Anthology: Urban Beats Vol.1 by Various Artists

One expects a CD with "Urban Beats" in the title to be heavy on the percussion, but Anshin's "Say Goodbye" is a torch song of the laid-back type. Anshin's silky voice is the highlight and there is very little "beat" of any kind, except that which is used for support. It's beautiful. On "I Loved You All My Life," she is reminiscent of Anita Baker at her best... read full review here http://www.geocities.com/craigsbookclub/morningstar.html

NEWS

SPINNING UNREST

LOCAL BAND SPOTLIGHT

The buzz of excitement surrounding Morning Star Records CDs Connecti Cuts and Urban Beats Vol. 1 increases! The band Potent Minds, which features on both albums, has been chosen by Radio 104 WMRQ as their band of the week.

Click this link for info http://www.radio104.com/spinningunrest.html when you get there click the Local Band Spotlight. Their song Danado is track #1 on Connecti Cuts and track #12 on Urban Beats Vol. 1.

""Danado" from Potent Minds, is a complex hip-hop song which switches from fast-rapping to singing, backed by a shifting drum beat and live drum and bass. Potent Minds have found balance musically and the song grooves, rock-wise, in a way that not many hip-hop tunes do." Fairfield County Weekly, June 5 - 11, 2003.

Russell Simmons Announces Seattle Hip-Hop Summit July 24 -27

"Think global. Act local."

Dechelle and Laylo, two featured artists on Morning Star Records' Urban Beats Vol. 1 album, have been selected to perform before an expected audience of 15,000 on Saturday July 26, 2003 at the first Seattle Hip-Hop Summit. The duo will perform the song 'Misty Eyes' which is track 5 on the Anthology: Urban Beats Vol. 1 album.

The Seattle International Hip-Hop Summit & Expo will be the first event of its kind in the northwest where artists, industry executives, and political activists will convene to address the growing international influence of Hip-Hop and the developing northwest urban music scene.

The event, which is expected to draw in some 15,000 participants, promises to attract some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop world to the Emerald city.

In addition to the Hip-Hop Summit, the Expo will feature Hip-Hop Marketplace & Resource Fair, Urban Technology & Gaming Exhibition, Panels & Workshops, Urban Fashion Show, Hip-Hop Film Festival, New Artist Showcase, and Benefit Concert.

The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network has already convened 10 summits across the nation including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Kansas City and Detroit. The Detroit summit featured multi-platinum artists Eminem and Nas and attracted over 17,000 participants. According to Hip-Hop Summit Action Network co-founder, Dr. Benjamin Chavis-Muhammad, Seattle was the logical next step.

GIGS

Artists featured on the Anthology: Urban Beats Vol. 1 album will be playing the following gigs.

Friday August 1, 2003

Jimmy's Seaside, 891 Cove Rd, Stamford, CT 06902. Tel: (203) 964-9225

Laylo

Friday August 8, 2003

The Roxy, 71 Wall St., Norwalk, CT. Tel: (203) 299-0175.

Potent Minds

Thursday September 18, 2003 @ 6:30pm

Westfield Shoppingtown, 5065 Main Street, Trumbull, CT 06611

Andre'a, Potent Minds

Saturday September 20, 2003 @ 9:00pm

The Roxy, 71 Wall St., Norwalk, CT. Tel: (203) 299-0175

featuring Anshin, Andre'a, DeChelle, Dion's All-Stars,Laylo, Potent Minds, and special guests. Tickets $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

OUTSTANDING REVIEWS!

She's Got the Blues, and That Ain't Bad

By Elizabeth Keyser ekeyser@bcnnew.com

Norwalk Citizen-News June 20, 2003

Her grandmother played hymns on the piano, her mother played classical music, and Andre'a Beavers plays soul and R&B. "I've had the blues since I was 6 years old, said the 23-year-old singer-songwriter. But these days, Andre'a, a self-professed "townie who was born and raised in Norwalk, has plenty to be happy about. She has a song on Connecti'Cuts, a compact disc of up-and-coming Connecticut artists recently released by the Stamford-based independent label Morning Stars Music, and she is working on a solo CD that will be recorded this fall.

She is receiving positive notice already. In a review of Connecti'Cuts in the Fairfield County Weekly, Arts Editor Brita Brundage wrote, "Andre'a's tune 'Open' is a winner, powerful but restrained R&B with an easy beat. On Saturday, Andre'a performed "Open at the Connecti'Cuts release party at the Temple Bar in Stamford. "I was ner-vous, she said. "My knees were knocking. If they were, no one could tell. When Andre'a, a slim, attractive woman, took the stage in a red halter top and long red skirt with a slit up one side ("A little risqu, she said. "I'm usually conservative.), she "filled the stage, said Daphne Bolden-Dwinfour, a co-founder of Morning Stars Records. "She gave an absolutely amazing performance. She seemed so comfortable on stage.

Andre'a said the audience's warmth eased her nerves. "On stage you feel the warmth and love, and the people in the audience feel it too. One of those loving people in the audience was her mother, Beverly, who gave Andre'a roses. "She loves my music, Andre'a said of her mother's reaction to her performance. When she was a little girl, Andre'a would sit at her mother's feet, watching her push the pedals while playing music by Bach and Beethoven, or she'd sit by her mother's side at the piano bench, harmonizing. "I know my majors in my sleep, Andre'a said.

Andre'a's earliest influences were the church and classical music. She grew up singing in the choir at Grace Baptist Church on West Avenue and also sang in choirs at Jefferson Elementary, Ponus Ridge Middle and Brien McMahon High schools. On the classical side, Andre'a began studying the cello at age 8. Piano was also a constant in her life. From the moment Andre'a would step inside her house, her mother would hear her foot hit a squeaky floorboard and call out to her to practice the piano. "Always the scales, Andre'a said. She began to develop her own musical taste at a young age, listening to Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker and Sade. They sang songs that "were made when I was small, but they are timeless, she said. Today, Andre'a expresses admiration for Celine Dion's vocal control.

"There's not a note she can't hit. But even more impressive to her is the ability of artists such as Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys to accompany themselves on piano. Andre'a's next musical goal is to perform her own songs while doing the same. Andre'a wrote poetry when she was younger and now is writing songs for her upcoming CD. The songs, she said, "have an eye open to the truth and touch on heartbreak, love and the blues. "Some of them are about disappointment in love. Some of them are angry songs. She said she wants to sing "music that counts. Bolden-Dwinfour, who along with running a management company and independent record label is a vocal coach at the Darien Arts Center, said Andre'a is a "sophisticated songwriter. "She has a good ear for melody. Sometimes I have to get her to simplify because she writes complicated harmonies, said Bolden-Dwinfour.

Andre'a came to Bolden-Dwinfour's attention when a student gave her Andre'a's demo tape. When she heard the tape, which included Andre'a's powerful live performance of the classic Aretha Franklin song "Dr. Feel Good, Bolden-Dwinfour said, "This is a girl we can work with. She was impressed not only with Andre'a's talent and remarkable range ("Believe me, you've only heard a small part of what she is capable of.), but also with the singer's personal qualities. "Artists can be quirky, and sometimes the quirkiness can outweigh the talent. Andre'a is clear thinking and focused, she said. Andre'a's "day job is working as a manager at Stop & Shop Supermarket in Milford. "They have health insurance and tuition reimbursement, she said. Last fall, she stopped attending Southern Connecticut State University, where she had been working toward a music degree. She said she'd like to return to the school next year.

Andre'a lives with her aunt in South Norwalk, and as she anticipates moving out, she realizes that she won't be able to afford to live in the city in which she was raised. In the meantime, she hangs out with a small group of her oldest friends, who like to get together at the Rattlesnake Bar and Grill for a chicken Caesar salad. She said her boyfriend jokes that being with a singer-songwriter can be difficult at times like at 4 in the morning when an idea wakes her up. "When it wakes you up, it's got to come out, she said. Out come the keyboards. "My boyfriend says, 'Try being with her at 5 a.m. when she wants to share and you've got to be at work at 8 the next morning.'

Like most people who are really good at what they do, Andre'a wants to get better. She is taking voice lessons from Bolden-Dwinfour, practicing accompanying herself on the piano, and writing songs. She plans to start trying open mike nights and performing in record stores to promote Connecti'Cuts. And so "practice, practice, is Andre'a's main focus right now. "There's a difference between being nervous about performing and being nervous because you know you're not prepared, she said. "Music is a way of life for me, whether I'm singing in the shower or on stage. It's not always about making it to MTV or being in the music industry. If it does happen, great, she said. But if it doesn't, music will still "be there every step. Music is why I get out of bed in the morning.

THE ARTISTS

Andre'a

Talent comes in many packages, and some of them may surprise you. Standing at a svelte 5' 5¼", Andre'a has a voice that belies her slim and petite stature. Her powerfully eloquent singing range is reminiscent of past R&B masters. Andre'a is passionately soulful, with a hint of Billie Holiday and a nod to Sade, wrapped in contemporary urban earthiness. Her songs are well crafted and sophisticated with emotional depth bluntly examining family, relationships and personal growth. Her music is as sexy, sassy and sensuous as she is.

Anshin

Anshin was born in Cape Town, South Africa. For as long as she can remember, she has always wanted to sing. She sang in her school choir. She has sung in a gospel group. Now, she is one of the most exciting new talents to emerge in years. As she says, "My only prayer as a child was to have a great voice and to be a good singer." When you hear Anshin sing, you will agree that as good as she is now, she will get better and become a great singer.

DeChelle

DeChelle Moné Henderson, 21, is the most exciting new talent to emerge on the music scene in the last five years. As a singer, DeChelle has power, fiery passion, a fluid voice, and puts the soul back into contemporary urban R&B. Her voice is strong, controlled and honeyed. When DeChelle sings she demands to be heard! Her music is a wake-up call to music lovers, of all ages, who seek a new sound that is rhythmic, luminous and pushes the boundaries of current fashion.

Laylo

Stamford, Connecticut born Laylo, aka Lo, is a long-time rapper with poetic lyricism. For the last few years, he has been releasing underground singles, street mix-tapes, and taking part in street battles. Laylo says, "Check da name, hear it, then fear it. You'll find out what it's about. Still 7:30."

Uncut, Ill-flo & Bad News

They are the raw, authentic and unexpurgated sound of Bridgeport, Connecticut. This trio says what it is, and what's going on in the 'Port, Connecticut's largest city. Their visceral, bellicose rapping tells the story of life in the corruption center of Connecticut.

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