Canada Review: Lindsay Bellows “Wake to Dream”

http://dmme.net/lindsay-bellows-wake-dream/

LINDSAY BELLOWS – Wake To Dream

Linday Bellows 2017

LINDSAY BELLOWS –
Wake To Dream

Locating the spirit of a city, Californian songstress embraces the whole wide world.

Fiercely independent, Lindsay Bellows usually treads the stage alone, and she conceived this, her debut EP, as an a cappella album. Given an instrumental layer, it turned out better – by focusing the light on the young artist’s tremendous talent and on the many surprises that her songs are comprised of. Joie de vivre oozing out of the record’s cover may say nothing about Linday’s music’s bluesy slant, yet that’s what made “Wake To Dream” so peculiarly perfect.

The handclaps-propelled, spiritual “Wake Up” could induce a blissful trance, but it’s here that Bellows’ lungs reveal their real power, and the soulful musings catch on universal jive, while guitar and bass caress and tickle the simple, if infectious, rhythm and intricate, multi-tracked vocals. There’s no need for transcendence, though, as the lighter beats of “Part Life” make a jungle groove contemporary without ever losing the artist’s integrity to the “tribe” she’s claiming to belong to.

Gracious in “Wild And Free” which can easily lend itself to hip hop treatment, her music is also intimate and sultry; even more so in the bossa-smeared “Simple Gifts” whose engaging lyrics and melody must attract Paul Simon’s attention. The title of “Slow Steady” perfectly reflects its pace: building gradually from unhurried piano chords up, Lindsay’s lines on this piece are stacked carefully, yet precariously, to create an aural pyramid where the melody is rolling over voice loops – that’s why Bellows is self-sufficient on-stage – before her stately walk is turned into a mesmerizing parade of passion.

“I am exactly where I’m supposed to be – perfect place and perfect time,” sings Lindsay, and indeed, her time has come.

*****

AVAILABLE NOW! – SYDNEY BROWN Releases Her Debut Single “LOVE IS STRONGER THAN SMOKE AND FIRE” Produced by NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN to Benefit CA Fire Victims

For Immediate Release – San Francisco, CA – SYDNEY BROWN is a Pop singer/songwriter from San Francisco, CA, and together with Bay Area legend NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN wrote and recorded the single “LOVE IS STRONGER THAN SMOKE AND FIRE” as a benefit for the victims of the 2017 California fires. Presently 16 years old, Sydney began her singing career in 2009 and has performed in over ten Broadway musicals with different local theatre companies, including her favorites Legally Blonde, West Side Story, and Sweet Charity. Sydney met Narada in 2010 and began performing with him at his Spring Fling with Strings Concert, singing a cover of the Bill Withers classic “Lean on Me” for her first solo performance.

SYDNEY BROWN began writing her own music in 2017, and is excited to release her debut single “LOVE IS STRONGER THAN SMOKE AND FIRE” on February 9, 2018. The song is co-written and produced by the iconic Grammy-winning producer NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN, who has also produced such legendary stars as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Sting, and George Michael. The single was recorded at the illustrious Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California, and will be released in association with Walden’s Tarpan Records.

When the devastating California fires broke out in October 2017, Sydney had already been recording with Narada. Horrified by what had happened to so many people in their area, they sat down to discuss lyrics and ideas, and the song “LOVE IS STRONGER THAN SMOKE AND FIRE” was born. Then Sydney had an idea: instead of creating this song for herself, she wanted to release the single in the interest of helping the fire victims that were so close to her. She teamed up with YouCaring and The Red Cross to ensure that proceeds from the single would go directly to both the Northern and Southern California fire victims. Within 48 hours of launching Sydney’s YouCaring fundraising campaign, her initial goal of $5,000 was met. Funds are still being raised. For more information on the fundraising project, please visit youcaring.com/sydneybrownmusic.

The intense message of the lyrics and the situation has inspired the creation of a full-length music video for the song, with scenes in the video that include footage from the Sonoma, Napa, and Los Angeles fires and their aftermath. Shot exclusively in and around Sonoma County, the video will debut worldwide on February 16, 2018. See a short preview of the video at https://youtu.be/6bWg1-JHtKg.

The 2017 California fires have been devastating, and this cause has touched Sydney’s heart. Her goal is to touch the hearts of others and to ensure that all the fire victim’s lives are restored to the best of their ability. Like her father Willie Brown, former Mayor of San Francisco, Sydney believes in justice for everyone, no matter what. SYDNEY BROWN and Willie Brown will host a release event for “LOVE IS STRONGER THAN SMOKE AND FIRE” at the Golden Gate Yacht Club on February 10, 2018.

Along with her love for music, Sydney has always had a desire to be a social justice warrior. She joined the Mock Trial team when she began high school in Marin County in 2015, sparking a passion for law which has since begun to flourish. Not only has she joined the Mock Trial team, but she has also been hired for an internship with a local criminal defense attorney. As being an advocate for social justice stole her heart, she wanted to combine her music with that passion. With the release of her new single in February 2018, that dream has become a reality.

For more information about SYDNEY BROWN or future performances please visit Sydney’s website at www.sydneybrownmusic.com.

To Pre-order “LOVE IS STRONGER THAN SMOKE AND FIRE” on iTunes and Other Digital Retailers please visit http://smarturl.it/SydneyBrown.

For Press and Interview inquiries, please contact Billy James of Glass Onyon PR at (828) 350-8158 or glassonyonpr@gmail.com.

For Digital Marketing, please contact Jerome Forney of Independent Distribution Collective at jerome@independentdistro.com.

 

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Canada Review: Jennifer Saran “Soulful Christmas”

http://dmme.net/jennifer-saran-soulful-christmas/

JENNIFER SARAN – Soulful Christmas

Tarpan 2017

JENNIFER SARAN –
Soulful Christmas

Another box of Yuletide presents from American songstress who asked us to wake up and walk with her.

Apparently 2015’s “Merry Christmas, You Are Loved” was so auspicious a debut for Ms Saran that, two years down the line, she’s returning to the same place. The homecoming theme runs throughout this record, yet if the place it’s in is the same, it’s a different performer we meet here: more confident, creatively matured and, well, finely seasoned. Most of what’s on offer now, may accompany a quiet evening in front of a fireplace, though, pieces like “I Have My Own Reindeer” oozing a family atmosphere, and still, there are moments that prompt one to shake comfortable numbness and let joy flow to the world.

An epitome of the album’s spirit, opener “Christmas Lover” – that marries Saran’s deliberately wintry, transparent vocals to THE TEMPTATIONS’ eggnog-thick voices – is where contemporary grooves feed into communal tradition, while the “baby, baby” of the title track links Jennifer’s soft seasonal wonderment to the spirit of Smokey’s miracles. Playful and elegant at the same time on the jazzy perennial “Sleigh Ride,” she’s embracing a too by-numbers music hall on “Swingin’ At Christmas Time” so, for all their lighthearted throb, the dance types of “Christmas Delight” – a perky duet with Cornell Carter – and “Merry Christmas To You” work better than simple ballads.

It’s a revue of sorts, instrumental interludes of tunes such as “Hark The Herald Angels Sing” peppering up the songs’ flow and an a cappella snippet of “You Are My Christmas Star” shaping a triumphant finale. Yet the bluegrass vibe and beats make “Soul Cake” genuinely special – reserved, if  irresistibly infectious – with a “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” quote an icing on it all. There’s an impression that, had Ms Saran and her mentor, Narada Michael Wallden, let their hair down and let all these strings and brass kick in, they’d have a hit on their hands… but then, it’s Christmas and a time to relax.

***

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Portugal Review: Jennifer Saran “Soulful Christmas”

https://vianocturna2000.blogspot.pt/2017/12/info-reviews-dezembro-2017-i.html

Soulful Christmas (JENNIFER SARAN)

(2017, Tarpan Records)

Jennifer Saran must really like Christmas because Soulful Christmas and already her second record on the theme, after the 2015 debut entitled Merry Christmas, You Are Loved. This is also the second release by the North American singer based in Hong Kong this year. Soulful Christmas is a soft disc, with frequent resources to soul elements of Motown (up to here collaborate the Temptations in the theme Christmas Lover). An album with beautiful melodies and to be enjoyed with family during the Christmas dinner. [4.6 / 6]

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Germany Review: Michael Tracy “Still Got Soul”

 

http://www.wp.rocktimes.de/michael-tracy-still-got-soul-cd-review/

Michael Tracy / Still Got Soul – CD Review

… on CD , rock

December 26, 2017

By Wolfgang Giese

Artist: Michael | Tracy Label: Self-Produced Music Style: AOR , Melodic Rock , Stadium Rock

 

Translated:

In 2011, Michael Tracy started his musical career as a singer / songwriter. That was on the occasion of a live performance in Charlotte, North Carolina. Already in the same year appeared the first album, “Enough Small Talk”. Four more records followed and now there is the new, “Still Got Soul”.

Tracy presents wonderful melodic old school rock full of harmonies and predominantly beautiful sound in widescreen format. A rich sound reminiscent of musicians like John Mellencamp , Bob Seger , Tom Petty,and occasionally coupled with the kind of music presented by Boston or Asia . This has resulted in a combination of typical eighties rock with an occasional touch of Westcoast Rock. Here you can listen well and relaxed and feel good.

Over the course of the season you will be confronted with different moods. From typical mainstream rock, melodic rock, it goes to varieties of arena rock, mostly on the bottom of the classic rock. Basically, it is mainly Adult Orientated Rock (AOR), which is sometimes fuller and stronger, sometimes gentler and more melodic, but always with the certain hooklines, pleasantly flowing in the solar plexus. With an expressive, if not necessarily powerful voice, which is often accompanied by background vocals, the singer Tracy creates a harmonic mood and more than once the eighties seem to be quoted, as the title song says:

»I still remember in ’81
I saw that Lucy in the sky and I was done
So now I dust off my old 45s
Here I am like I was 10 playing records thru the night«

“It’s been a long time since I rock n ‘roll
Got no faith but I still got soul
Might of been lost along the way
But I’m not afraid of yesterday.”

Anyway, you can feel how much Tracy is standing behind the songs with his soul and heart, always eager to convince a pleasant sound that quickly grabs and takes you as a listener. So the pleasing compositions have succeeded, albeit no masterpieces, but with a guarantee for a beautiful listening experience.

---

Line-up Michael Tracy:

Michael Tracy (vocals, all instruments)
Brock Whitfield (drums, except – # 11)

Tracklist “Still Got Soul”:

1. Laughter (3:11)
2. My Lisa (4:11)
3. Still Got Soul (3:29)
4. Call Me Wild (3:47)
5. No More Waiting (3:57)
6. Sweet Smile (3:20)
7. Savannah Night (3:48)
8. Shake It (3:11)
9. Hopeful (3:26)
10. Raven (4:32)
11. Poinsettia Red (Bonus Track) (2:26)

(All songs written by Michael Tracy and Sahaj Ticotin )

Total playing time: 39:27, release year: 2017

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Portugal Review: Jennifer Saran “Wake Up”

http://vianocturna2000.blogspot.pt/2017/08/reviews-agosto-2017-i.html

Reviews – August 2017 (I)

Wake Up (Jeniffer Saran)

(2017, Tarpan Records)

Translated:

Jennifer Saran is a very prolific artist. After her debut with a Christmas album, Merry Christmas You Are Loved (2015), she released Walk With Me in 2016 and already has a new album on the market. Named Wake Up, the Hong Kong-based American singer returns to work with respected Narada Michael Walden to present 15 tracks where she joins versions of her favorite artists ( Patty Page, Doris Day, Bill Withers and George Michael ) to a set of original pop Alternative and contemporary adult music. Highlights for the collaborations of the South African choral group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the legendary Carlos Santana. ( 4.7 / 6 )