SYDNEY, Australia (SONY BMG Australia) - The gorgeous
Alicia Keys will be releasing an unplugged album and DVD this October. The releases will feature old favourites, two new tracks, and collaborations with a number of high profile artists including
Mos Def and Maroon 5's Adam Levine.
If anyone can do the unplugged thing and do it well, it has to be one Ms Alicia Keys. With talent beyond her years, the singer/songwriter is a mesmerising performer who has captivated audiences across the globe. Back in July, Alicia taped her unplugged session at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music, and now it's set for release in October on both CD and DVD.
'Unplugged' features two new tracks - 'Unbreakable' and 'Stolen Moments', which was co-written with the legendary Al Green and is about a romance "that shouldn't exist, but it's so perfect in how they relate to each other," Alicia told MTV. 'Unbreakable', she says, is about "how life and love can be unbreakable".
The album features new arrangements for tracks like 'Heartburn' and 'A Woman's Worth', and Alicia told MTV she enjoyed re-working these tracks.
"To have strings, to have percussion, to have all these elements to put in the piano base that I have, this is so much fun, man," she said. "When my drums do come in - a lot of times they don't, it's just about the percussion - but when they do, it's about using the brushes and keeping it calm and cool for a minute."
As well as the new takes on her older material, Alicia also teamed up with a number of fellow performers for her unplugged session. Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine was on hand to help with a cover of the Rolling Stones classic 'Wild Horses', Damian Marley joined in for 'Welcome To Jam Rock', and rappers Common and Mos Def contributed to 'Love It Or Leave It Alone.
"'Unplugged' is my thing, it's really my style, it's what I'm all about," she told MTV. "When I first started playing anywhere, it was on a little cheesy keyboard in a small, nasty hotel dive, and even though I didn't have a beautiful 9-foot Yamaha piano, there was a certain energy that comes with an intimate space. I really loved it...
"Once people see this 'Unplugged,' I just want them to feel the spontaneity, to feel passionate," Alicia said. "I want you to see another side of me, that's free, and feel where my head is, where whatever happens, happens. I want you to feel inspired."
Alicia Keys' 'Unplugged' album and 'MTV Unplugged DVD' are both released October 9.
