| Jeremy
Ellis "The Lotus Blooms"
(URCD165/URLP165) CD/DLP
RECENT
PRESS (CLICK TO READ)
 
“Anyone
that doesn't feel like dancing to this one shouldn't be on a dance
floor.”
MARC MAC (4 HERO)
“A gem of a record”
CHARLIE DARK (ATTICA BLUES)
”Amazing stuff, really original and the depth sound is superb.”
ATJAZZ
”Love the album...its all dope”
SEIJI (BUGZ IN THE ATTIC)
“Ellis'
freewheeling freestyle approach to music, especially live performances,
has left many jaws on the ground, as he moves effortlessly from
playing keyboards to singing to triggering beats and percussion
while pumping out a sleek, stylish blend”
DETROIT FREE PRESS
”A boldly ambitious move for a sinfully talented musician.”
BPM MAGAZINE
"Detroit's broken beat Stevie Wonder"
LEMONADE
”Reminiscent of later Herbie Hancock, circa Thrust,
there is something new around every corner”
VISION
“Absolutely breathtaking”
THEME
"It's very nice... lovin the vibe."
ROB DA BANK (BBC RADIO 1)
”Collaborating with the likes of John Arnold and Amp
Fiddler, and counting Jazzanova and Gilles Peterson among his
fans, Ayro [aka Jeremy Ellis] is the Detroit soul man of the moment.”
FLAVORPILL |
|
STOP
PRESS: Jeremy Ellis “The Lotus Blooms” is the #1 most
added RPM album in it’s first week at radio!
Detroit-based Jeremy Ellis moved to Puerto Rico to create an album
marrying traditional Bomba and Plena rhythms with Detroit-schooled
dance music. After three months, the keyboard maestro and golden-toned
vocalist discovered that the living in Puerto Rico ain’t so
easy. On his way home he lost two computers, all of his recordings,
half of his recording advance, and his passport (and possibly part
of his mind). Fortunately, Ellis returned in one piece with the
musical knowledge and resolve to create “The Lotus Blooms,”
an album of insatiable future funk grounded in Detroit and peppered
with a Puerto-Rican persuasion.
From his retake on the traditional Puerto Rican song “Cortano
A Elena” to the broken beat driven song “These Passing
Days” the Puerto Rican influences vary in strength. Heavy
Latin vibes can be found in “Bombakiss” and the montuno
of the opening track “Take Your Time” (check also the
harder remixed version which can be found as bonus cut #17). There
is also plenty of room for more Detroit-styled outings. His near
10 minute epic “Callelunakarma” jumps from hip hop to
broken to house to future jazz fusion and back to hip hop again
while the track which gave birth to the album title “Lotusblooms”
blurs the line between boogie-tune, house and broken beat.
“At one point I felt like I was being arrogant to try and
learn everything about Puerto Rican music in just 2-3 months. But
once I was back in Detroit the sound just naturally occurred, the
influences and everything I’d learned came back to me,”
explains Ellis. “The most striking event was the San Sebastian
Street festival. I’ll never forget feeling the energy of thousands
of people dancing together and seeing bomba groups making music
as a direct interchange between dancer and musician,” he adds.
This is only the second album for Jeremy Ellis (his first for Ubiquity)
and yet he has already appeared on albums, remixes, and tracks by
Jazzanova, Roy Davis Jr, Carl Craig, John Beltran, John Arnold,
Recloose and many more. His tracks have appeared on compilations
by Gilles Peterson, Dixon and Alex Attias. Dropping down somewhere
between Bugz In The Attic and Kerrier District, Jazzanova and Metro
Area, Ellis balances jazz licks with Detroit bounce, future beats
and classic soul.
Ellis’ one-man show capabilities are not limited to the studio
- on-stage he has developed a unique, energetic, and infectious
solo show that is the opposite of the one-man laptop bore. Energetically
working every piece of machinery on stage, he seamlessly creates
a live show by engineering tracks from scratch, mixing them into
new songs, and remixing his and other peoples tunes. He has coined
the term freestyle or freestyle electronic to describe this improvised
clash of playing, programming, and singing.
“It was a natural evolution for me as I’m not a DJ and
I wanted to make the next big step to make really live electronic
music. Its difficult to cram so much music in and to sound fluid
like a DJ set would, but that’s what the challenge of freestyle
is about,” explains Ellis. “Previously I would create
rough ideas in the week or two before the gig and explore them live
on the night. From the Omoa Records Christmas Party that I had to
perform at in 2002 onwards, I’ve done it all freestyle - I’ve
improved and tweeked the set so that I can flow freely from track
to track and really make it live. To do this I’ve moved drum
sounds into easier places to play off the MPC, and then I’ve
organized keyboard sounds so I can access stuff off of my Waldorf
microQ,” he explains. “I’ve realized that the
process needs to be as fluid and intuitive as possible because that
is what allows me to interact with the gear and also the audience,”
he adds.
Ellis’ reputation as an amazing live performer coupled with
the music released to date convinced Ubiquity Records to sign him
for a new album to be released in late February 2005. His early
12” releases also caught the ears of other labels and producers
leading to remix work for Jazzanova, Fertile Ground, John Beltran,
John Arnold, and others. His Jazzanova mix pushed the limits when
Ellis wrote and performed new lyrics to the existing track adding
his gritty Detroit remix flavor. Rather than wallow in the obscurity
that cloaks many Detroit producers, Ellis has stepped out with “The
Lotus Blooms.” It’s a focused album backed with a kicking
live show and a label anxious to spread the word.
As a student of jazz and classical piano and percussion Ellis cut
his teeth in the Detroit music scene performing with Jazzhead, the
jazz-fusion group that also featured Ubiquity label mate John Arnold.
He has played worldwide as a member of Time:Space, and over the
years has worked with Detroit producers John Beltran, Carl Craig,
Recloose, and Alton Miller. Artists as varied as Bach and Chopin,
Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock, the Beatles and U2, are his main
influences. He’s an extremely curious musician always delving
into new styles and picking up new tricks as he goes.
The list of Jeremy Ellis live performances includes show at the
Detroit Electronic Music festival in 2001 and 2003, playing with
Jazzanova and Koop, headlining with Kyoto Jazz Massive in Tokyo,
rocking all-night block parties on the streets of Puerto Rico and
kicking off the Ubiquity/Puma SoundClash series in San Francisco
Click
Here to check out the Jeremy Ellis Interview on Clubbity.
|
|
