ON FIRE INDIE POP-R&B SINGER/SONGWRITER NATALISE
SHOUTS OUT TO MUSIC INDUSTRY:
'I CAME TO PLAY'
"Get Me Off," The Sexy First Hit Single From Exotic
San Francisco Native's Eclectic Debut, Is Picking Up Airplay Steam at Stations Across U.S. As Video Becomes A
'Video of the Day' On Blender Music
A Classic Combination of Brains, Talent and Beauty, Natalise Is A Principal in Her Own Record Label,
Stars823 Records, And Was Recently
Maxim's 'Girlfriend of the Day'
Like Madonna, that other only-one-name-needed multi-talented multi-tasker who conquered so many facets of our pop culture, San Francisco based pop-r&b singer/songwriter Natalise-whose debut single "Get Me Off," is currently exploding at radio stations across the country-is ready to take over with an irresistible combination of brains, beauty and talent. The title of her critically acclaimed debut album says it all to a play it safe music industry ready to be revolutionized: I Came To Play.
Every medium from radio to cable TV to the advertising industry is catching on to the growing phenomenon of Natalise. I Came To Play is already charting in DJ Times, and DJs from all over are grooving to it with enthusiastic response. "Get Me Off' is a bonafide hit! Such a sexy record! We love it!" exclaims Allen Jeffrey, Director, For The Record, an NYC Record Pool. KDON radio jock Showbiz says, "This right here is mad fire! It's off the hook!"
In August, Blender.com chose the steamy video for "Get Me Off" as 'Video of the Day.' Dodge will be using the track for their national promotion campaign to reintroduce the all-new Dodge Charger. Across the Bay in Oakland, Natalise recently kicked off the And1/Mountain Dew Mixtape Tour in conjunction with And1, ESPN's street basketball reality show.
Guys, girls...Natalise's sensual charisma and potent mix of aggressive, in your face dance tunes and passionate, personal ballads are crossing gender lines across all age groups like few artists ever have. Men across America are being tantalized by Natalise's stunning Asian-American looks (both her parents are immigrants from Burma, a land between Thailand and India)--so much so that Maxim, one of the country's leading men's magazines, recently declared her a "Girlfriend of the Day." Women are being inspired by her take charge, DIY spirit, which includes being an active principal partner in her own label, Stars823 Records, which is distributed through CDE and KOCH, one of the biggest distributors in the United States.
"Over the past few years, a lot of label executives were interested in signing me, but they had their own agendas as to what they thought my career should be," she says. "I really have to feel the songs I'm singing, and the kind of music they wanted me to record just wasn't me. What's great about doing it on my own is that I'm able to embrace all aspects of my personality and write or co-write all my own material. The ballads, including my favorite one, "Enough," are all truthful and heartfelt, real life experience songs, while upbeat, in your face tunes like "Get Me Off" show a whole other side of me. It's kind of ironic to mix the two, I guess, but they're both equally me.
"Folks who don't know me well as a person can misinterpret where I'm coming from, but a lot of what I write and sing has a real tongue in cheek flavor to it..."
"Creatively, I feel like I was able to really insert myself into every aspect of the songs and the recording process itself, and that's an exciting feeling," adds Natalise, who began building her local following at hot SF clubs like 330 Ritch, the Sound Factory and the Velvet Lounge. "It's a lot of work starting and running a label, but it was the only way to do an album that I'm behind 150%!"
A hard-driving overachiever from the get-go, Natalise began studying voice and piano at age three, dance at seven, songwriting at thirteen. Her tastes broadened throughout her childhood, from singing for years in the local church choir, to studying classical music at the Conservatory of Music and singing with jazz bands during high school. By seventeen, she was recording and producing. Natalise's focused and unwavering dedication to music is no surprise, given her roots. Her mother emigrated from Burma at only eighteen years old with a mere $200 to her name - which was stolen on the New York subway her first day in the United States - and now owns a successful boutique insurance agency. Her father, also an immigrant from Burma, is now a professor at Golden Gate University and the University of San Francisco.
Despite being a straight 'A' student at one of the nation's most prestigious schools, Natalise could not ignore her calling. She made a pact with her parents that if she could graduate Stanford in only three years, they would let her pursue her real dream of having a musical career. Naturally, Natalise - who majored in Communication, while working on her songwriting and singing occasionally at community based events - won the bet.
She used her winnings from an essay competition to fund her first professionally recorded song "Love Goes On." The song became a nationwide radio hit landing on several highly successful compilations which propelled Natalise onto the covers of respected periodicals like SF Weekly and earned her feature interviews on nationally syndicated television shows like Crosstalk, Stir and the WB's Daily Mixx. In just a short time, Natalise has become one of the nation's most highly visible Asian-American singers.
When she encountered roadblocks from the interested major labels, she took matters into her own hands. "I decided to pick myself up," she says. "I started writing a lot of material that I wanted to record. I saved money from tutoring kids and teaching piano and voice lessons, and that's how I paid for my first couple of songs." When she started her new label, she spun those first few songs into the foundations of I Came To Play.
Revealing her ultimate goals as a performer, Natalise is very obviously influenced by her dad's love for The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd and her own passion for the artist and album which she cites as her chief musical inspiration-Janet Jackson's 1993 dance/pop masterpiece Janet. "Ultimately, I would love to tour and perform at sold out stadiums, and share my music with thousands of people throughout the world," she says confidently. "It may sound funny for an indie artist so involved with her own label to think that way, since so much of what I do day to day involves making phone calls, writing emails and making daily business decisions. It's a daily grind, but I've always set high goals, and I work hard to attain them. It's all a step-by-step process. But I've always been a multi-tasker and love to get intimately involved in the details. The name of the album came before any of the songs were written. It was just a way to announce that this is me, this is where I come from, and I'm here to stay in this industry."
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MUSES MUSE
CD REVIEW: Natalise - "I Came To Play"
By Gian Fiero - 06/20/05 - 08:24 PM EST
Genre: Dance
Sounds Like: Britney Spears
Technical Grade: 9
Production/Musicianship Grade: 10
Commercial Value: 10
Overall Talent Level: 8
Songwriting Skills: 9
Performance Skill: 9
Best Songs: Get Me Off, Make It Clap Now, Watch This, Something Special, Make It Clap Now (Remix)
Weakness: ?
CD Review: Natalise, a singer/songwriter (and Stanford graduate) from San Francisco, California, turned in her follow-up LP which contains songs that are a vast departure from the teen-pop hit "Love Goes On," that launched her career and placed her on the music industry radar. She makes her triumphant return endowed with the strongest collection of commercially viable tracks that I've ever received from a female dance artist, and experience under her belt. She appears confident, poised, and prepared to step onto the dance music playing field and take on the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Milian, Mya, Amerie, and Ciara.
The opening track "It's My..." jumps off of the CD and commands your attention. By the time you've recovered from having your pre-conceived notions completely shattered of what she may/or may not sound like because she's Asian, the stage is set and she is on it - front and center, performing the potential club hit and future radio single, the Cirque du Soleil inspired, "Make It Clap Now," which also has a vicious re-mix that even J-Kwon may not recognize if he hears it in the club while getting tipsy.
Choosing the most commercial song on this project is really a matter of how Natalise wants to be presented (or in this case, re-introduced) to the market place. With many of the the young r&b princesses migrating to to rock, it may behoove her to stand firm in the r&b genre, but the rock edge makes artists more appealing to the coveted "MTV" generation/audience. In that case, "Get Me Off," is just what the doctor (and the radio program directors) ordered with it's thumping base lines, melodic verses, and screaming guitar chorus.
Natalise's autobigraphically written title track, "I Came To Play," is sure to draw comparisons to Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River," but it works for her just the same. Contemporary r&b dance songs must find acceptance in the clubs: the strip clubs. Natalise has got those covered too in "Watch This," and "My Imagination." What should be released at some point is the youthful, but poignant pop ballad, "Something Special," which captures Natalise performing in her chest voice and delivering a memorable vocal performance that sticks with you long after the song is over.
I must make mention of the super music duo of Chris Carter and James Early, who not only brought years of production experience to this project that enabled Natalise's individuality, personality, uniqueness, and talent to shine, but succeeded in getting her ready to compete on a much larger playing field.
Advice: You've got a cash cow. Milk it!
www.natalisemusic.com
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