I’m always deeply impressed by the one-man show artists who can loop their vocals, beats, stacked background harmonies, beat boxing and other percussive sounds live, literally accompanying themselves with several layers right on-stage. Making it work takes an exceptional musical ear, a highly trained technique, and tireless hours of practice to master this musical sleight-of-hand. Male artists like Josh Osho, Moses Sumney, and Jarle Bernhoft immediately come to mind when I think of those who’ve most famously pulled this feat off in recent years, but there’s one experimental young woman out of South East London who has been making an international name for herself doing exactly the same with her one-woman band “Freeflo Sessions.” Her name is Andreya Triana, and she’s quite simply something wonderful.
I’m always deeply impressed by the one-man show artists who can loop their vocals, beats, stacked background harmonies, beat boxing and other percussive sounds live, literally accompanying themselves with several layers right on-stage. Making it work takes an exceptional musical ear, a highly trained technique, and tireless hours of practice to master this musical sleight-of-hand. Male artists like Josh Osho, Moses Sumney, and Jarle Bernhoft immediately come to mind when I think of those who’ve most famously pulled this feat off in recent years, but there’s one experimental young woman out of South East London who has been making an international name for herself doing exactly the same with her one-woman band “Freeflo Sessions.” Her name is Andreya Triana, and she’s quite simply something wonderful.
A 2006 grantee of the Red Bull Academy in Australia, Triana has already scored successful collaborations with Flying Lotus and been on the radar of such star makers as Gilles Peterson. An alternative soul, folk, and jazz mix, Treyana’s 2010 debut album, Lost Where I Belong, was produced by the live band Bonobo and received critical acclaim.
With Giants, her brand new album on Counter Records, waiting in the wings for its May 4th bow, Andreya Triana is reintroducing herself to the world with a full-bodied R&B romp, “That’s Alright With Me.” Triana’s husky vocals slink around a melody that is immediately catchy and memorable against a symphonic wall of sound filled with the gospel ring of tambourines, country guitar, syncopated drums, bright strings, shimmering piano chords and chiming bells. The traditionally romantic lyric is neat and to the point, one of an earnest girl describing her love and the durability of her relationship. It’s everything one enjoys about old school R&B done just right for today’s discerning palate. Press play and see if you aren’t hungry for more.
By L. Michael Gipson