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Chelsea Crawford on SellaBandBiography:Chelsea Crawford's debut CD, The Masquerade, (2006) showcases an
exciting and talented young singer-songwriter and pianist. From
humble beginnings and an instinctual love of music, Chelsea shows
great potential in a soothing fusion of Jazz, Soul and Pop. She
composes, writes, and performs all of her own music. Her compositions
are both nostalgic and contemporary. Her music is mature, appeals to
a diverse audience, and covers a wide range of styles and influences.
Crawford's powerful, soothing, catchy and often sultry voice has been
compared to, Eva Cassidy, Tori Amos and Norah Jones.Chelsea's inspiration for her CD came from many different influences.
"I felt like it was the place that made the most sense for me to move
to musically. I needed a new challenge and I also had/have a desire to
share music with others." Inspired early in her youth by Joni
Mitchell, Chopin and early Motown R&B, Chelsea has a growing
appreciation for other sounds, including jazz and blues stimulated by
classics like Billie Holiday and Etta James and inspired by new
contemporaries such as Hawksley Workman, Bjork, Martin Sexton and
Regina Spektor. "I have always wanted to do this (be a musician). I
felt ready to record probably two years before we actually did it. One
of the hardest challenges was choosing which songs to put on the CD.
We had to sort through a list of about 30 songs that were ready for
the studio."The Masquerade was mainly a grass roots effort, produced and recorded
"after hours" at Granthom Records, a home grown studio in Jeff Lukin's
attic, and later his basement. "Jeff made it possible to record the CD
that I wanted at a time when I would normally only be able to do a
simple Ep. (Thanks Jeff!!)"
"Some debuts sound exactly like debuts, while others are fully
realized compositions that skillfully introduce an artist. The
Masquerade, the first offering from singer/pianist Chelsea Crawford,
is of the latter variety, which is a credit to Crawford."- Uptown
Magazine
The CD offers an eclectic range of sounds from jazzy tracks like the
Masquerade and sultry Casual Me to earthy blues tunes on Oochy
Koochy Man and Listen complemented by more contemporary pop songs
Take Me Home and Wonderland and the emotional introspective Soft
White Pillows. Chelsea's hauntingly beautiful voice may be best heard
in the moving ballad The Real Woman, written for a close friend. All
song on the CD are original scores and lyrics. In response to hearing
the CD a Winnipeg music writer commented,
"Chelsea's music is lush and rich. She's taken all that's good about
older jazz standards and somehow updated it for a new listening
audience. I kept thinking this sounds 'new' to me." – Nigel MooreAnd now…
Presently Chelsea focuses most of her time on her music. She does find
that balancing that with her day job to pay the "man" a bit tense at
times, but she says that it is all worth it, "…anything to be able to
be doing what I love". She can be seen live with her band, The Styles,
at venues on the Sunshine Coast of BC and soon in the Vancouver area.
Chelsea is in the studio again and has just begun working on her next
CD with the talented producer/recording engineer/musician, Andy
Amanovich at Oceanview Studios. Andy has become a close friend and
mentor to Chelsea and has guided her in finding a more personal and
definitive sound. With Andy's help she has discovered an appreciation
of bebop and soul influences in her writing and vocal style. This CD
will be a much more professional production and will aid in
introducing this deeply talented musician to a broader music
community. Look for new tracks and show dates here, on ilike.com and
at her facebook group Chelsea Crawford Music.
