Amel Larrieux
| Amel Larrieux | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Amel Eliza Stowell |
| Born | 1973 |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, alternative R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | 550 Music/Epic/Blisslife |
| Associated acts |
Groove Theory Sweetback |
| Website | http://www.blisslife.com, http://amellarrieux.com |
Amel Larrieux (née Eliza Stowell;[1] born March 8, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a founding member of the duo Groove Theory along with Bryce Wilson. After leaving the group in 1999, she released her debut solo album Infinite Possibilities the following year on Epic Records. In late 2003, Larrieux and her husband, producer Laru Larrieux founded the independent label, Blisslife Records, on which she has released five albums so far. Larrieux cites Ella Fitzgerald, Prince, Sade, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder, Shawn Colvin, Chaka Khan, John Lennon, Patrice Rushen, Jimi Hendrix, and Joni Mitchell as her musical influences.[2]
Biography
Larrieux was born and raised an only child in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, New York City. Her Black American mother, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, is a dance critic, author, and college instructor. Her father is of French, English, and Scottish descent. Larrieux was raised in a very artistic environment and was surrounded by talented and inspirational artists. Larrieux attended Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Some of her classmates include: members of Boyz II Men, jazz bassist Christian McBride, jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco, and The Roots member Questlove. Larrieux attended the senior prom with Questlove. Many of her influences are drawn from rhythm and blues, soul, jazz, folk, hip hop and gospel with flashes of Middle Eastern, West African, and Indian ethnic styles. She has often been documented for describing her music as "Amel's music". Larrieux currently resides in New York City with her husband, Laru, and their two daughters, Sanji Rei and Sky. Her forename Amel means "hope" in Arabic.
Career
Groove Theory
In 1991, Larrieux met Mantronix member Bryce Wilson at Rondor Music. Wilson, who wanted to begin his solo career as producer and musician, was looking for a vocalist to work with. Wilson and Larrieux began to produce demos together and subsequently formed the duo Groove Theory. Their debut release, Groove Theory, spawned several radio hits such as "Tell Me", "Keep Tryin'", and "Baby Luv". The duo were also featured in successful motion picture soundtracks such as 1996's Sunset Park and 1997's Love Jones. Larrieux, pursuing a solo career, would not be involved in the duo's eventually-shelved second album The Answer. Makeda Davis would step in as lead singer in 1999 until Groove Theory officially disbanded in 2001. Larrieux said of leaving the group, "You have to make a bunch of compromises and .. you know, I just couldn’t go on forever. We wanted different things and a combination of that and the label wanting different things from us just made me decide that it was time to move on."
Solo career
In 1996, Larrieux guested on the self-titled debut album of Sade's backing band Sweetback, yielding the top forty-five R&B entry "You Will Rise".
Larrieux co-wrote and co-produced her debut solo album Infinite Possibilities, released in early 2000 on Epic Records, along with husband Laru Larrieux; the album reached number seventy-nine on the Billboard 200 and number twenty-one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and produced the hit "Get Up", her highest charting solo hit to date. Some tracks from the album, such as the eighth track "Down", could be described as acid jazz, a musical genre which combines elements of jazz with soul and funk.
Larrieux was released from Epic Records after this CD. She says of the release "I was asked to tone it down as a solo artist, which is one of the reasons why I was really glad to leave the major label where I was signed."[3] Husband Laru Larrieux, who had been co-writing and producing most of Amel's material, started the independent label BlissLife Records with her to distribute her music.
In 2001, Larrieux recorded "Sophisticated Lady" with artist Clark Terry for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease.
On November 10, 2010, Larrieux spoke about going independent, saying "This is the right time [to be independent]. People are more hip to the internet. People are more open to what independent means." She went on to say that black independent artists are too under the radar.[4]
Her second album Bravebird was released under Larrieux's indie label Blisslife Records label on January 20, 2004. While it underperformed on the Billboard 200, it peaked at number twenty-eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number five on Independent Albums. It spawned the midtempo radio single "For Real", which showcases her ability to utilize the whistle register and inspired Ebony magazine to rave about her "ethereal high-octave vocals that bring to mind Minnie Riperton.[5] A portion of the album's seventh track, "Giving Something Up", could be heard in the commercial for BET's HIV/AIDS awareness campaign Rap-It-Up, in which Larrieux participated in September 2003.[6]
Larrieux's collaboration with Stanley Clarke and Glenn Lewis, a cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's 1972 song "Where Is the Love" from Clarke's 2003 album 1, 2, To the Bass, received a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2004 Grammy Awards.
Larrieux's third album Morning was released in April 2006 and features the single "Weary", which reached number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart in mid-2006.[7] Morning is her highest-charting album to date, peaking at number seventy-four. Follow-up single "No One Else", written for Mike Shaunessy was featured on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's 2007 film Why Did I Get Married?. The song Gills and Tails also received radio airplay.
In May 2007, Larrieux released a jazz standard cover album entitled Lovely Standards. It broke into the top five of the Top Jazz Albums and sold 3,700 units in its first week on store shelves.
Larrieux was featured on 2Pac's 2007 greatest hits album Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug, on the previously unreleased song "Resist the Temptation".
On February 4, 2010, SoulSummer.com announced that Larrieux is currently in the studio with Bryce Wilson working on Groove Theory's second official album.[8] The duo had their first live show together in years on October 7, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan.[9] Larrieux said of the show, "Tokyo was too fly, as usual. The audiences just got better and better." Larrieux said in a November 2010 interview that she and Wilson are currently looking for a label they feel comfortable with.[4] As of August 2011 Larrieux stated Groove Theory have not recorded any new material.[10]
In March 2009, Larrieux released the songs "Orange Glow" and "Don't Let Me Down" from her forthcoming album, Ice Cream Every Day, to iTunes and other online music stores.[11][12][13] Larrieux also contributed "Don't Let Me Down" to the Enough Project. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo's women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo.[14] Larrieux said on Oct 19, 2010 that she was "dutifully" trying new things for her fifth studio album.[15] In August 2011, Larrieux confirmed through Power Player Magazine the release date for her new album to be late January 2012. When asked about the five-year delay on her fifth album, Larrieux said she wanted to add and delete more songs to perfect the final product. "I stay on the road a lot", she said. "My experiences inform me as a writer, so then I come back and I have more songs to write, and I keep adding and subtracting, so the editing process made this album take a little bit longer than I expected."[16]
Larrieux's song " Don't Let Me Down" was used in the 2014 film Beyond The Lights.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | BB200 | RBHH | Indie | Jazz | R&B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Infinite Possibilities | 79 | 21 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2004 | Bravebird | 166 | 28 | 5 | -- | -- |
| 2006 | Morning | 74 | 8 | 5 | -- | -- |
| 2007 | Lovely Standards | 195 | 32 | 22 | 3 | -- |
| 2013 | Ice Cream Everyday | -- | 43 | -- | -- | 20 |
Source: Billboard Artists: Amel Larrieux
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | |||
| 1996 | "You Will Rise" (Sweetback featuring Amel Larrieux) |
112 | 42 | Sweetback |
| 1999 | "Get Up" | 97 | 37 | Infinite Possibilities |
| 2000 | "Sweet Misery" | — | 81 | |
| "I N I" | — | — | ||
| "Make Me Whole" | — | — | ||
| "Now You Know Better" (Mondo Grosso featuring Amel Larrieux) |
— | — | MG4 | |
| 2001 | "Glitches (The Skin You're In)" (with The Roots) |
— | — | Down to Earth soundtrack |
| 2004 | "For Real" | — | 45 | Bravebird |
| "We Can Be New" | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "Weary" | — | 113 | Morning |
| 2007 | "If I Were a Bell" | — | — | Lovely Standards |
| "No One Else" | — | — | Why Did I Get Married? soundtrack | |
| 2009 | "Orange Glow" | — | — | Ice Cream Every Day |
| "Don't Let Me Down" | — | — | Raise Hope for Congo | |
| 2013 | "Afraid" | — | — | Ice Cream Every Day |
Album appearances
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "It's Luv" (Deja Gruv featuring Amel Larrieux) | Luv Jonz |
| 1998 | "Time After Time" (Towa Tei featuring Amel Larrieux and Viv) | Sound Museum |
| 2000 | "Guidance" (Guru featuring Amel Larrieux) | Streetsoul |
| 2001 | "Believe in Love" | Epic Records: A Season of Soul and Sounds |
| 2002 | "I Don't Know" (Soulive featuring Amel Larrieux) | Next |
| 2003 | "Where Is the Love" (Stanley Clarke featuring Glenn Lewis and Amel Larrieux) | 1, 2, To the Bass |
| 2007 | "Resist the Temptation" (2Pac featuring Amel Larrieux) | Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug |
Soundtracks
| Year | Song | Film |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Glitches (The Skin You're In)" (with The Roots) | Down to Earth |
| 2002 | "What's Come Over Me?" (with Glenn Lewis) | Barbershop |
| 2007 | "No One Else" | Why Did I Get Married? |
Music videos
- 1996: "You Will Rise" (Sweetback featuring Amel Larrieux) — directed by Polish Brothers
- 1999: "Get Up" — directed by Floria Sigismondi
- 2000: "Sweet Misery" — directed by Earle Sebastian
- 2001: "Glitches (The Skin You're In)" (The Roots featuring Amel Larrieux) — directed by Nzingha Stewart
- 2004: "For Real" — directed by Sanaa Hamri
- 2006: "Weary" — directed by Jon Menefee and 8 Hertz
References
- ↑ "Songwriter/Composer: STOWELL AMEL ELIZA". BMI. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
- ↑ "Brave Bird Amel Larrieux Soars with Another Eclectic Set". Barnes & Noble. January 30, 2004. Retrieved December 6, 2006.
- ↑ "Nu-Soul Magazine | Amel Larrieux Interview (2009)". Blog.nu-soulmag.com. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nov 10, 2010 (2010-11-10). "Amel Larrieux: "Independent Artists Of Color Are Too Under The Radar" [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] | Celebrity News & Style for Black Women". Hellobeautiful.com. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
- ↑ "Amel Larrieux's dynamic second recording, Bravebird, blends rhythm & blues, soul, hip-hop, jazz and folk music". Ebony. February 2004. Archived from the original on 2 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-25.
- ↑ "Bliss Life News". Blisslife Records. September 25, 2003. Archived from the original on 17 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ↑ "Hot Adult R&B Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
- ↑ http://www.soulsummer.com/groove-theory-back-in-the-groove
- ↑ "Groove Theory featuring Amel Larrieux Jazz Travel to Tokyo, Japan". Culturekiosque.com. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
- ↑ "J9's MusicLife: MusicLife Interview w/ Amel Larrieux". J9musiclife.com. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
- ↑ "Blisslife News". blisslife.com. June 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ↑ "Amel Larrieux Has Us Feeling The 'Glow'". March 3, 2009.
- ↑
- ↑ "Raisehopeforcongomusic.org". Raisehopeforcongomusic.org. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
- ↑ "Clearly not". Facebook. 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
- ↑ "Amel Larrieux at Long Beach Jazz Festival interview Power Player Magazine". YouTube. 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
External links
- Blisslife Records website
- Amel Larrieux at AllMusic
- Amel Larrieux on Myspace
- Amel Larrieux at the Internet Movie Database
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