University’s Jazz program, but it wasn’t until Nicky’s senior recital that they would collaborate again. By May of 2001, Casey had left The New School to begin regular touring with DJ Logic/Project Logic to MD the run and solidify his brand as a Saxophonist/Keyboardist/Vocoder player. Nicky knew she needed a musical director who could handle a diverse setlist. After a successful show, they knew they were onto something and HEAVy was born, named after the comments they’d received about their new sound.

Since then, HEAVy has released one EP, 2004’s HEAVY on Kindred Spirits Records, featuring the critically acclaimed “Wonderlove (for minnie)”, HEAVY Remixed with work by Jazzanova and Dj Spinna and two full albums, the 2007 BBE Records release JAzzmonEY$$ and most recently in 2009 HEAVy First Sessions on Kindred Spirits Records, a lost session recorded in 2001 showcasing the roots of this eclectic group.

HEAVy has toured Europe extensively opening for N.E.R.D, Jill Scott and Q-Tip.

myspace.com/whoisheavy