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Kamilah Marshall – Indie Artist of the Month for July 2010

Posted by Ighuaran in Artist of the Month

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Kamilah Marshall artist shot
When one looks at Kamilah Marshall’s CV, it belies a very hard working, almost ubiquitous performer and must wonder how she is not yet a certified household name. She has collaborated with some of the top producers in the industry, including Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse, Jasmine Sullivan) and Nile Rodgers (Madonna, David Bowie) and enjoyed appearances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman, The View, and Oprah.

Since 2003, Kamilah has been one of the Staggering Harlettes, singing backup for Bette Midler, recently closing in The Showgirl Must Go On at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas performed on Broadway in RENT, Hairspray and Disney’s The Lion King, and then moonlit around her native Los Angeles at venues like Molly Malones and the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip.

The recent release of the soundtrack for Sex and the City 2, finds Kamilah singing an old standard “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” and she is featured on The Original Cast Recording of the Broadway musical, Hairspray and the soundtrack for the film, Hairspray, The Musical.

But beyond all of these accolades, we chose Kamilah Marshall in our blind taste test for the coveted MusicZeitgeist.com Indie Artist of the Month profile for July 2010 because we loved the funky, soulful and altogether unique sound of her recordings. That is ultimately the most important testament to her talent – the ability to deliver the goods to back up the press kit.

Here is a point and shoot Q&A with this refreshing indie artist:

WHO: Kamilah( ka.mee.la) Marshall

WHAT: Debut CD, GYPSY MOONSHINE . A fusion of Country/Blues/Funk. I call it FUNKABILY , a phrased coined by Nashville singer/songwriter Joanna Cotten.

HOW: I fell in love with Country music at an early age. When I started to make this record I found that I had a lot more than just country music in me. It became a beautiful fusion of everything I love about music in general.

WHY: Because what’s more fun than a black girl singin’ FUNKABILLY.

WHEN: Come July 9th you can get my CD everywhere possible. iTunes, CDBaby, amazon etc

WHERE: I’m in LA but hopefully in the fall I will be coming to a city near YOU!

VITAL LINKS

www.kamilahmarshallmusic.com
www.twitter.com/kamilahmarshall
www.facebook.com/kamilahmarshall
www.myspace.com/marshallkamilah

Listen now to “Sis Shaw” by Kamilah Marshall and other artists we have featured at the MusicZeitgeist.com’s free Indie Music Jukebox

To see your act in MZ’s Artist Profile, submit to our gig listing at Sonicbids today!

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Tags: best new indie music, Broadway artist, funkabilly, indie artist, music showcase, Oprah Winfrey music act, Original Cast Recording, soul singer

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Music Zeitgeist presents KAMIDE – Indie Artist of the Month for June 2010

Posted by Ighuaran in Artist of the Month

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When he was seven-years-old, takashi Kamide lost his left foot shorty after having been diagnosed with cancer. By seventeen he had conquered the disease.

Not long after, another illness befell him for which there is no known medical treatment and by all appearances was terminal; he couldn’t eat anything, and lost weight from half of his body. It was another arduous journey to recovery, but as the artist states, what saved him was simply saying “LOVE”.

At that stage in his life, he was angry at everything and everyone, but his mother, father and many friends rallied for him, and never stopped believing he would fully recover, praying for him all the while he was fighting these illnesses. When at last it seemed he had beaten the disease forever, his doctor proclaimed it miraculous.

Now, takashi KAMIDE believes there are many miracles all over the world, and they can be realized readily, when you realize the potency of love.

But there is a parallel story that took place for KAMIDE: that of music. At six years of age, he was diligently practicing classical piano until discovering Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett which eventually led him to switch to jazz piano and subsequently an interest in the accordion. Working from a humble studio in his native Japan, he creates minimalist original masterpieces that evoke everything from Yann Tiersen or Penguin Cafe Orchestra to lost takes from Vangelis’ score from Blade Runner.

Music Zeitgeist chose the artist known as KAMIDE as the June 2010 Indie Artist of the Month, fresh from his debut showcase at Austin’s South By Southwest Music Conference. We had the opportunity to interview him and here is what we got:

Music Zeitgeist: Where in the world are you based?
I live in Japan, in the very beautiful city of Nara near Kyoto.

MZ: What inspired you to take up the accordion?
Because I practiced piano every day when I was young, when I picked up the accordion it felt like it could be a hobby. But when I heard Richard Galliano and Stegan Hussong playing an accordion, I realized it was not just a hobby, but that it had many other possibilities.

In fact, I am not using a standard accordion, but instead something called a “free base system.”

(The old accordion is from the 40′s or 50′s and the buttons are shell, not plastic, that’s why I love it.)

MZ: Listening to your music evokes so many genres, moods and eras not typically associated with traditional accordion music. Who are other influences?

As I mentioned I started really to play the accordion after listening to Richard Galliano and Stefan Hussong, but it was Keith Jarrett that inspired me the most. He plays so many styles of music that he seems like different people, but the emotion he invests is always of the same depth. His music goes into the center of his emotion and then he channels that out to move his audiences. I wanted to attain that same effect, that sound, using the accordion.

MZ: Talk about where and how you go about recording your music?

I recorded all the albums in my private studio using a very old Mac that is about fifteen years old. [smiles] Ironically I use my new Mac book for the internet.

MZ: You played the SXSW festival in Austin in 2010, tell us about your showcase

That was the first time I had ever been to SXSW. It was a fantastic experience for me. I didn’t really have a lot of time to prepare for my show. If I have a chance to do it again I will be more organized for that festival.

MZ: Where will you playing live next?

I play a small cafe in Japan every month. But my larger plans include the release of a new album on September 22nd of this year, and another October 27th. One of them consists of classical solo accordion music the other not only accordion but also piano and many other instruments. All of the material consists of my original compositions.

Discography and Release Dates

“Solo Solo Accordion” – Release Date: Nov 11, 2009
“My Grandfathers Clock” (EP) – Release Date: Feb 18, 2009
“KAMIDE” – Release Date: Mar 19, 2008