New York, NY (Top40 Charts / Flying Buddha/Sony Masterworks) Musical mastermind SALAAM REMI has cultivated the sounds of countless Grammy-award winning artists. Now he takes on the role of the artist himself, on new album SALAAM REMI ONE: IN THE CHAMBER . Available now digitally ( Flying Buddha / Sony Masterworks ), the album features guest vocalists Akon ,
Ne-Yo ,
Corinne Bailey Rae ,
Jordin Sparks ,
Estelle , Stephen Marley ,
Lemar and CJ Hilton , in addition to orchestral songs composed by Remi encompassing a wide range of styles and musical forms.
Over his 20-year long career the Grammy nominated producer has impacted the career of luminaries such as Amy Winehouse,
Alicia Keys , Miguel, NaS, The Fugees,
Jazmine Sullivan ,
Nelly Furtado ,
Cee-Lo Green and Usher, among others. He has also worked on a variety of film projects including Blood Diamond, Gnomeo and
Juliet and Tower Heist to name a few. He scored the film Sparkle starring Whitney
Houston and
Jordin Sparks , the Mike Tyson documentary, TYSON , and he was Executive
Music Producer on the films Sex and the City 1 and 2 and Rush Hour 3 .
In listening to Remi's work, one thing is for sure - Remi knows how to transform a moment in the studio into an indelible, classic song. "I'm a musician, composer and arranger that loves great music," says Remi. "This is my first expression as a body of work with all those things involved."
As a complete work, the album demonstrates Remi's strong musical chops taking the listener from a cool bossa nova backbeat to a soulful Curtis Mayfield style-flow to elliptical reggae, accompanied by a host of talented vocalists. "I feel like I have a musical house and people stop by for an hour and have a conversation," Remi says. "They say something and I build the rest of the house around that conversation. I try to figure out the picture that is there and I'm the frame that surrounds it. I capture it and I make it into a solid story."
Every song that Remi selected for the album is personal and profound. "Ultimately I want the artist to be up front," says Remi. "I don't want people to buy the record just because I produced it. They have to believe in the artist's story." The title track, "One in the Chamber," is the result of a conversation Remi had with Akon in the studio about someone who had received news of an unplanned pregnancy. On " Chocolate Brown Eyes" Remi captures the joyful spirit of
Jordin Sparks . With Ne-Yo, a longtime collaborator, the intuitive process resulted in the infectious track "
Everything I Need."
But it's what Remi brings to the recording process that connects the dots along the musical spectrum. "The two things I always look at is someone that has vocal ability and a unique instrument," he says. "They have to have some form of the tone in their voice that stands up as an instrument. I'm always looking for them to tell the story." At the start of his sessions, Remi spends time talking with artists about what's on their mind. "I try to help them realize that everything you say is the song you actually need to make. All that time you spent looking for that song, these are actually your songs."
Sometimes that process is effortless. When Corrine Bailey Rae came into the studio for the first time, she picked up a guitar while Remi played keys. In a few hours the dreamy Minnie Riperton-esque "Makin' it Hard for Me" took shape. Remi continued to tweak the orchestral elements on the track until it was fully formed. "I feel that this record has the most me in it," Remi says. "It was stream of consciousness for me and I love that."
The songs were recorded in studios all around the world supported by a live Prague -based orchestra that Remi assembled. This orchestra kicks off the dramatic version of Stephen Marley's " Eleanor
Rigby " as elements of reggae bleed into the mix — the effect is haunting and seductive.
Each song on the album is peppered with jazz and funk instrumentals that string the tracks together in a melodious flow. One instrumental includes a sample from Taana Gardner's "Heartbeat," a song that his father, the musician Van Gibbs arranged. Remi's musical lineage dates back to his New York City childhood, when jazz drummer Elvin Jones made Remi his first drum set. When he was still a kid, his father invited him to play keyboards for Kurtis Blow . "Since I was a teenager I've been able to make music that struck a nerve," Remi says. In addition to hundreds of songs produced for major recording artists, Remi has also scored the soundtracks to the films Rushhour 3 and Sparkle .
As he moves into the next phase of his career, he's most interested in bringing great music to light and using the proceeds to support music education programs — that's his vision for Flying Buddha and for the artists he's bringing into his musical fold. Salaam Remi is committed to the process of releasing music that leaves a lasting impact. "I want to leave you with music that hits you in the chest and you don't even know why."
www.salaamremi.com
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