La RAIHNA - A CLASSIC IN THE MAKING
" Ekayani’s great R&B ballad “La Rainha†richly deserves being singled out. In the year since it was released on the Ekayani and the Healing Band CD Full Length, this wise, thoughtful, brilliantly meditative song has won a whole cluster of honors.
“La Rainha,†written by Ekayani during a series of thunderstorms in Paris and Lisbon, has beaten out literally thousands of other originals to place in the quarter- and semi-finals of the prestigious International Songwriters Competition and Billboard’s annual songwriting contest. It has been voted the New Century People’s Choice R&B Song of the Year by a wide margin, and earned the top slot for female R&B performance in the New Century Heatseeker annual rankings. It also finished in the top 40 overall Heatseeker songs of the year, as well as in the top 20 of the ranking’s Adult Contemporary category.
What are the ingredients of a classic in the making? I think Paul Mahoux’s brilliant music, as well as the technoguitar master’s stunningly empathetic playing here, help elevate “La Rainha†to essential status. But it is Ekayani’s lyrics that seal the deal. Her words are like the undiscovered vocal track to Coltrane’s magisterial “After the Rain.†Both compositions share a storm-pensiveness relieved by an exciting premonition of life resuming, signified by the existence and the performance of the songs themselves. Ekayani’s words are like the subtle cymbal ticks Roy Haynes uses on “After the Rain†to suggest the last drops of rain still falling. Nothing, including this elegant song of experience, can grow without the rain.
Here is “La Rainha†in its own closeup from Damn’It! Records, backed by a palate cleanser, the joyful, life-involved, dance-friendly “Like Fire.†Play “La Rainha†now, and don’t lose this disc, because you will want to play it again twenty years from now."
-BRAGMAN Media
EKAYANI'S PROFILE:
Ekayani, singer,songwriter, & bandleader decorates the stage with her presence. Her sultry voice takes you on a sensual journey all while addressing the adult themes of protection , love, and disillusionment but that nonetheless soothes. Ekayani spent many years living in Paris, where her encounter with Paul Mahoux and their subsequent musical collaboration led to the formation of her brainchild "Ekayani and the Healing Band" and the EP found here. She is a native New Yorker and a fluent French speaker and is based in Miami/New York.
NEWSFLASH:
EKAYANI HAS TWO NUMBER ONE SONGS SIMULTANEOUSLY
AS “LA PORTE†HITS #1 ON AMERICAN IDOL UNDERGROUND
New York/Miami-—Damn’It! Records recording star Ekayani has added another glittering prize to her haul, earning the Number One ranking for the week of May 14 in the Spoken Word category at American Idol Underground, the online affiliate of one of the world’s most-recognized entertainment brands.
Ekayani and the Healing Band’s Number One for her edgy, rap/R&B vamp “La Porte†means the World/Jazz/Spoken Word singer and songwriter now has two different songs in Number One rankings simultaneously. “La Porte†has now been in the top 10 for five straight weeks at AIU, and has charted there for an impressive total of 27 weeks.
The chart-topping success of “La Porte†comes as another Ekayani original, “La Rainha,†retains the top spot currently on both the R&B and Smooth Jazz rankings of the New Century Heatseeker charts for May. This classic-in-the-making has also moved up to Number One on two other Heatseeker charts for this month, Adult Contemporary and CD Single, making a total of four Number Ones there this month!
Ekayani and the Healing Band will perform both top-ranked songs at its upcoming “The Number Ones Concert†at the Knitting Factory in New York City May 24.
“La Rainha†has been voted top R&B record of the year for 2005 in the New Century People’s Choice Awards. It also earned her recognition as the top female adult R&B performer for 2005 in the annual New Century Heatseeker charts.
With the success of “La Porte,†a total of five songs from Ekayani and the Healing Band’s Damn’It! Records CD Full Length have made top twenty charts. Four came from the Heatseeker Top 20 R&B chart for 2005. In addition to “La Rainha,†a soulful ballad composed in Paris and Lisbon by the New York- and Miami-based artist, her songs “Like Fire,†“Comfort,†and “Blue and Gold†were recognized as among the top 20 R&B songs of the year by New Century Productions, which compiles the Heatseeker charts. “Like Fire,†a funk/soul cover of the Joan Armatrading song, has also charted in the top 10 of the Liquid Sound Lounge curated by WBAI DJ Jeannie Hopper, reaching Number 4.
Feature articles on Ekayani have appeared recently in The Miami New Times, The Miami SunPost, The Aquarian Arts Weekly and The BoZone, and the artist has also appeared on WBAI (New York), WFLO-FM.org (Washington, DC), National Public Radio, and Radio Free Europe, and more than a dozen other radio outlets in the past year.
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.ekayani.comTrack List:
1. Une Fille (Qui Parle de ses Desires)
2. La Raihna
3. Like Fire
4. La Porte
5. Comfort
Suggested CDs:
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