 |
Vanessa Contenay-Quinones (born Vanessa Lydia Eve Contenay in Paris, France) is a London-based singer-songwriter from Paris. [1] She is a member of the band Vanessa & The O's and is currently releasing solo records in collaboration with UK based duo Skeewiff as Vanessa Contenay-Quinones. She was also briefly known as Vanessa St. James in 2002–03 working with Brian Higgins and Nick Coler (as the duo Mr. Joshua), and Lou Reed.
Contenay-Quinones is the daughter of Carmen Quinones, a painter from Lima, Peru and was influenced by a wide variety of music early in life with the sounds of 1950s/60s rock & roll and pop being predominant. She was born in Paris, but spent her early childhood in the Canary Islands returning to Paris to attend primary school. She released her first pop record at the age of 16 in France before moving to England to start her music career proper settling first in Brighton, absorbing the electronic dance music culture and starting up Latin-infused pop duo Espiritu with Chris Taplin (of Frazier Chorus), before moving to London. [1] [2]
In 1992, Vanessa and Taplin signed a recording contract with Heavenly Records (then in a distribution deal with Arista Records, subsidiary of Sony Music) and released a number of singles as Espiritu. Their debut single, "Francisca" (remixed by Farley & Heller) was followed by three UK Top 50 entries: "Conquistador" (remixed by The Sabres of Paradise), "Los Americanos" (remixed by Mother) and "Bonita Manana", also remixed by The Sabres of Paradise.
An album called Manifesto was announced, but did not appear, due to Sony ending its distribution deal with Heavenly. However a remix of the Bacharach and David song, "Always Something There to Remind Me" (credited to Tin Tin Out and featuring Espiritu), went to #14 on the UK Singles Chart, while the original version of the single (without Tin Tin Out) reached #1 in Japan. The Manifesto tracks were then licensed to the Japanese Toshiba-EMI label, and the first Sony Espiritu album, retitled Always..., was subsequently released in Japan in 1995.
Drum and bass influences were to be found on the next three (more underground) Espiritu singles, and on the second album Another Life, released after re-signing with Heavenly (then newly acquired by Deconstruction Records). Espiritu and Deconstruction Records parted company after lack of commercial success (and citing "too underground for mass consumer taste"). Deconstruction Records folded not long after.
In 1999, a cover of the Carly Simon song "Why" was released on EMI Music Germany. In 2000, Quinones provided vocals on the Dario G song "Voices" on the soundtrack to the Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach .
In 2001, the (Cream Records) song, "In Praise of the Sun" was released by the Mr. Joshua presents Espiritu (of Brian Higgins/Xenomania) collaboration, co-written by Nick Bracegirdle, better known as the dance artist Chicane. Subsequently, Espiritu was recruited to re-record the song for the 2003 Chicane album Easy to Assemble.
A 2003 meeting in Manhattan with James Iha (formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins), Andreas Mattson (of Popsicle), and Niclas Frisk (of Atomic Swing) resulted in the formation of the band Vanessa and the O's and the release of the limited edition EP Plus Rien.
In 2004, Vanessa recorded an electro/dance version of the Velvet Underground classic "Sunday Morning" with Lou Reed and released by Warner Bros Germany.
In 2005, Vanessa and the O's released their debut album La Ballade d'O via EMI Records Sweden in Scandinavia only.
In 2006, the La Ballade d'O album was released in Japan by Strange Days Records, in France by Pias, and in Thailand by SmallRoom Records. The album was also made available worldwide digitally via Rushmore Recordings, the band's own label. Vanessa appears as guest vocalist on the Scott Walker album The Drift.
In 2007, Vanessa and the O's contributed a track to the tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone (see Ennio Morricone) with an update of the Francois Hardy 60's classic "Je Changerais d'Avis".
March 2012, James Iha's version of Vanessa & The O's song 'Till Next Tuesday' was released by EMI Music reaching number 8 on the Japanese top 10 singles chart. Taken from his solo album 'Look to the Sky' featuring Nina Persson and Television's Tom Verlaine.
August 2012 saw the release of the second Vanessa & the O's album 'Stories For Watering Skies' in Japan only.
February 2013, release of the single 'L'Air Entre Nous' taken from the European version of the new Vanessa and the O's album which was released by Modulor/Grand Palais Paris on 15 April 2013.
In 2008–2010, Quinones created the solo project Vanessa presents Allez Pop! with London-based producers Alex Rizzo and Elliot Ireland (of the duo Skeewiff) and released a '60s French pop-inspired analogue recorded album. Original songs from these sessions titled "C'est Magnifique", "Pres de Toi", "Bon Bon Bon", "Quand Tu Me Dis", "Pour Quoi Pas" and "Odyssee" are now available on various compilation albums worldwide, such as Paris Fashion District Volume 2/3 (cool:division Italy), Filles Fragile2 (Zyx – Holland), Cafe De Paris (HiNote Records – Beijing/China), and Musique Fantastique (Netherlands).
The June 2010 Allez Pop! track "Bon Bon Bon" was featured in the action-comedy film, Killers (a.k.a. Kiss & Kill in France), starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl and Tom Selleck. The album, Killers, hit the US box-office top 3 in its week of release in June 2010.[ citation needed ]
May 2011, "Pourquoi Pas", another track taken from Vanessa's solo French pop album Vanessa presents Allez Pop! appeared on the Pschent label compilation L'Alcazar.
June 2011, Quinones released a specially written song "Show Me How" for the Vinyl Japan/Red Cross charity album for children orphaned by the March 2011 disaster, titled Omoiyari for Japan alongside Tom Verlaine, The Divine Comedy and others.
In September 2013, the Contenay-Quinones/Skeewiff production Bon Bon Bon was used in the Victoria's Secret online campaign for "The Fragrance". [3] As well as wide usage across a variety of Buzz Feed clips.
A new album, Made in France in the '60s French pop series (Allez Pop!) again made in conjunction with Skeewiff was released September 2014 on the Pedigree Cuts label to further critical acclaim in France and the title "Langue Au Chat" picking up many international synch usages.
After an extended musical hiatus following personal tragedy and the loss of loved ones Vanessa re-emerged with the third 'Allez Pop' album Voodoo Girl in March 2020, again a Skeewiff collaboration released via Pedigree Cuts worldwide. The first single "Voodoo Girl" was released In March 2020 picking up plays on French radio. A second single is expected in autumn 2020.
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.
James Yoshinobu Iha is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the band's initial breakup in 2000 and rejoined in 2018.
Kylie Minogue is the fifth studio album recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. Deconstruction released it in the United Kingdom on 19 September 1994, while a release was issued through Mushroom Records in Australia on the same date. After leaving Pete Waterman Entertainment, Minogue wanted to establish her credibility and signed with the independent record label Deconstruction in early 1993. She became involved with a diverse group of collaborators in order to experiment with different sounds. After generally unsuccessful sessions with Saint Etienne and The Rapino Brothers, Minogue collaborated with new producers including Brothers in Rhythm, M People, Farley & Heller, and Jimmy Harry.
Rarities is a compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released from 10 February 1995 by EMI exclusively in Southeast Asia and South America. The record is composed of previously released b-sides, demos, single mixes and remixes, as well as several songs from the duo's 1993 performance for MTV Unplugged. As of 2001, the compilation has sold in excess of a million copies worldwide.
Yumi Matsutoya, nicknamed Yuming, is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Japanese popular music.
A Camp is the solo side project of Nina Persson, vocalist for the Swedish indie pop band The Cardigans, her husband, composer Nathan Larson, and former Atomic Swing guitarist Niclas Frisk. Persson formed A Camp when The Cardigans took a break after several years of touring and the recording of their 1998 album Gran Turismo. A Camp recorded and released two albums, in 2001 and 2009, after which the project has been inactive.
Vanessa and the O's is a musical group formed in 2003/2004. It was created in New York City when Parisian Vanessa Contenay-Quinones got together with Swedish musical collaborators Andreas Mattsson (Popsicle) and Niclas Frisk and joined up later with James Iha.
Impossible Remixes is the fourth remix album by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue. It was released on 8 July 1998 by Mushroom Records. The album was materialized while on her Intimate and Live Tour (1998) and contains remixes from her sixth studio album Impossible Princess (1997). Originally scheduled for a 1999 release, Mushroom released Impossible Remixes in Australia in July 1998 after releasing the UK counterpart Mixes (1998) earlier than its original date.
"Where Is the Feeling?" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue from her fifth studio album, Kylie Minogue (1994). The song was written by Wilf Smarties and Jayn Hanna, while production was handled by Brothers in Rhythm. It was released on 10 July 1995 as the third and final single from the album, by Deconstruction and Mushroom Records, seven months after the release of the second single. A new version was recorded for the single release, featuring spoken vocals by Minogue.
Franck Pourcel was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music.
Pop Trash is the tenth studio album by the English pop rock band Duran Duran. It was released on 19 June 2000 by Hollywood Records. Pop Trash was the band's first release after parting ways with EMI, with whom they had been signed since 1981. It was also the last to feature the trio of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Warren Cuccurullo. The CD album went out of print in 2001.
"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written by American songwriting duo Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" first charted for Lou Johnson, whose version reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-1964. Sandie Shaw took the song to No. 1 in the UK that same year, while the duo Naked Eyes had a No. 8 hit with the song in the US two decades later in 1983.
Hans-Peter Lindstrøm is a Norwegian music producer who works under the name Lindstrøm. He established the music label Feedelity in 2002. He often collaborates with fellow producer Prins Thomas. Lindstrøm won a Spellemannsprisen in 2008 for Where You Go I Go Too. He released a DJ mix album for the Late Night Tales compilation series on Azuli Records on 9 July 2007.
Thomas Otten is a French countertenor singer in the Classical Crossover style.
Kraak & Smaak is a musical production trio from the town of Leiden, Netherlands, consisting of Oscar de Jong, Mark Kneppers and Wim Plug. The three began recording in 2003. Their first album, titled Boogie Angst, was released in the UK 2006, and they began performing at music festivals and at clubs in the US and UK. Their songs were played on the radio and were used in television shows. Their second album, released in 2008, was titled Plastic People. They won an EBBA. Their third album, Electric Hustle, was released in 2011.
Look to the Sky is the second solo album of James Iha, guitarist of The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle. It was released on 14 March 2012 in Japan, with a worldwide release in September 2012. The album has many collaborations, including Karen O and Nick Zinner, Sara Quin, Nathan Larson, Nina Persson, Tom Verlaine (Television) and Mike Garson.
Elysium is the eleventh studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Released on 5 September 2012, it was the duo's last album with Parlophone for the next 12 years. The album was recorded in 2012 in Los Angeles and produced by Andrew Dawson and Pet Shop Boys.
Autobiographie is the 30th French studio album by the French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour, released in 1980.
Paradis is a French electronic music duo consisting of Simon Mény and Pierre Rousseau. The duo was latest signed to Universal label Barclay. They grew to fame after releasing their first 12" single on Beats In Space titled Parfait Tirage featuring a cover of Alain Souchon's "La Ballade de Jim". The duo have appeared on the French DJ scene with sets at Nuits Sonores and Rex Club.
La question is the eleventh studio album by French singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy, released in October 1971 on Sonopresse. Like many of her previous records, it was originally released without a title and came to be referred to, later on, by the name of its most popular song. It is her second album produced under Hypopotam, a production company she established in 1970. The music on the album was almost entirely composed by the Brazilian musician Tuca, who supervised the project and participated as a guitarist.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
