MP3 P-1 - Power

A blend of Chicago house, New York dance music and jazz. Seductive vocals over trippy guitars and driving beats.

14 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Jazz Fusion, ELECTRONIC: Dance



Details:
Taken from PopMatters.com
"by Christian John Wikane"
By: by Christian John Wikane
October 18, 2006

In the yet-to-be-corporatized neighborhood of Manhattanâs Lower East Side stands the Pink Pony, a French café/bistro-cum-refuge for artists and writers. The music of Miles Davis, the Shirelles, the Doors, St. Germain, and Prince wafts above the bread and wine, appealing to the taste of just about anyone who walks through the door. This type of eclecticism also informs the music of P-1. Steve Perry is blasting from the speakers when Beth-Anne Arentsen, lead singer of P-1, walks into the Pink Pony on a balmy August evening, eager to discuss P-1âs new album, Power.

Before continuing any further, you might wonder, âWhat/who is P-1 and why should I care?â P-1 is a cross-genre âgrooveâ band based in both Chicago and New York City. Three multi-instrumentalists form the core of the band, and an extended family of other musicians embellish their grooves on recordings and in concert. Just below the radar of mainstream, P-1 is about to rise from the underground with their second album, Power. Melding jazz, house, Latin, reggae, and pop, the band members know no boundaries, and it is this quality that makes P-1 a band to watch.
cover art
Power
(NoVo/EsNtion; US: 12 Sep 2006; UK: Import)
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The seeds of P-1 were planted in Pelvic Delta, a group of Chicago musicians who jammed, primarily, on funk and jazz. When the lead vocalist fled to pursue other projects, guitarist Steve Butler and bassist Tim Deuchler were without a singer. Pelvic Deltaâs manager, Hillel Frankel, discovered Beth-Anne Arentsen at the 2002 South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas. Liking what he heard, Frankel flew Arentsen to Chicago for an improv gig at the Elbow Room with the remaining members of Pelvic Delta. Within months, Pelvic Delta became P-1, recording their first album with Arentsen on board.

Back to the Pink Pony⦠Beth-Anne, known to P-1 fans as âB.A.â, is the dynamic personality who not only fronts the band, but co-writes all original material, plays piano on the tracks, and lends her versatile voice to the melodies. She is also refreshingly down to earth. In describing how P-1 came together, B.A. still seems awestruck by the synergy of talent of which sheâs a part. Citing her extensive writing with guitarist Steve Butler on the first album, Step (2004), B.A. recalls, âI was blown away by our chemistry. Steve also had a voice as lead producer on that album, and I was excited to take that trip with him. Iâd never been in a collaborative situation where I actually surrendered a lot of artistry to a different person to see what we could come up with.

âI went in as a pop writer to a band that was very much about extended jams and improvisation. I was very âverse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorusâ, so my contribution was directing the band towards pop.â Indeed, the music on Step is an urbane hybrid of B.A.âs pop-based melodies and Butlerâs down-tempo, atmospheric grooves. Step garnered regional acclaim: remixes of B.A.âs ode to romantic escapism, âVespaâ, echoed through Chicago clubs and on satellite radio, âP-1 Grooveâ went to #1 on jazz radio in Chicago and Washington DC, and the title track was spun in heavy rotation on CD101.9 in New York City. To support the album, P-1 made a high profile appearance at Symphony Center in Chicago for New Yearâs Eve, played the Chicago Gay Games, and opened for jazz legend Roy Ayers on Long Island.

Even with extensive touring, P-1 faced challenges penetrating markets outside of major metropolitan regions. âWe ran out financial gas to really work those (other) markets,â explains B.A. âWe spent a lot energy touring in markets that I donât think really embraced us. We spent a lot time thinking about what weâre going to do instead of just doing it.â The band went on hiatus to regroup and decide how to proceed for a second album.

During the intervening years between Step and Power, the members of P-1 wrote a wealth of material and auditioned producers to test different styles on their songs. Phoning in from Chicago, Steve Butler summarizes P-1âs mindset about creating Power: âThe challenge of every record is to not only have an artistically sound album, but also being able to appeal to radio and the masses. This is not our debut album, but a lot of people are going to see this as our debut album. We have a much bigger platform right now, so we wanted to have stuff thatâs a little more pop, a little more ready for radio.â Save for three tracks, Butler took a back seat to producing Power and focused more on creating the beats that inspired B.A.âs lyrics.

With producers such as the Insomniax and Vince Lawrence enlisted for production duty, Power is a pastiche of sounds. Only one track, the laid back âchillâ of âEasy in Loveâ (featuring Roy Haynes on trumpet), fits the sonic template employed for Step. Elsewhere, reggae, house, Latin, and dramatic pop songs hold court. âItâs hard to place us or compare us to anything thatâs currently out there,â stresses Butler. âIf you like Portishead, youâll like P-1. If you listen to a little bit of Scissor Sisters, youâll dig P-1. Even if you like Pat Benatar, youâll like P-1,â Butler adds, laughing. The Benatar reference is sincere. During the bandâs many appearances at the Wild Hair, the premier reggae club in Chicago, they cross-pollinated Pat Benatarâs 1983 hit âLove Is a Battlefieldâ with reggae rhythms. That fusion now appears on Power, along with a cover of Bob Marleyâs âSo Much Trouble in the Worldâ. About the two covers, B.A. says succinctly, with just the right amount of understatement, âWe donât want to be pigeonholed.â

One of the first songs written and recorded for Power was âWisteriaâ, the albumâs centerpiece. Written by Butler and B.A., the track features a buoyant deep-house groove buoyed by Decuhlerâs bass and master flautist Steve Eisen. B.A. explains the genesis for the song: âIt came from a jam rehearsal. Then Steve sent me the track. I wrote something that isnât really sensical, about flowers growing and buildings coming alive like a fast action video.â To this listenerâs ears, itâs the summer jam you can spin all year round.

In fact, the BPM count is noticeably higher on Power than on Step, which is not entirely by accident, given the club success of âVespaâ. Tracks like âDigital Loverâ and âMorning Rushâ are Queer as Folk-ready, while âFairytaleâ is the stylistic cousin to âWisteriaâ. Yet each songâs skeleton could be dressed in any style. âWe just choose the styles we like the best in rehearsals,â says B.A.

No matter the style, what is important to the band is that listeners experience the album on more than just a casual level. âI want listeners to feel that theyâve actually gone on a journey, to really listen to the stories and have a real emotional experience,â says B.A. âI canât force people to have a reaction, but I want them to take away that this band is really sincere about the music.â The Eric Yoder-produced âBoyâ, for example, begins âThe boy across the street is a neo-Naziâ. A song about the shame that shapes cruelty, âBoyâ strays from the bandâs beat-driven approach to songs in favor of highlighting B.A.âs flair for piano-accompanied storytelling.

What a listener carries with them after listening to Power is that P-1 is a band well-versed in numerous styles. P-1 wants you to have as good a time listening as they did making the music. Steve Butler comments, âI hope old fans will see this record as a box of new surprises. New fans will see it as a great debut album. If they like this, it will give us the latitude to go in different directions.â Among the new fans are Chris Botti, who gave âEasy in Loveâ pre-release praise, Perez Hilton, who laid a mean rap on âLadronaâ, and the music supervisors of Trust the Man, who featured âWisteriaâ in the film.

As B.A. and I end our conversation at the Pink Pony, B.A. smiles radiantly thinking about all the different opportunities Power could bring P-1. Power is ready for radio, ready for the club, ready for the road, ready for your car stereo, ready for your iPod. P-1 is ready to take the musical world by storm.

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