Oooh girl! This is the epitome of every getting dressed up, dolled up, laced up, heeled up 'get ready' session with your gal pals before a huge night out of being fierce and fabulous. A chance meeting between the wondrous Janelle Monae and our very own versatile songstress extraordinaire Kimbra has lead to this most delightful and uplifting jazz and soul funk collab. Pumped full of energy; Monae kicks off the double-cover with Rock Steady; jazzily ad libbing, playing off Kimbra as their duo of voices trade line for line, each accented with unbridled enthusiasm.
A dip in the melody uncovers a sublime rendition of Wanna Be Startin' Something, with the opportunity for even more camaraderie between Monae and Kimbra in their jibs of 'girl, you've really started something'... by this stage, you're really wishing you'd been invited along to the recording party that these two are so clearly having; skillful backed by a joyous melding of their existing band members into a warm splash of horns, brass and bass. Their lusciously raucous voices are so complimentary and most of all fun, fun, fun! Infectious smiles are guaranteed; and I now, like almost everyone else would LOVE to see them work their magic together on their The Golden Electric Tour stop in Auckland on May 24th at Vector Arena.
Passionate about mixing an array of genres and sounds into one with a soulful voice and twist to the average singer/songwriter. With anthem-like songs advised and emphasised with quirky jazz chords, Kimbra's music steps outside the square of the four chord cliché but still mantains strong hooks and catchy melodies that are sometimes unpredictable but satisfying. With such ecclectic influences vocally and musically, Kimbras' music adopts a fresh unique taste to acoustic music.
Having already received two NZ On Air grants and Second place in the Smokefree Rockquest 2004 along with Best Vocals and Womens Musicianship, music got its A into G from there. After 3 consecutive years in Rockquest (two of which were at the National Finals and gaining over $7000 in total from the generous competition) Kimbra created a slick live performance which was priceless along with many lifelong friendships. Grateful to Rockquest, live performance has been Kimbra's aid and footstep into success with music. The competition trained her to perform with the state of mind like that of a band and attempt to provide rhythm, melody and the dynamics of a full band that separates her performance from other solo artists.
Kimbras' first single was recorded at the infamous York St Studios with Welsh producer Greg Haver (who has worked with artists/ bands all over the world, including Manic Street Preachers, Lost Prophets, Carly Binding, 48May, Falter and The Checks). Deep For You was then funded for a Video which gained play on nationwide radio and C4.