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Melanie Fiona
I'm here to let you know I've got my debut album, "The Bridge" coming out. I'm very, very excited. I've been working on this for quite some time for you guys.
Being a new artist is sometimes hard, when you're trying to decide what kind music you want to make. And for me it was about making good, classic soulful music that came from the heart and that I thought people would be able to appreciate no matter where you're from or what type of music you like. So I'm sure if you get "The Bridge," there will be something on it for you, whether you like rock, R&B, hip-hop or pop. That's what it's about: it's about bridging different types of music together and it's about bridging people together through music.
Thanks for all your love and support.
Melanie
Web Sites:
MySpace Page
Official Web Site
Biography
Official Biography (courtesy of SRC Universal/Motown Records)
"The album is called The Bridge," enthuses Fiona. "It crosses the barriers between ethnicities, genres, age groups, and genders. It can't be defined as just one thing. It's got a soul that's something old, yet something new." Flirting with the traditions of classic soul from artists like Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole and Gladys Knight, the songs also pack the punch, and authenticity of modern music. United by a singular passion, Melanie Fiona's sound bridges past and present with an artistic and consistent blending of classic soul samples. It's all held together by a unique quality, something that is innately her, much like the other artists she mentions as influences: Bob Marley, Sade, and Patsy Cline.
Born to Guyanese immigrant parents and growing up in a music-filled house in the inner city of Toronto , Fiona knew from the very beginning that music is what moves her. "My mother, who shares my love for music, played everything from The Ronettes to Whitney Houston around the house as I grew up. My father would let me sit on the stage while he rehearsed with his band as a guitarist."
Though Fiona had been writing her own songs for years, the introduction of songwriter Andrea Martin would prove seminal for The Bridge. "When I met Andrea, it was an instant connection," she explains. "We developed this very personal working relationship where we were both inspired by each other." Sharing each other's life experiences, they collaborated on some of the defining songs in the collection.
Other producers on the album include UK producers Future Cut, Vada Nobles, NYC's J. Phoenix, Peter Wade, Salaam Remi, Andrew Wyatt, Rob Fusari, and Angela Hunte, Jnay Sewell. Fiona also shows off her Caribbean roots on Reggae Gold 2008, with Supa Dups' "Somebody Come Get Me".
"This experience will never happen for me again," she muses. "I'll never be a new artist again. I'll never be a complete and utter student of the game." Whatever may come when The Bridge releases on Steve Rifkind's SRC/Universal Motown Records in Spring 2009, Fiona is poised and ready. "I still live humbly out of a suitcase, and I appreciate the smallest things in life, and I want people to feel that. I have an opportunity to be on a stage, but I want my listeners to know that I'm just like them."
See our review of Melanie's new album, "The Bridge"
