| GrooveOut Shorts
Alicia Keys
The Diary of Alicia Keys
Yes, that’s her playing the piano. Not tickling
the ivories, mind you—that’s her that
you hear shredding away at every note. Alicia
Keys is a prodigy. Her voice carries with it a
newness with all the delivery of someone who’s
been singing an entire lifetime, but there is
youth in her inflection. The control and confidence
that comes with it overwhelm that youth, however,
and in the end this young R & B pioneer has
put together a quietly confident and very strong
record. Its 16 tracks twist and turn away from
each other in defiance of sounding anything alike,
and even with the incredible control Keys has
over her voice, she seems to feel no need to flex
it. All of the vocal melodies stay in place—something
which is unusual in modern R&B—to a
fault. “If I Was Your Woman/Walk on By”
would be the standout on an album on which it’s
difficult to pick one. From J Records (www.jrecords.com).
—Lance Walker
Nellie McKay
Get Away from Me
A multi-talented “youngster” of 19,
Nellie McKay is already a seasoned performer/singer/songwriter/reconteur
who peppers her live shows with acerbic and witty
banter in between self-penned songs—and
a well-placed standard or two—from her ever-growing
repetoire. She never performs a song the same
way twice, partly because she has difficulty remembering
lyrics, particularly her own, and partly because
she pledges allegiance to no rule other than to
keep her music and her performances as fresh and
non-repetitive as possible. “If I write
the same song twice, I’m dead,” she
has been known to say, although she admits to
revisiting certain themes, among them death, poverty,
anger, animal rights, sarcasm, feminism, phoniness,
and the desire to be “less pretentious,
less arty, and basically call my own bluff.”
From Columbia Records (www.columbiarecords.com).
—Suzie Lynde
Various Artists
CLUB Sodade: Cesaria Evora by . . .
Her voice is an ocean of swells. Warmth, tides
carrying the sounds of her aged pipes back and
forth underneath her like the furious currents
beneath our feet when we wade out too far from
the shoreline. Cesaria Evora tours eight months
a year. That’s not such a noble effort until
you realize that she is in her 60s and that she
didn’t begin any sort of ascent into the
popular light until she was 50. With the release
of her 1991 album Mar Azul, the Cape Verdean vocalist
quickly rose to a level of recognition that has
bordered on infamy, and has since garnered six
Grammy nominations. An international host of producers
has now paid tribute to her efforts through the
alchemy of collaboration, and we have CLUB Sodade
to show for it. Evora’s voice is left intact
on this release—some of the tracks use a
bit less of it than they would normally and take
the songs in a dancier direction, but for the
most part her songs are left in their original
shape. It’s understandable that they didn’t
take much liberty with it: Her voice is kind of
like a Rothko painting—dark, intense, and
(lyrically) admittedly fatalistic. What would
you want to do to mess that up? From Bluebird
(www.bluebirdjazz.com). —LW
Casey Stratton
Standing at the Edge
With the release of Standing at the Edge on the
Odyssey label, Casey Stratton arrives, at the
age of 25, as one of the most arresting voices
in music today. The 12 tracks on this label debut
reveal a boldly personal new ballad style—rich,
hook-laden melodies and searching lyrics blended
with Stratton’s powerful, expressive vocals.
Standing at the Edge brings Stratton together
with top producer Patrick Leonard—Madonna,
Elton John, Jewel—in a collaboration that
delivers a new, razor-sharp clarity to the singer/songwriter/musician’s
expansive style, which he has been developing
for over a decade. Stratton wrote all the songs,
except for a co-write with Leonard, and plays
piano throughout the album. From Odyssey. For
more info: www.sonyclassical.com or www.caseystratton.com.
—Troy Carrington
Daft Punk
Daft Club
If a cook’s going to let someone stir his
or her soup, they’re gonna want it to be
Paul Prudhomme. Or at least Emeril. Personally,
I’d pick the Iron Chef. . . . Either way,
Daft Punk has taken a similar approach on this
disc of remixes, handing over the knobs and levers
to luminaries such as The Neptunes, Basement Jaxx,
and the lesser-known but brilliant Cosmo Vitelli.
A remix of the already hooky “Digital Love,”
done by German House DJ Boris Dlugosh, is a floor-stomper
and accents the original resonance of the vocals
while expanding on the direction of the music
and giving it new life. That new life is evident
throughout and will surely find its way to the
clubs as the robotic and melodic voices of Daft
Punk as you heard them on Discovery make their
way around wearing brand-new leather jackets.
From Virgin Records (www.virginrecords.com). More
info: www.daftpunk.com. —LW
José Luis Encinas
Travesura Chill
Encinas promotes his latest release Travesura
Chill/Prank Chill saying it’s accented by
“ambient-chill.” Too bad the liner
notes don’t explain what any of that means.
But even if listeners can’t understand his
title or promo buzz words, they won’t have
any trouble understanding his music. From smooth
jazz to passionate flamenco, Travesrura Chill
loses nothing in translation. Not for the Ricky
Martin set, this is for more laid-back, mature
listeners. From Planet Rhythm/Universal Music
Latino. —Olivia Flores Alvarez
Kylie Minogue
Body Language
She was a pop princess in the ’80s, but
don’t fault her for it. One has to admit
that this Australian-born diva has not only survived
the decade that gave birth to her career . . .
she trumped it. Most of those tempered careers
that were born in the ’80s survived the
fatal blow of the tag of having been birthed in
that decade, and despite a disappearance of sorts
in the ’90s, Kylie Minogue has failed to
go the way of Tiffany or any of her other mall-touring
comrades. She has instead worked quite hard at
constant image reinventions and overseen increasingly
varied directions in her music. Not to save herself,
mind you, but to continue some sort of regression
into an infinitely more creative catalog of performance
and songs. The new album is all over the place,
her voice is where you expect it, and the direction
is anybody’s guess. “Locomotion”
is as much a part of her past as is Neighbours,
and we’ll not be expecting her to look back
any time soon. With the way she’s going,
she’s likely got a lot of work planned ahead
of her. By the way, she’s only 35. From
EMI (www.emimusic.info). —LW
Tastexperience
Beyond the Horizon
The Tastexperience sound is undeniably catchy
and has been sought after across various genres
of lounge and electronic music for their crisp
clean production. Electronic pioneers DJ Paul
Oakenfold to DJ Tiesto have championed the Tastexperience
sound, bringing their unique blend of tropical
paradise to light. Beyond the Horizon is a riot
of color, mixing harmonious strings with hauntingly
beautiful vocals in tribal, tropical earthy undertones
that cohesively blend into an electro-organic
experience that is irresistible. From Neurodisc
Records (www.neurodisc.com). More info: www.tastexperience.co.uk.
—TC
Emilie Autumn
Enchant
Playing the violin since the age of four, Emilie
Autumn grew up in the world of concert halls and
European tours. Performing jazz as well as classical
music, Autumn gained notoriety as a versatile
yet virtuosic performer in her early teens. Her
natural fascination for times past led her into
the music of the medieval, renaissance, and baroque
eras, becoming one of the youngest champions of
the period performance movement and earning a
classical recording deal at age 18. Her pop and
rock songs have been recorded by international
performers, and her symphonic works have found
their way into a number of films. Most unexpected
is her debut as a vocalist, as introduced on Enchant.
Her self-produced album combines her vocal, compositional,
and poetic skills as well as her mastery of the
violin and piano. From Traitor Records (www.traitor-records.com).
More info: www.emilieautumn.com). —SL
Etro Anime
See the Sound
Etro Anime means “to be infinite with spirit
and in movement.” Encompassing this mantra,
Etro Anime formed in Y2K as one of the most innovative
acts to emerge from the New York dance scene in
years. Their worldwide debut See the Sound will
no doubt leave your head spinning and yearning
to hear more of the electro-soul musings. The
band’s sound takes in elements of trip-hop,
drum & dass, and soulful, jazzy lounge grooves,
finished off with blissed-out vocals. From Neurodisc
Records (www.neurodisc.com). —SL
David Guetta
Just a Little More Love
Just a Little More Love preaches good times and
nights that never end. There is ling-blasting
garage (note: not garridge) from Strictly Rhythm
vocalist Barbara Tucker on “It’s Allright,”
lost-in-time Cajmere-style jack trax on “Give
Me Something,” filtered EQ disco house that
reflects David Guetta’s French heritage
on “You,” and dark and sleazy electro
on the title track, although Guetta is keen to
point out that it was recorded before the current
electro trend. The bottom line: It’s for
dancing. From Gum Records (www.gumprod.com). More
info: www.davidguetta.com or www.astralwerks.com).
—TC
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