J Davey 'Beauty In Distortion' album

J*Davey is being heralded as a cross between Prince and the B-52s, with traces of funk, surf, and soul fused together into its own unique recipe. Recently signed to the Rock division of Warner Brothers’ Records, J*DaVeY is hard at work recording new songs for their Fall ’08 debut. In the meantime, the group plans to independently release their first effort, “the beauty in distortion” as a double disc along with “the land of the lost”, a full-length pop-culture / American-media satire-filled limited edition project that was born from a mixtape collaboration with Fader magazine.

biography
What do you get when you mix a bold, modelesque, mohawked chick with a boys name and an electro-funk-soul, uber-hip robotica boy with a name fit for a girl? What happens when you blend 1-part Electronica, 2-parts Soul, and a sprinkle of Funk and Hip-Hop? What do you think evolves when you take a little bit of yesterday, a little more of today, and a whole bunch of tomorrow and throw it in a boiling pot of magic musical fusion? Well, by definition, you have whipped up a hot, undeniable batch of J*DaVeY, a duo with a sound that screams of past, present, and future influences. Their progressive Soul melodies are infused with New Wave electronic impulses that mesh so beautifully it is almost impossible to put a label on it. Thus, the connection between the mysteriously androgynous name and the new sound becomes simple and plain: J*DaVeY is new food for the malnourished musical soul. Thank goodness...music finally tastes good again!

Born with music in their veins, both Jack Davey and Brook D'Leau were products of the growing music video age that finally allowed consumers to visualize what they were listening to. By way of St. Louis, MO, Jack Davey was exposed to Classic Jazz and hints of late seventies Jazz Fusion before being introduced to eighties R&B and the new sound of Hip-Hop music. By the time she relocated to Los Angeles at the tender age of 8, her musical tastes and dreams of performing landed her in an all-girl singing group that signed to MCA Records in the early-90s. Although this group never released any material, the studio and songwriting experience prepared Jack for what was to come. Los Angeles born partner Brook D'Leau was surrounded by the New Wave & Pop-Rock sound by way of Prince, Talking Heads, and The Police. The youngster began to bang out interestingly melodic instrumental tracks in his father's home studio after school and on weekends simply for fun, but never thought of taking a career in music seriously. Through their youth it was evident that music would change their futures, and once introduced by a mutual friend in high school the two young musical masterminds decided to put plans for a partnership into motion.

Combining Hip-Hop, Soul, and New Wave, Jack and D'Leau came together in the studio like hand in glove. While their sound was solely Hip-Hop in the beginning, Jack began to incorporate soul singing into their songs. There was something about the character in her voice that was reminiscent of Dale Bozzio (Missing Persons) mixed with raw and striking songwriting similar to that of Jim Morrison. This inspired Brook to further transform their sound by adding strong synth lines a la Gary Numan in place of the classic Rhodes sound often heard in the Neo-Soul songs that were so popular at the time. He also began playing with song structures by adding melodic changes, thus giving Jack a bigger and more eclectic canvas to paint her words on. The duo strived to deliver music that broke typical Soul music barriers by further transforming themselves into Electro-Soul carriers of a futuristic "Funk-Punk" sound. They compiled years and months of experimentation into a demo project aptly titled, “the beauty in distortion”. Featuring such grooves as the cheeky “mr. mister”, the Prince inspired "privateparts", and the pounding thump of rock heavy jam "divisions of joy" this demo had the potential to change the way people listened to music.

This new sound began to infect the cyber world by way of Myspace and Okayplayer.com and the great response from fans and music critics alike afforded the group many monumental performance opportunities. In 2006, J*DaVeY took magic carpet rides to New York City to gig with The Roots at Radio City Music Hall, and they had the pleasure of being the only opening act for their idol, Prince, at his 3121 Supper Club at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. The group has notably rocked crowds in select North American cities, hip Canadian venues, and foreign lands including the UK, Amsterdam, Spain, and Paris. The racy duo immediately received raves from respected music individuals such as ?uestlove (The Roots), Gilles Peterson (Radio 1-BBC), and Garth Trinidad (KCRW), and their charm has graced the pages of ‘zines like Fader, Urb, Filter, and most recently, Allure. J*DaVeY music has also been licensed for episodes on the popular television drama, “CSI: New York”, as well as Snoop Dogg’s last film, “Bossin’ Up”. The duo has also crossed over to fashion, and have had the pleasure of playing promotional gigs for Puma in New York and Los Angeles, and Lacoste for fashion weeks in New York and Paris.

The duo is being heralded as a cross between Prince and the B-52s, with traces of funk, surf, and soul fused together into its own unique recipe. Recently signed to the Rock division of Warner Brothers’ Records, J*DaVeY is hard at work recording new songs for their Fall ’08 debut. In the meantime, the group plans to independently release their first effort, “the beauty in distortion” as a double disc along with “the land of the lost”, a full-length pop-culture / American-media satire-filled limited edition project that was born from a mixtape collaboration with Fader magazine. While no tour dates are currently scheduled for the band due to their rigorous recording schedule, J*DaVeYBabies, as fans are called, can keep up with the group’s progress at www.jdaveybaby.com.

Place J*DaVeY in the same category as fellow melody makers, but don't box them in based on what they have accomplished thus far. Take time to explore the J*DaVeY experience and you will be more than convinced that Jack Davey and Brook D’Leau are new age musical sustenance for next level consumers who are aching to have their bellies filled. Bon appetit!

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J Davey - Beauty In Distortion