 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Jersey Street  Jersey St. are Neil Reid, Dawn Zee and Matt Steele, ably assisted by engineer/mixmaster Stephen Chesney.Neils background is in production/songwriting. For a period Neil had a solo deal with Robs Records, run by legendary (now deceased) New Order manager Rob Gretton. Together with Stephen Chesney, Neil released 'Ruffcut EP1' on Delta records in early 1997. It was well received by the likes of Terry Farley and Roger Sanchez and laid the foundation production wise for Jersey St, Which Neil and Dawn started in late 1997. Dawn Zee is the vocalist, her distinctive voice is the perfect accompaniment for Neil and Matt's Earthy grooves. Dawn's background is in soul and reggae, as both a writer and a performer. She has worked with, among others, reggae legend Sugar Minott, New Order's Bernard Summner and ex Yargo vocalist Basil. Matt Steele is the keyboard player/string and horn arranger; a classic jazz and latin musician whose finger work is much in demand in and around Manchester and London. Matts CV includes production and playing on everything from commercial acts such as Cleopatra, to his first love of left field jazz and funk acts. He has worked with people such as Tony Mason (Mary J. Blige, Blackstreet) and Errol Brown. The final element of the Jersey St. sound is provided by engineer and co-producer Stephen Chesney. Steve has done sessions for a host of Manchester acts over the years, including 'A Guy Called Gerald' and 'Chapter and the Verse.' Jersey St.'s first release was the critically acclaimed 'Nobody But My Lord' on J.B.O, which picked up play from a wide range of D.J's, ranging from the likes of Patrick Forge and Ross Allen, through to straight up garage heads. This was followed up by 'Cried Me A River' in Feb 2000, a favourite at New York's 'Body + Soul' club. Tremendous reviews saw Dawn's voice being compared to greats such as Billy Holiday, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu while the organic production was favourably likened to Joe Claussel, Marshall Jefferson and M.A.W. Matt Steele joined the Jersey St. team in Aug 1999 and the fruition of this first collaboration was 'Vaya a Vivir' released on Glasgow Underground in Nov 1999. This relationship with Kevin McKays label continued with the sultry jazz house of 'How Could I Be Loved,' a regular on Graeme Park's Galaxy show and a favourite of D.J's like Phil Asher, Idjut Boys and New York House Don Timmy Regisford. These tracks, infused with Latin and African influences, became the template for Jersey St's debut album 'Step Into The Light,' released on Glasgow Underground in Aug 2000.  In a piece of brave and inspired A+R'ing, Kevin McKay encouraged Jersey St. to explore and deliver a diverse range of vocal tracks embracing the music they love; Soul, R'n'B, House, Jazz, Latin and Afro Beat. In a world of commercially driven music by numbers, the album is unmediated by anything other than the musicians love of music and as such should reward repeat listening over many years.(courtesy of Jersey Street) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||