Psalms Of The Siren's by Siren's Echo

At the other end of the spectrum we have "Big City", produced by Pale Soul. With the combination of powerfully, emotional production and lyrics of struggle, this track reaches to pull you out of pain, and lift you above the madness. Music sometimes speaks the most volume, when you create songs to work through things you are going through yourself, and "Big City" seems to be just that, therapy. Siren's Echo have combined styles of Hip Hop and R&B together to create "Psalms of the Sirens". Where this has become pretty popular with mainstream music, Siren's Echo stands out because of content, making music with a message. Syndel and Toni Hill's vocal deliveries, whether rhyming or singing, get the job done. With a new release scheduled to drop soon Siren's Echo, are on the grind hard in 2005.

For more info or to purchase this album visit

www.sirensechomusic.com

or www.oldominion.net

Siren's Echo

Psalms of the Sirens (Jus Family)

By: Gray Gannaway

Siren's Echo is a duet comprised of Toni Hill and Syndel from the northwest hip hop collective Oldominion. On their debut full-length Psalms of the Sirens, the girls skillfully pull off a wide range of styles, both vocally and on the boards, while maintaining consistency throughout the album. While many female hip hop artists seem to appeal exclusively to female fans, this is definitely not the case with Siren's Echo.

Toni and Syndel complement each other extremely well, seamlessly trading off intricate lines and blending intelligent lyrics with accessible hooks. The disc is packed with smooth production (Pale Soul has some of the hottest beats in the northwest and steals the show on this album), and Siren's vocals are simultaneously silky and street. Slow jam fans will appreciate the occasional singing throughout the record, and while some of the sing-along choruses start to lose me, the variety of flavors on this album are well balanced. Highlights include the club friendly "And All My...", the smooth but funky "Gypsy Cab", and "Big City" which features some of the best non-preachy spoken word I've heard on a hip hop album in a while. Suspenseful strings and a marching drum snare provide the perfect soundtrack for the heavy feel of "Paper Dolls". Overall a solid debut full-length for Siren's Echo, Psalms of the Sirens is yet another reason to keep your eyes on the OD crew.

Taken from 11/11/2004 Seattle, WA The Stranger

P-Town Oldominion representers Siren's Echo also did their thing, rocking with a live band. If you're not up on Siren's Echo, I'd recommend you find their self-titled debut and peep them when they come through town next month; the surprisingly harmonic marriage of chanteuse Toni Hill's sultry vocals and Syndel's Thorn City spitfire result in a sharp, soulful gumbo that have made them a force to be reckoned with in Rose City and beyond.

NW Female MCs, Sirens Echo, Drop Skillz

I've been picking my brain for days trying to figure out who Sirens Echo remind me of. The Portland female hip hop duo of Syndell and Toni Hill lay down raps, soulful melodies and spoken word tirades with crisp, calculated and seductive precision.

They're so good at what they do comparing their lyrical prowess to a male MC's in hopes of qualifying their gender and ability is pointless. Their confidence and skill as MCs, as well as the circles they run in (both hold memberships with the Oldominion crew) testify to their greatness.

Their production team, which includes Northwest beat makers Pale Soul, Mr. Hill, Mako and The Chosen, mold a very distinct, clean sound unencumbered by the intentional lo-fi rasp that weighs down a lot of underground hip hop acts. That's not to say that the music of Sirens Echo is uplifting or fluffy. Put simply, female MCs at large don't really buy into a lot of the gender roles and dynamics you see played out in a lot of popular music, and Sirens Echo is no exception.

As I continued to plow through their new album, Psalms of the Siren, for the sixth or seventh time, I realized the amalgamation of sound my musical memory was trying to scratch at.

First the combined sound, or aesthetic of San Francisco's Naked Music artists came to mind. In terms of the downtempo, broken beat side of things they definitely share that chic, soulful, jazzy sound. And where Naked Music lacks serious lyrical content, Sirens Echo attacks and conquers.

But that still wasn't close enough. Then I remembered the Austrian nu-jazz collective Jazzanova and their remix of Ursula Rucker's "Circe." Syndell and Hill's vocals, especially on songs such as "And All My..." and "Big City" reminded me of Rucker's strong yet sensual lyrical persona. At the same time, on songs such as "Gone Be With You," Syndell and Hill get grimy enough to throw down with the hardest of MCs.

Sirens Echo perform with Cool Nutz, Maniac Lok, Michael K. and DJ Chill at John Henry's, 10 pm Friday, March 4. $5.

- Steven Sawada

Bay Area duo rocks Capitol Hill venue

Hip-hop pair excites crowd in Seattle

By Paul Comrie , Features Writer

Published: 10-12-2005

For more information on upcoming concerts and performances at Neumo's, visit the website at www.neumos.com or call the concert event line at (206)709-9467. Upcoming all-ages shows include the indie-pop group Nada Surf, with Say Hi To Your Mom, and DJ Roy (Rooha) on Oct. 19 and rapper and battle emcee Sage Francis on Oct. 22. Both shows are $15 in advance and start at 8:00 p.m. in the Crystal Ball Reading Room.

To the uninitiated, the name Blackalicious is sure to raise some eyebrows and elicit some laughs. For anyone who has listened to this twosome though, it's no laughing matter.

Comprised of Bay Area native Xavier Mosley and San Fernando Valley native Tim Parker, known as Chief Xcel and The Gift of Gab, respectively, Blackalicious is a true force with which to be reckoned. With Chief Xcel providing the foundation as producer and DJ, and The Gift of Gab spitting lyrics with his trademark insight and top-tier delivery, these two have been creating truly classic material since their first EP, "Melodica," in 1994.

Along with Lyrics Born, Lateef the Truth Speaker (of the group Latyrx), and DJ Shadow, Blackalicious forms the foundation of the Bay Area hip-hop revolution known as Quannum Projects. The Quannum label has grown bigger and more varied over the last decade, but the stretch has in no way slowed the prolific duo as they attempt to reach out to hip-hop heads everywhere as the industry slides into the mire of a sea of gangsta-rappin' clones. For everyone sick of the thuggin' and bling-blingin' all over the radio and MTV, Blackalicious has five studio-releases to date full of Xcel's excellent tracks, scratching, and samples to back up Gab's blazing delivery, crushing battle raps, and spiritual, introspective lyricism.

Their most recent album, "The Craft," was released just weeks ago on Sept. 27. With a slew of recent tour dates to support the release, I made it my duty to attend their most recent show at Neumo's Crystal Ball Reading Room here in Seattle. So, Sunday night, Oct. 2, at 8:00 p.m., accompanied by a friend and hundreds of other fans and supporters, I waited outside on the corner of 10th and E. Pike in anticipation of what was to come. After a 45-minute wait in the cold, the doors opened and the party was on.

From the moment I set foot inside, I felt at home. The atmosphere in Neumo's exudes an air of familiarity and friendliness with the indie-rock and underground hip-hop scenes. There was no sight obstruction between the back and front of the house, a wide open floor to accommodate hundreds, an impressive 23-foot wide and three-foot tall stage, a more-than-sufficient sound system, and an excellent line-up of Siren's Echo (a northwest-based, two-girl hip-hop group) and Quannum label newcomers Apsci opening for Blackalicious themselves. I was impressed.

Opening act Siren's Echo came on first and gave the crowd a taste of what was to come with some fresh rhymes and soul-soothing vocals over some crowd-moving beats with cuts by DJ Chill. With member Syndel offering the majority of the rhymes and Toni Hill singing, these girls easily break any stereotypes one could have about rap being only a man's game. The lyrics ranged from spiritual to playful, with the Almighty receiving props and whack MCs being decried. Shout-outs were thrown out to B-boys (break dancers) and their crew (Oldominion) while the girls got the crowd moving and waving their hands to the beat.

Soon after, Apsci joined the party. Brooklyn native Ra (Raphael LaMotta) and his wife, Australian-born Dana (Dana Diaz-Tutaan) make up this eclectic twosome whose sound combines electronically-influenced, bass-heavy beats laced with Dana's impressive vocal chops and Ra's authoritative control of the mic. Perhaps I was just really enjoying the set, but their time onstage seemed a bit short to me, and I wanted more. Not to disappoint, they blew me away towards the end of the set when they created a beat on stage in real time. Dana laid down two vocal samples with the help of the guys in the booth, with Ra beatboxing to provide the base, and used it as the foundation for one of the songs in their set.

With all eyes riveted toward the stage, the crowd waited for Blackalicious to come on. As the crew came out, the audience erupted in excitement. Two singers and a keyboardist were there to back up our intrepid hip-hop heroes as they faced their Seattle fans. Chief Xcel took his place on the turntables amidst screams of delight, and the entrance of The Gift of Gab brought the crowd to their wildest. With his large, lanky frame that could intimidate even the bravest of emcees, he smiled into the sea of faces, lifted his arms into the air, and invited in a round of thunderous applause amid his booming calls of "What's up Seattle?" Quickly moving into their set full of joints from their new album like "World of Vibrations," "Rhythm Sticks," and "Supreme People," along with some old favorites like "Rock the Spot" and "Deception," Gab got the crowd moving with natural ease that was astounding to observe as he delivered line after line with a skill that is one thing to hear recorded, but jaw-dropping live.

Midway through the set, he calmed the crowd down to pay respects to the recent victims of Katrina and Rita and advise everyone to "cherish the now" and "take care of each other," followed by a moment of silence for the recent hurricane victims. Chief Xcel, until now offering support, got his chance to square off with the keyboardist in a mad flurry of wild scratching and cuts against guitar-like keyboard effects. Gab followed with a freestyle verse that, honestly, was better than a lot of rappers' written material. The group finished off the set with two crowd favorites produced by Cut Chemist of Jurassic 5, "Alphabetic Aerobics" and "Chemical Calisthenics," with Gab rapping the alphabet and periodic table while the hardcore fans in the crowd screamed the lyrics at the top of their lungs.

As I began to walk out, smelling of cigarettes and sweat, another freestyle followed as an encore to win over any skeptics that were left. Smiling, I left, confident that Blackalicious had as much talent on the stage as in the studio and that I will be back to Neumo's in the future. Looking at their calendar of events, how could I not? They've recently had a whole slew of performances by Quannum artists: Lyrics Born and underground Christian favorite Pigeon John (of LA Symphony) stopped in last month and Lifesavas and The Coup just performed on Oct. 6. Although not all shows at Neumo's are all-ages (most require the audience to be 21+ with an ID), getting the chance to experience one is well worth your while. See you there.

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