Esthero

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Esthero

Background information
Birth name Jenny-Bea Englishman
Born December 23, 1978 (1978-12-23) (age 29)

Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s) Trip hop
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 1998–present
Label(s) Sony, Reprise, Warner Bros.
Website www.nearlycivilized.com

Esthero (born Jenny-Bea Englishman, December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario[1]) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who hails originally from Toronto, Ontario, but has recently moved to Los Angeles. The name Esthero, pronounced [ɛsˈtɛroʊ] es-TAIR-oh, refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself and producer, Doc. She claims to have gotten the name from an old film character named Esther, whose last line in a movie (The Bell Jar, based on the Sylvia Plath novel of the same name) is, "If I am to be the hero, then I cannot fly from darkness."

Esthero's sound characteristically features her voice over a mix of mellow bass lines, jazzy trumpets, Spanish guitar and hip-hop. She is sometimes compared to artists Björk, Portishead and Sade . Later artists who count Esthero among their influences include Res, Fergie and fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado.

Esthero's brother, Jason Englishman, is also a musician.

Contents

[edit] Career

At the age of sixteen, Esthero moved from small town Harriston, Ontario on her own to Toronto, where she began singing at open-mic nights while supporting herself by working at various jobs: Future Bakery, the printing house, and telemarketing. She was seen singing at the Free Times Cafe by manager Beau Ovcaric who set up a showcase for his partner Zack Warner. The two managed her on good faith without any legal paperwork until she turned eighteen. They introduced her to EMI Publishing Canada president Michael Mccarty, whom she charmed so well during their first meeting that without hearing her sing a single note he set up and paid for recording sessions with Doc, a guitarist and studio engineer. The young duo quickly began recording together, and 6 demos in were being courted on the presidency level by almost every major label in the US. Thanks to then EMI publishing US president Rick Krem their demo's reached the ears of the heads of WORK GROUP( a subsidiary of Sony), and esthero knew they had found their home. Their debut album, Breath from Another, was released to critical acclaim in 1998.

On April 20, 2004, without Doc's assistance, Esthero released "O.G. Bitch," a standalone EP featuring six different remixes of the title track, plus the b-side "I Love You." The EP led the way to Esthero's 2005 full-length album on the Warner Bros. label, the decidedly jazzy Wikked Lil' Grrrls, seven years following her debut album, to moderate critical acclaim. The album features contributions from Sean Lennon, André 3000, Shakari Nite, Gnarls Barkley, Jemeni, Jelleestone, and Cee-Lo Green of Goodie Mob. It was also chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005.

In 2007 Esthero amicably parted ways with Venus management and joined forces with Shmanagement, based in Los Angeles. She continues to have a familial bond with Zack and Beau.

Esthero has appeared on the Chris Rock Show, Video on Trial, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Farmclub with the Black Eyed Peas. She has also contributed songs to the films Go, Love & Basketball,I Think I love My wife and Down With Love, as well as the video game 007: Nightfire. Her song "Wikked Lil' Grrrls" has also appeared in the film Miss Congeniality 2 and in commercial spots for Sex in the City and Desperate Housewives, and also on the TV show Las Vegas and its soundtrack.

Recently, on her MySpace profile, she reported that she had left Warner Bros.

In January, 2008, she participated in a video for Barack Obama produced by Will.I.Am called Yes We Can.

In 2008 esthero provided the voice of J.A.N.E. the spaceship on Kanye West's Glow in the Dark tour.


[edit] Popular Culture

Her song "Heaven Sent" was once featured on the VH1 show Breaking Bonaduce. "Everyday is a Holiday (With You)" was used in episode one, season two of Grey's Anatomy entitled "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head", as well as in a national ad campaign for Zellers. Her song I Drive Alone was featured on lesbian TV series The L Word. This song also was featured on the season three soundtrack giving Esthero her break.


She is referenced by Talib Kweli in the Reflection eternal song "Some Kind of Wonderful" on the Album Train of Thought. "..listening to Esthero, puffin' vegetables..."

[edit] Discography

  • Short of Breath (promo, 1998; Sony Records/The WORK Group)
  • Breath From Another (CD, 1998; Sony Records/The WORK Group)
  • Heaven Sent (CD single, 1998; Sony Records/The WORK Group)
  • Zero Effect Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD, 1999) (Song "Lounge")
  • Go: Music from the Motion Picture (Soundtrack) (CD 1999; Sony Records)(Song "Song For Holly")
  • That Girl (promo, 1999; Sony Records/The WORK Group)
  • I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (track not included on official soundtrack, 1999, "That Girl")
  • Boiler Room Motion Picture Soundtrack (track not included on official movie soundtrack, 2000) (Song "Anywayz")
  • James Bond 007: Nightfire Video Game Soundtrack (PS2/GC/XBOX, 2002) (Song "Nearly Civilized")
  • Taken to the Next Phase (Isley Brothers tribute CD, 2004; Epic Records/Legacy Records)
  • O.G. Bitch (CD EP, 2004; Reprise Records)
  • O.G. Bitch Remixes (CD 2004; Reprise Records)
  • We R In Need of A Musical Revolution (CD EP, 2004 Reprise Records)
  • Wikked Lil' Grrrls Samplers (Version 1 & 2) (CD, 2005; Warner Bros. Records)
  • Wikked Lil' Grrrls (CD, 2005; Warner Bros. Records)
  • Fastlane Remixes (CD, 2005; Warner Bros. Records)

[edit] Collaborations

1998

  • "Country Livin'" (World I Know Version) by Goodie Mob and Esthero (From Slam: The Soundtrack)

1999

  • "Final Home" (vocal edit featuring Esthero) by DJ Krush (from the album Kakusei; original pressings of this album do not contain the vocal edit; this track is also included on the Code 4109 album)
  • "Song for Holly" with Danny Saber (for the soundtrack to the movie Go)

2000

  • "When I Fall In Love" (featuring Bratticus) by Axus (from Soundtrack for Life; this is a cover of the jazz standard written by Heyman and Young.)
  • "Complete Beloved" by Black Eyed Peas featuring Les Nubians (from Love & Basketball: Music from the Motion Picture; Esthero appears in the background vocals.)
  • "The Hero" (featuring Esthero) by j. englishman (from the album poor lil rockstar; Esthero also appears on demo version of "Don't Mean A Thing")
  • "Don't Wanna Be Your Slave" (featuring Esthero) by Michie Mee (from Michie's album The First Cut is the Deepest)
  • "Priceless" by Rascalz (from the album Global Warning; Esthero appears only in the background vocals)
  • "Weekends" (featuring Esthero) by Black Eyed Peas (from the album Bridging the Gap; she also appeared in the music video for this song); Esthero is also featuring on a hidden track called "Empire Strikes Black" and on a B-side called "Keep It Movin'"

2001

  • "Balmes (A Better Life)" by Ian Pooley (from album Balmes (A Better Life); the original version of this track can be found on Ian Pooley's Since Then album. The vocal edit appears only on special editions of the album.)
  • "Tao of Now" (featuring Esthero) by Saul Williams (from the album Amethyst Rock Star)
  • "I Feel You" (featuring Esthero) by Nelly Furtado (from Nelly Furtado's Whoa Nelly! (International Version) and from the "I'm Like A Bird" single)
  • "The Universal Quest" (featuring Esthero) by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (from the album Supernova)

2002

  • " How Could I?" (featuring Esthero) by John Forté (from the album I, John)
  • "Run for Your Life" (featuring Esthero) by Jarvis Church (from the album Shake It Off)
  • "Keep The Beat" by Artists For WarChild Canada (from the compilation album Much Dance 2003; Esthero appears alongside other contemporary Canadian artists)
  • "The Streets Where You Live" by The Buried Heart Broject (from the compilation album Women & Songs 6; this was charity single for the Buried Heart Society)

2003

  • "White Rabbit" (featuring Esthero) by Blue Man Group (from the album The Complex)
  • " Every Day is a Holiday (With You)" (featuring Sean Lennon) by Esthero (from Down With Love: Music from the Motion Picture (2003); the song does not appear in the film but does appear on Esthero's 2005 album Wikkid Lil Grrrls)
  • "Heaven" (featuring Esthero) by Sugar Ray (from the album In the Pursuit of Leisure)
  • "Coming Down" (featuring Esthero) by The Oddities (from the album Scenic Route)
  • "One Life" (featuring Poetic & Esthero) by Last Emperor (from the album Music, Magic & Myth)

2004

  • "Life" by Artists For WarChild Canada (from the compilation album Much Dance 2004; Esthero appears alongside Graph Nobel, Jully Black and Keshia Chante)
  • "Summertime" (featuring Esthero) by Mos Def (from the album Mos Def Presents Medina Green)
  • "Summer Breze" (featuring Esthero) by Onda (from the compilation cover album The Isley Brothers - Taken to the Next Phase)

2005

  • "Too Rude" (featuring Esthero) by Carmen Rizzo (from the album The Lost Art of the Idle Moment)

2006

  • "Another Great Love Gone By" (featuring Esthero) by Vikter Duplaix (from the album Bold & Beautiful)
  • "Final Home" (with Esthero) by DJ Krush (from the remix album Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best)
  • "Make U Fly" (featuring Esthero) by Zion I and The Grouch (from the album Heroes in the City of Dope)
  • "Shine" (with Esthero) by Boney James (from the album Shine)

2008

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Richard Harrington. October 28, 2005. "Esthero, Mixing It Up Again". Washington Post.

[edit] External links

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