Best of The Couch Sessions: Lady Glock Calls Corinne Bailey Rae “Someone to Watch in 2006″

Originally Posted: March 2006

Dubbed by BBC Radio as one of the top artists to watch in 2006, Corinne Bailey Rae’s quiet EP made anything but a quiet debut. Her album was released in the UK on the 27th of February, and is on its way across the pond. Right now, Rae is on her way to Texas for SXSW. Being hailed as “the next Billie Holiday” by some, this 26-year old chanteuse has more music experience under her belt than many musical acts out there right now.

Born in Leeds, UK to a West Indian father and Yorkshire mother, Rae got her start where many soul singers get their starts – the church:

“I started off singing in church, I suppose, but people think it must have been a gospel church because of the whole, you know, black assumption,” she says in reference to her mixed-race background. “But it wasn’t gospel at all, it was just your regular brethren church, very middle-class, where we would sing these harmonies every Sunday. It was always my favourite part of the service, the singing.”

At the age of 15, Rae and some friends started an all-girl punk band called Helen, which gained some attention among the London indie punk scene, but was ill-fated and did not last very long. While attending Leeds University, she worked at a jazz nightclub as a hatcheck girl. On occasion, she was allowed to sing with the band. This would lead to her being signed by EMI Records last year. She has come a long way.

Because of this eclectic background in music, Corinne Bailey Rae’s talent goes beyond her singing voice. She has successfully managed to create a sound that appeals to a wide audience. She has more than enough soul to appeal to the Billie Holiday crowd while at the same time being cute and quirky enough to make Massive Attack listeners take pause. Surely the neo-soul movement of Erykah Badu and Jill Scott will want to claim her as their own as well. Her sound is definitely reminiscent of classic songstresses like Holiday or Scott or Beth Orton or even Mary J. Blige.

She combines soul and pop, adds a dash of church music and creates a style uniquely her own. With Britain’s “urban” R&B and soul scene on the rise, artists like Lemar are getting more notice. While Rae can fit into this genre, she is separating herself into her own category.

Tracks like “Enchantment,” “Trouble Sleeping,” or “Put Your Records On” have that R&B/pop quality that will make you nod your head and move your hips, while the song “Like A Star” is more soft, more girl-and-her-guitar-meets-sultry-jazz-vixen.

If her EP is any indication as to how her soon to be released album will sound, then Corinne Bailey Rae is certainly on the right track. This rising star really is someone to watch in 2006.

NOTE: Also, get an MP3 from Stone’s previous post on Corinne Bailey Rae.

Best of The Couch Sessions: We’re STILL Missing Remy Shand!

Since the Couch Sessions crew will be busy this week in Austin for SXSW–with little time to blog–we decided that this was the perfect time to highlight some of the best interviews, posts and podcasts that we’ve ever dropped on the site in our 5 years of existence. We’ve dug through the archives to find some of the very best content imaginable, showcasing some posts that you have grown to love, as well as some that you might have missed.

We will be back on Monday, March 22nd with a full roundup of the SXSW madness, including our showcase which takes place Wednesday, March 17th.

This Remy Shand post is still one of the most popular posts we’ve ever did, and gets comments even to this day. Remy, where are you??

Originally Posted: February 2006

Remember Remy Shand?

In 2001, Shand dropped The Way I Feel on Motown, which he recorded in his Winnepeg, Canada bedroom. The first single, “Take A Message,” got a considerable amount of airplay on MTV2 and Much Music (back when I got Much on my cable box).

Most of the songs on “Take A Message” were written when the dude was still in high school, and they draw the new comparisons to Stevie Wonder, Al Green, and Marvin Gaye. This album was a rare gem with tracks such as “Take A Message” and “Rocksteady” that embraced the soul masters without trying to copy them.

Shand got some cred from the likes of Esthero, Badu, D’Angelo, and others. Although the album went platinum in his native Canada, lack of radio airplay and label promotion sent Take A Message to the discount bin in the US.

His website lists that his last appearance was in 2003. Let’s pray to God that he’s producing music somewhere and not working at a McDonald’s. Can y’all Canadians clue us in on what’s goin’ on with this dude? Someone needs to ressurect this dude’s career like Robin Thicke.

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Best of The Couch Sessions Week: Interview – Rev Run of RUN DMC

Best of The Couch Sessions: Whatever Happend to Cool Breeze?

Best of The Couch Sessions Week: Interview – Saul Williams

Best of The Couch Sessions: Jerome Baker Interviews Camp Lo