Artist: Alexis Jordan   Label: Star Roc/Roc Nation   Single: “Happiness”  >>  Official Website

What They Say: “The moment Alexis walked into our studio we just got that special feeling,” says Tor of the hit-making production team, Stargate. “It was a Blink-moment, ‘This girl’s got it, let’s make a record’.” We didn’t know the depths of Alexis at the time, but as we were making the record it became clear to us that not only is she a world class singer, but she is a smart, confident, all-around entertainer with a big future.

What We Say: The desire for a hit artist from Roc Nation is high on Jay Z’s priority list. With two of the best producers, Stargate (Beyonce, Rihanna) behind the album and giving her age (18) this could be an easy winner. The trick with Alexis Jordan is the music and her debut single, “Happiness” doesn’t pack enough punch to keep the industry and consumers begging for an album. The saving grace is Alexis Jordan can sing ten times better than some of the latest teen scene-stresses on the market. Alexis Jordan and Star Roc/Roc Nation is definitely one to watch in the fall of 2010.

Take A Listen / Speak Your Mind:
Alexis Jordan “Happiness”  (Star Roc/Roc Nation)

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Spiritualized will stage a one-off performance of their legendary 1997 album, Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, July 30.

The performance, which was staged previously in the U.K., will feature the Spiritualized live band, a choir, an eight-piece string section, and horns. This is the only North American show and the last performance of its kind.

Tickets for the performance of Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space go on sale June 14 and, for a limited time, some ticket purchases will include a limited edition Ladies & Gentlemen… t-shirt pill box set.

The Dixie Chicks may be taking a long deserved break but sisters, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire are moving forward with the creation of new duo Court Yard Hounds. In a recent interview with Billboard, the sisters say Natalie Maines gave her blessing, “She knew our feelings about wanting to work and to be honest, it took a lot of pressure off her. She appreciated not feeling like we were waiting around for her anymore,” Robison says. “We’re still the Dixie Chicks and doing things together, but until we get back in the studio, we recorded this new music, just the two of us. She was happy for us that we were able to find an outlet for the stuff that I’d been writing.”

Court Yard Hounds will hit the road this summer touring with the legendary Eagles while finding time to join Lilith Fair and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The band recently opened at South by Southwest, “I was a little bit nervous before we went into it because it’s so hard to play your hometown first,” Robison says. “Martie lives in Austin and I live next door in San Antonio, but once we were onstage it was the right thing to do because we felt so welcomed and a groundswell of support.”

The new album which hit stores on May 4th features the debut single, “The Coast.”

Cali sunshine, old school soul rhythms, Mexican and Black heritage, west coast beaches, hip-hop beats,  L.A. city life;  The perfect recipe that makes up the distinctive flavor of new, pop-soul music sensation, “Miguel”.

The newest artist to be discovered by the incredible ear of Mark Pitts. Miguel is preparing to give the world a taste his unique style, something the music industry just might not be ready for.

Groovevolt.com Contributing Editor Justin Holmes recently had the chance to catch up with this eclectic character to see what activity he has in store for music lovers.

Groovevolt.com: Who, or what inspired you to get involved with music?
Miguel:  I remember back to my kindergarten talent show, I wanted to dance, and my mother said “You should sing.” So I sang, and I’ve been singing ever since… My parents both had different taste in music, and I think that’s why my music taste are so broad.  My biggest musical influences were a mix of James Brown, JDilla, Black Lotus, and Weezy F. Baby.

GV: Do your musical inspirations have an effect on your sound and the music you put out?
M:  I am able to take my favorite parts of each style of music that inspires me;  make it my own and flip it into something familiar yet edgy.

GV: How do you describe your sound?
M: Edgy and soulful; feel good music

GV: How did you get signed and start working with Mark Pitts?
M: I got turned down by pretty much everyone in the industry, so I started focusing on songwriting, only the records just couldn’t be place on other artist; they were just too true to me… Mark Pitts was receiving my records for a young artist he was A&Ring, and he received a record called “Sure Thing”, and he loved the record. From there he listened to the rest of the records I had sent him…  He said, “This kid has a sound!” He called me in, and then signed me.

GV: What one aspect was instrumental in helping get to the point you are now?
M: I found people who believed in me. I think that was the most important part. Sometimes those people  don’t get you so far, but they can lead you to the next step… I would say surrounding myself with people who shared my vision; people who believe in my vision as much as I did got me to where I am now.

GV: What impact do you think you’ll have on the current music scene? Ultimately how do you wanna influence music?
M: My entire purpose as an artist is to communicate individuality. Show that its okay to have your own take on the world… I display that with my music.

GV: What do you enjoy most in entertaining? Studio recording, live singing, choreography?
M: I love it all! I live for the entire experience… I love to put on a show.

Direct from the UK, singer/songwriter/musician, Carmen Reece, has teamed up with mega-producer/songwriter Mark Feist to bring listeners an incredible album called, Love in Stereo. Reece’s hit single, “Right Here,” has been blazing up the Billboard charts and shows no signs of slowing down.

Groovevolt.com Contributing Writer Jonathan Hikade recently spoke with the multi-talented and focused Carmen Reece in New York City.

Groovevolt: I understand you were heavily influenced by music at an early age. Can you tell me a little about that?
Carmen Reece: My parents said that I was always singing around the house when I was little and I started playing the flute and the piano at the age of seven. I was actually in the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain playing the flute, so bit of a classical background which really kind of steadied me for where I am today and gave me the foundations that I needed. I then went to the Brit School, a performing arts school, for two years which was an amazing experience because I’d be doing music all day, everyday. [I was] learning, recording, performing, composing; so that really was like the best two years of my life.

GV: Your parents were and still are very supportive of your music. Are your parents musically inclined or play any instruments themselves?
CR: Everyone in my family has played an instrument. They all have great musical ears. My brother played the trumpet. My sister has had a go at all of them [instruments] because she gets kind of bored with them after three weeks. My granddad, who I actually never knew because he passed before I was born, was apparently an amazing pianist. It’s a shame I never got to know him because we could’ve had so much fun playing [together]. I’m very, very lucky to have a supportive family. They’ve really stuck by me through this. My dad especially has been a big driving force to keep me focused.

GV: How did your relationship with Mark Feist come about and were you intimidated by the artists that he’s worked with in the past (i.e. Beyonce and Celine Dion)?
CR: Of course. The people that he’s (Feist) worked with are some of my idols and I’ve looked up to them growing up so it was extremely exciting for me, but I just embrace the moment of us working together and how it came around. He called me, actually, because I worked with him a few years before. He flew me out for two weeks and wrote with Mark for a couple of days. It was great, but obviously I went back to England. Then he MySpace stalked me a couple of years ago and I was quite happy that he was stalking me (laughing). And I really wanted to get out to L.A. to do some writing and just broaden my whole knowledge of music and writing with people. I turned up on his doorstep with my computer and my tracks. He wanted me to do some demo songs, but I had another agenda.

GV: How is it like working with Mark Feist? Do you complete each others sentences when you write together?
CR: I’ve never worked with someone that I’ve been so compatible with musically. When we are in the studio we don’t have to say anything. It’s almost too good to be true. (Carmen knocks on the table so not to jinx her good fortune.) I’m just so grateful I’ve found him. It’s not often you come across someone you just bond with and connect with musically.

GV: In many interviews you’ve mentioned the role of “The Divas.” What particular “diva” or person has influenced you?
CR: I remember one of the first cassettes that I ever got my hands on was Beverly Craven and she had this really big hit called “Promise Me.” She played the keys and it’s funny because I listen back now and her style of playing is kind of like my style. I really was inspired by the early Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, and Boyz II Men. I just really latched on to anything soulful.

GV: Your hit single, “Right Here,” is out and currently at No. 65 on the Billboard singles charts. What do you personally think of the dance remix version done by Dave Aude?
CR: I do like it. It’s always amazing to hear a song that you’ve written in its original form and then hear it flipped to how someone else heard it. It’s really been going down very well in the clubs and on radio. Dave Aude is a great remixer. He really kind of gets music. He’s not just throwing a beat on there to get people jumping in the club.

GV: Which version of your single, “Right Here,” do you prefer? Is it the remix, the original, or the stripped-down, acoustic version?
CR: How it’s originally written is normally the preferred because that’s what naturally came from you and how you’ve been inspired, but I love them all really. I started off at seven [years old] playing the piano and writing songs so me just sitting at the piano is something very close to me and it feels extremely natural.

GV: You recently opened for Pitbull in New Jersey. What was that experience like for you and how did the audience respond to your performance?
CR: There were a lot of people there. They were really hyped up. It was actually pouring outside so they’ve all been curing in the rain, bless them, but they came in and they were revved up and it was just electric. I really had a great time. The crowd was great.

GV: Speaking of New Jersey.The Dave Aude remix of “Right Here” sounds like it would be playing in the background on MTV’s Jersey Shore. Would you mindif your song was on such a controversial show?
CR: I wouldn’t mind at all.

GV: When is your album, Love in Stereo, going to drop?
CR: The album is done. Mark’s just putting the finishing touches on production and mixing, but I would say near the end of the first quarter, like March/April. We just want to get it exactly right.

GV: What’s next for Carmen Reece? Acting possibly?
CR: There are so many things I want to do, but music is my focus and I’ve wanted to do this for such a long time and worked towards it, so I’m really just focused. I wouldn’t say that I wouldn’t want to act in the future. We’ll see what comes my way.

- Jonathan Hikade, Contributing Writer

What’s real? How do you define being real while maintaining the rock-and-roll, glitz-and-glamour facade of the music industry?

Telling the truth. Sharing your side. Owning and living the story behind your art. That does not always come easy for many artists, but for 26-year-old Piscean, Memphis, Tennessee born-and-bred mother, and Jive Records’ newest R&B songstress, K. Michelle, owning her story and delivering truthful music is the only way to succeed.

K. Michelle is a fighter; A single mother, who lived through domestic violence, who bore ridicule from friends and family, and who overcame all of these obstacles, to win a major record deal.

Groovevolt.com Contributing Editor Justin Holmes had the opportunity to hear the true story behind her debut album Pain Medicine as only K. Michelle could tell it.

“I’m not gonna waste my platform with something that is not me…. I wanted Pain Medicine to be about my pain, Because my pain is someone else’s pain.”

Groovevolt: Who is K. Michelle, and what defines the woman and the artist?
K. Michelle: I think growing up in Memphis alone is defining. It’s a great city: but there’s a lot of heartache and hardships. I’ve always been a singer. I went to a performing arts school and had a voice teacher, his name is Scott Westbrooke. He also trained Justin Timberlake… I love country music, especially The Judds… Mr. Westbrook taught me how to yodel, and when it was time to get into college I yodeled my way into a music scholarship at Florida A&M University.

GV: What was the thought process behind getting into the music business, and what actions did you take to break into the music business?
K.M: After college it was difficult for me cause I looked around and thought, “this could not be life; I fought so hard to get through college just to sit around and work at FedEx?”. I came home crying to my mom one day and she looked at me and said: “Child, people go to work!”  I just couldn’t do it. I ended up getting an opportunity to go China for a couple months to sing with the Chinese orchestra, when I got back I knew music is what I wanted to do… I put my music on MySpace… And my attorney helped me put together a demo tape. On my birthday I took my music and went to Jive Records. The people I went with at the time wanted me to do pop, but I’m so far from that, it wasn’t me, and Jive saw that. They told me no, on my birthday, it hurt. A year or two later I went back, as myself; I found who I was and was happy with it, plus by that time I was broke and had nothing to lose, this time it worked… I exemplify the benefits of being true to yourself.

GV: What were some of the difficulties you’ve faced while trying to get into the music industry? How were you able to draw from, and overcome your struggles?
K.M: Throughout my whole process, I struggled. I had to figure out how to deal with my baby’s father and the fact that he was about to marry one of my friends; seeing my peers go on to have great careers; and me a single mother, even with a degree, not able to find a good job because I’m out here on this dream. There were so many people looking down on me, like “what is she doing, she’s wasting her life, dreams don’t come true. Now even being signed, I’m not rich, it’s still a struggle. Following your dreams is always a struggle.

GV: Why was it so important that this album be an accurate representation of who K. Michelle is?
K.M: I just believe you can’t fool people. I want people to know the real me. I want fans to be with me forever. I may not sell millions of records upfront, but I want a long and steady career. I really want to teach people through my music… People listen to me. Women listen to me, men listen to what I have to say. I think this is a special voice god gave me, so I am not going to waste my platform with something that’s not me. This is my once-in-a-lifetime to speak to the masses. That’s why I wanted Pain Medicine to be about my pain, because my pain is someone else’s pain.

GV: What does your song “Shoulda Killed Me” mean to you? What message does it have for the general public?
K.M: That song means everything to me! When you are in a relationship with someone and the person you love puts their hands on you in a violent manner to hurt you, it can really break you. I felt like, who can I turn to? Who can I trust?” “Shoulda Killed Me” is an inspirational song. It’s a message to people who have tried to break my heart, body, or spirit in the past, and saying they should have killed me because I am going to raise up even stronger than before, and they are gonna have to watch me be more successful, and I know that’s gonna kill then inside. I’m a fighter. It means a lot to the fans too; I got a letter from one girl who had to face her [rapist] in court, she said this song gave her the courage to face him. Making this song helped me through a lot of things, and I hope it does help people in tough situations in the same way.

GV: What advice do you have for people who are in violent or abusive relationships?
K.M: I say it’s not even worth it… You have to look out for your own well-being. Being hurt and broken is not what God would want for you. We experience situations to learn and grow. You have to look in the mirror and realize you deserve more. You may love that person but I promise you in a few months you will see that you can love someone else too, but the main person you need to love is yourself.

GV: you draw from personal experiences to write your songs. Is that the case with “Faking It”? Do you ever worry about offending friends, family, or lovers with your songs or lyrics?
K.M: No… I use music as a weapon, and a safe haven for me. If somebody does something to me; I’m going through a bad relationship, or I’m in love, I’m speak on how I feel about it… So before you come and try to talk to me, you better listen to my music.

GV: What direction do you want to take your music?
K.M: I want to be phenomenal like my idols. I grew up listening to two people I looked up to: Whitney Houston, and Robert Kelly, and now I’m actually at the Chocolate Factory; in Robert’s house, working. It’s phenomenal To be called his protégée and I’m learning from my idol is just… It’s amazing! He is really the king of R&B, and he is teaching me. One thing I’ve learned is to write life and not music, and you’ll always have a direction, always have a job…

GV: What do you say to comparisons of you to Keisha Cole or Mary J. Blige? And what sets you apart from them?
K.M: It’s not a bad comparison. Listening to her music and you can see what she’s been through and look at what she’s become. Phenomenal. I have been compared to Keisha… Mary… Rob.. As long as they are great it’s okay to compare me to them. What sets me apart is that my music is gonna be like a box of chocolates. In Pain Medicine, you are going to get all types of different emotions. You will feel my pain and heartbreak, but I also want you to be able to laugh and giggle and get my comedy in my music. I want pain medicine to be a dose of every emotion.

Spend five minutes speaking with Anna Rose and you’re bound to be charmed. Spend thirty minutes speaking with Anna Rose and you’ll be convinced that you’re speaking with a future rock-and-roll star.

You might be able to glean her potential simply from listening to her magical self-titled EP, a five-song collection of tracks that will also appear on Nomad, her debut album, which will hit store shelves in 2010, but in speaking with her, as Groovevolt.com did during a recent interview, it is clear that Rose is a hard-working artist who just happens to be blessed with a beautiful voice.

The first thing that strikes you when you speak with Anna is her humbleness. She speaks about the members of her band in glowing terms, explaining that she worried about being “slightly intimidated” by a group of musicians who  she thought wouldn’t want to work with her because she was not classically trained.

Though not classically-trained, the 24-year-old Rose has been working on this album since she was 15. “The songs had a long time to develop,” she said. She spent a long time gigging in Los Angeles, until she “got what I wanted from the songs.” And while she arranged the songs herself, it was “important for the band to have a say” in the recording and arranging process. According to Rose, the album took about a year to complete, but the tracking process was “easy.”

Rose wrote many songs over the years, and only a minority of them made the final track listing for Nomad. “These came forth as the frontrunners,” she explained. She also learned to play the piano at a young age and after learning “a G-chord” from her cousin, studied the guitar with celebrated guitarist Arlen Roth.

Now that the album is done, Rose admits to being “very much emotionally done with the songs…. It’s so nice that it’s finished.” Having lived with the tracks for the better part of a decade, her feelings are understandable.

That said, Rose said that she very much enjoyed playing the tracks in concert and hadn’t tired of them. “We rework them a bit [when playing live],” she explained. One thing that she is doing in the live setting is not playing the guitar, as she did when she recorded some tracks for the album, which “makes the experience different. Being able to just sing allows me to tell the story to someone. It’s a different way of performing.”

Though Rose has not yet released her first album, she is already working on her next release. Having spent as long as she did with the first set of songs – some of which ended up on Nomad – she is writing “songs that call to me.”

Rose’s ability to write strong songs can be attributed partially to the fact that she was exposed to the arts at a young age — her mother was a ballet dancer and her father is legendary composer Alan Menken – and “there was nothing else I wanted to do. My dad works harder than anyone I know” and he continues to drive her. She described a recent competition between her and her father where each had to write a song.

Her drive is also evident in the fact that Rose not only recorded her first album independently, but she also has established a production company in the hopes of releasing both her music and music from other new artists.

After speaking with her, you believe that she will be a force in all aspects of the music industry. She fronts a talented band and is never overwhelmed – something that often happens with new artists. Bold and confident, personable and talented, Anna Rose is a star on the rise. Jump on the bandwagon now, because you’ll want to say you knew that she’d be a major industry player.

Take the vocal stylings of Maxwell, the string acoustics of Coldplay, the pop melodies of Justin Timberlake, and what do you have? No, not an old school record store in total disarray. You have a new sound of soul music, “R&B Mod”.  A term concocted by the creative mind of musical upstart Mateo. Fortunately, Mateo had a chance to get to know himself and discover that his passion did not live within the corporate business world, and instead, chose to dive into a career in the music industry. He has come a long way from the youngster interviewing for an internship with John Legend’s consulting firm, or the guy posting music clips on MySpace.

On his music, he told Groovevolt.com reporter, Justin Holmes, “It’s like R&Pop Soul, but I call it the new Urban Mod.  “Mod” because it’s a combination of styles; like the London Mod subculture… It’s a new subculture in R&B”. You can call Mateo the “Urban Mod Ambassador” or “The First Gentleman of R&PopSoul”, but whatever you call him, he asks one thing of you: get to know him.

That one request is also the title of his debut single and the name of his promo tour. Get To Know Me. “I really want people to take out the time to know me as a person, as a musician… That’s the fun part about this tour, we are meeting people from all over, and I get to share my music with them. We are specifically hitting venues with capacity of 150-200 people and I get to really connect with people on an intimate level, this way they understand my music better.” Up close and personal is how Mateo has been introducing himself to fans. From college campuses to small lounges and music halls, Mateo’s team makes sure that these intimate performances leave patrons captivated and eager to talk about the young R&B crooner.

Take a listen to his song Get To Know Me, the lyrics embody his whole promo movement. “Come see what’s in my heart, listen to me from the start, just get to know me I’m here…Get to know me,” he sings. Heartfelt words from a true musician, vocalist and pianist. By listening to his song, we get an introspective look at Mateo, but he protests that he has much more to offer than just a hot song. “I don’t want to be encapsulated by one song, I want people to know me, know where I’m coming from, listen to all my music, and understand the many sides of Mateo.”

Mateo’s live tour continues on throughout the New Year. He will be performing today, Wednesday December 2^nd at the storied SOB’s Music Hall in Lower Manhattan, NYC. “I’m working on releasing my full album for the first quarter of 2010. I’m really excited about this project, we have a lot of cool people working on it. So it should be great!”

If you’re not in the NYC area or unable to attenda show, click here to listen to his live recordings produced by the Singersroom, or watch him perform on youtube.  Look out for more tour dates; Mateo will be in a city near you and you dont want to miss it!

While the name of Florence Welch’s band might have come as the result of a joke, their prodigious talent is anything but, and hundreds of thousands of people who purchased Florence and the Machine’s debut, Lungs, as well as those who nominated the album for the 2009 Mercury Music Prize, know that the band is anything but.

Comprised of guitarist Robert Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden, harpist Tom Monger, and keyboardist Isabella Summers, the group toured the summer music festival circuit in the UK and opened for Duran Duran.

The group recently completed the UK leg of the Lungs Tour 2009, and has a pair of shows scheduled for North America (New York City, October 27, and Toronto, Ontario, November 2) before returning to Europe for a tour of France and the UK. They will then travel to Australia and New Zealand for a tour that will run from late January through early February 2010.

Four years in the making, Dead By Sunrise enters the hard rock scene with a strong pedigree; the band is the side project of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, who teams with Ryan Shuck, Amir Derakh, Brandon Belsky, Elias Andra, and Anthony Valcic on a disc of songs that “weren’t right stylistically for Linkin Park.”

And while Bennington appears extremely enthusiastic about his new project, he said specifically during a recent interview with Billboard that it is, indeed, a side project. “I don’t think people should expect to see an album every couple of years. I’m definitely not going to tell Linkin Park, ‘Hey, can you guys take some time off so I can go work on Dead By Sunrise?’ That’s not gonna happen. But we definitely see this as something we’ll continue to do. This isn’t a one-time thing for us. Every five years or so I could imagine there’d be a Dead By Sunrise record.”

The group will appear on The Late Show with David Letterman October 11, and is scheduled to perform at the Blender Theatre At Gramercy in New York City, October 14; at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood, California, October 19; and at the mtvU Ulalume Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, October 23. They are expected to announce additional tour dates soon.