ANDRA DAY - February 15, 2016

LISTEN to my chat with ANDRA DAY for

All Access Music

HERE

I had the honor of interviewing ANDRA DAY back in 2015 for All Access Music. Andra & I chatted between touring, opening for Lenny Kravitz & fresh from her performance at the Life Is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas.

Retro-soul singer, songwriter & actress, ANDRA DAY is from San Diego, California, where she performed in church & enrolled at the School of Creative and Performing Arts. After she graduated from the school, she leaned toward contemporary R&B & pop, but was eventually drawn back to the classic jazz & soul vocalists she heard as a youngster.

A major break came when a performance of hers was caught by Kai Millard Morris, who subsequently took some of Day’s music to husband Stevie Wonder, who in turn connected Day with music industry veteran Adrian Gurvitz. Aligned with Gurvitz and Jeffrey Evans’ Buskin label, Day built up a YouTube following & eventually signed with Warner Bros.

After a few singles, as well as a version of “Mississippi Goddamn” contributed to Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone, Day released her debut album, Cheers To The Fall (2015), for which she collaborated extensively with the likes of Gurvitz & Raphael Saadiq, among others. “Only Love” alone featured bass from Pino Palladino, drums from Questlove, scratching from DJ Jazzy Jeff, & additional support from the Dap-Kings horn section.

In October 2015, Andra sang "Rise Up" at The White House & again performed the song for A&E's live special, Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America. Day performed on the second day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to rousing applause. She followed immediately after a moving address by Mothers of the Movement, a group of black mothers who had lost a child through encounters with police & gun violence.

In December 2016, Andra Day received the Powerhouse Award at the Billboard Women in Music event. When asked what makes a 'powerhouse' powerful to others, Day responded,

"I think you just remind them of their value, you remind them of their purpose. You remind them that you are not here just to exist, you're here to impact people in their lives...I think it just reinforces that."

In 2017, Day appeared on the song "Stand Up for Something" with rapper Common for the film, Marshall which features the late, great, actor, Chadwick Boseman. The single was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song; Day & Common performed the song at the 90th Academy Awards in March 2018.

Day performed with the Baltimore Children's Choir for the opening musical performance at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2018.

In her first major film role, Day stars as the iconic singer Billie Holiday in the biographical drama The United States vs. Billie Holiday on HULU. For the 2020 film The United States vs. Billie Holiday, at the Golden Globes, she received a nomination for Best Original Song for "Tigress and Tweed" & won Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for her title performance as Billie Holiday. She also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role.

Nicole DeRosa for All Access Music, February 15, 2016 https://music.allaccess.com/listen-to-a-qa-with-retro-soul-singer-and-songwriter-andra-day-life-is-beautiful-festival-edition/

JAMES BAY - February 15, 2016

Catching up with the GRAMMY Nominee

Between The Chaos and the Calm at the

HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM

JAMES BAY has released a number of EPs & an album, CHAOS AND THE CALM (2015). The album went to number one in the UK & number 15 in the US. Bay’s single “Hold Back The River” peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. Chaos and the Calm is already the “Biggest Album Release This Year” in the UK & has been certified Gold in Australia & Switzerland, Platinum in the UK. In February 2015, Bay received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award. At the 2016 Brit Awards he received the award for Best British Male Solo Artist.

Congratulations are in order as the 25-year-old “If You Ever Want to Be in Love” crooner was just nominated three times at the 2016 Grammy Awards. James is up for Best New Artist, Best Rock Album & Best Rock Song for “Hold Back the River.”

The English singer, songwriter & guitarist grew up in Hitchin, Hertfordshire & studied at the British & Irish Modern Music Institute. In 2015, Bay received the Brit Awards “Critics’ Choice” award. Aged 11, Bay was inspired to play classical guitar after hearing Eric Clapton’s “Layla” & he used a guitar he found in the cupboard in his house. When he moved to study in Brighton seven years later he gained a greater education from playing the city’s open mic nights, on which he said,

“That taught me a lot about writing & performing on my own & trying to hold my own. London is open minded, but it's a bit more like New York whereas Brighton is a bit more like Austin, Texas. You can walk around the whole of Brighton in a night with a guitar & packed bars with open mic nights. I made the decision that it would be formative to live there & develop as a performer.”

Bay caught the attention of a Republic Records A&R after a fan uploaded a video to YouTube of him performing at an open mic in London & within a week he was signed to the label. His first EP, The Dark of the Morning, was released in 2013. Within a year he was selling out his first UK headline tour.

All Access Music writer, Nicole DeRosa got to catch up with the singer during his stop at the Hollywood Palladium on Tuesday, December 1st where he performed to a sold out crowd. The singer has been on tour for almost the past two years & when asked about writing on the road he says...

“Lately I’m trying to get my head into that space. I didn’t really need to initially because I was getting ready to release a record I had already recorded. Writing was sort of in the back of my mind for the first time in a while but suddenly now I’m craving new ideas & enjoying flexing that muscle again. I’m on the road all the time, so it’s the only place to write. It’s a different thing if you can imagine as opposed to having your own space at all times, so I’m getting used to writing on the road now.”

The svelte rocker opened with “Collide” & followed it up with his swoon-worthy sing along “Craving” which flowed right into the poppy & oh so catchy track, “When We Were On Fire”. Before the night ended, James teased the crowd ever so slightly & continued with a triple encore that included “Incomplete” a fun cover of Creedence Clearwater “Proud Mary” & ended the night on a high note closing out with his epic singalong “Hold Back The River”.

Nicole DeRosa for All Access Music, Feb 15, 2016 https://music.allaccess.com/james-bay-catching-up-between-the-chaos-and-the-calm-at-the-hollywood-palladium/

R3HAB - February 2, 2016

I had the opportunity to sit down for a chat with Dutch DJ & record producer of Moroccan origin, Fadil El Ghoul better known by his stage name R3HAB, just before his DJ set at Coachella. Check out the video above & enjoy our conversation.

Who is Fadil El Ghoul aka R3HAB?

R3HAB began his career in late 2007 while producing the track ‘Mrkrstft’ with Hardwell. One of the main influences R3hab has listed is the duo Infected Mushroom, whose music has been on the international scene since 1999. From the influential Dutch circuit to his place at the forefront of global dance music, R3HAB now stands for a brand everyone can sink their teeth into.

Catapulted into the limelight courtesy of a string of successful original material & remixes, his is a stamp of quality recognized on club floors, festival stages & the digital market alike. Sporting an agenda for big sounds with melodic stamina, 2015 marks another year in which Holland’s hottest export is dropping anchor on every corner of the globe.

Remixing everyone from Beyonce, Calvin Harris, Rihanna, Axwell ^ Ingrosso, John Legend, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift & Steve Aoki along the way, R3HAB remained a beacon as to where evolving artists could adapt & engage new & exciting territory whilst staying true to the dance floor. An integral element of this reliable brand can still be found on the club floor, but R3HAB’s live experience has found further room to excel & engage.

After playing to over 1.9 million fans in 2014, his return to Coachella for 2015 marks another landmark in the globetrotting DJ’s playbook, with further global festival action complimenting a staggering international tour schedule throughout the year ahead.

With a brand new night & day residency for LiFE Nightclub and Foxtail Pool Club at SLS Vegas & yet more landmark musical artillery to come throughout the year, there are no signs of the Dutch heavyweight hitting the brakes anytime soon.

Nicole DeRosa for All Access Music, February 2, 2016 https://music.allaccess.com/exclusive-video-interview-with-r3hab/