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ELAYNA’S SELF-TITLED DEBUT EP
SET FOR RELEASE ON SEPTEMBER 16
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Upcoming L.A. Shows Include School Night! On July 25
And Hotel Café On September 14
“Honey I Told You,” The First Single, Goes To Radio July 29
“Freedom,” Elayna’s Collaboration With Anthony Hamilton ForDjango Unchained, Has More Than 15 Million
YouTube Views |
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Los Angeles-based indie artist Elayna will release her self-titled debut EP on September 16. Elayna will preview songs from the EP on Monday, July 25, at School Night! LA, presented by KCRW’s Chris Douridas and mfg at Bardot in Hollywood, CA. For further details on the show, visit http://www.itsaschoolnight.com/rsvp/160725la.html. She will celebrate the EP’s release with a performance at Los Angeles’ Hotel Café on September 14.
Elayna appeared out of nowhere in 2012 to deliver a musical knockout punch with her original song “Freedom,” heard in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and on the accompanying soundtrack. Joined for a verse by acclaimed R&B artist Anthony Hamilton, the striking track, which can be streamed HERE, has more than two million streams on SoundCloud and YouTube views exceed 15 million. “Freedom” was heard on last week’s episode of “So You Think You Can Dance.” Elayna’s smoldering rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “One Room Paradise” was licensed for a 2013 Ikea U.K. commercial, which has more than a million views.
Her self-titled EP delivers on this early promise. It’s an ecstatic, intoxicating mélange of literary refinement and primal energy, ranging from the finger-wagging kiss-off of the first single, “Honey I Told You,” which goes to radio on July 29, to the existential urgency of “Feel This Way” to the Muscle Shoals-flavored lament “You Were No Good.” Stylistic barriers are bulldozed along the way, as Elayna seamlessly incorporates elements of blues, soul, gospel, folk and rock & roll-whatever is needed to deliver the emotional payload. The sound is instantly familiar, like the first time you heard The Band, Otis Redding, Creedence, Tony Joe White or Etta James. Elayna draws her water from that same pure, timeless well.
Although she grew up in Riverside, California, Elayna’s parents were originally from the South. Vintage recordings of gospel choirs were a staple at home and treks to Memphis to visit family gave Elayna a deeper sense of her roots. As a teen, she was drawn to artists such as the Dixie Chicks, Jewel and BeBe & CeCe Winans.
Patrick Park, Elayna’s collaborator on the EP, co-wrote the songs, played guitar and produced. “I wanted the songs on my record to have a grittiness to them,” Elayna explains, “and Patrick and I were on the same page about giving the record a retro feel-so everything fell together naturally.”
The EP teaser, which can be viewed HERE, gives fans a glimpse of Elayna in the studio, recording the track “Sea to Sea.”
Elayna – Track Listing
1. The World is a Hustle
2. Sea to Sea 3. Feel This Way 4. Honey I Told You 5. You Were No Good 6. Honey I Told You (Acoustic) – BONUS TRACK
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