Sweet Suburban Disco by billie ray martin
New Single features Mixed by Yazoo's Vince Clarke,
Horse Meat Disco's Severino, Luke Solomon and Ray Grant
February 7, 2011 – New York City: Dark, divine, and differnt. A gothic flapper in the laser age, electronic music chanteuse Billie Ray Martin has always diva-ed to the beat of her own drum machine.
From her glittering debut as the lead-singer for the brilliant Electribe 101 to her worlwide 1995 club anthem, "Your Loving Arms," to a decade of cherished albums to recent collaborative ventures including The Opiates EP (shades of her "4 Ambient Tales" EP) and last year's "The Crackdown Project" (with Cabaret Voltaire's Steve Mallinder), Miss Martin consitently delivers music to delight the discerning ear.
Billie Ray Martin's new single, "Sweet Suburban Disco" does not disappoint. Click the gorgeous cover at left to enlarge.
More after the jump, including quotes from star DJsToni Humphries, Ashely Beedle, Tom Sweeney, Rub N Tug, Raymundo Rodriguez and Mark Moores.
The long awaited follow-up to her 2008 international club hit–the cosmic Moroder-mad, "Undisco Me,"–is out as of January 28. Billie and co-producer Mike Vamp of Maertini Broes deliver not just a track, but a song; the ballad of a melancholy "Lucy Jordan" seeking release in the rainy, neon-lit night. Dancefloor angst as only Billie Ray Martin–astutely christened "the Nico of the rave generation" by one critic–can deliver it.
Enhanced by mixes from Yazoo/Erasure legend Vince Clarke and Horse Meat Disco giant Severino, as well as mixes by Luke Solomon and Ray Grant, "Sweet Summer Disco," is sure to please fans–old and new–of Bilie Ray Martin's singular sound.
This is the first in a seriies of forthcoming 2011 releases for Billie Ray Martin. Anticipate a collaboration with darlings of the underground Hard Ton and the long awaited full-length album "Hollywood Under The Knife" by The Opiates.
Tony Humphries
''Nice comeback on the dance scene for Billie Ray Martin. The mixes are on the techy tip, but will def work!''
Ashley Beedle
''Nice to hear Billy out there again. Severino serving up the goodies.''
Tom Sweeney
''Luke Solomon mix is the one for me from this release.''
Rub N Tug
''Fantastic ! The dangerously emotive force of BRM. Love the Vince Clark but will be playing the Sev dub too. Nice''
Raymundo Rodriguez
''Cool vocal track, all the mixes work for me.
Mark Moore
"Oh my god. She sounds devine. How can i get my hands on this?"
Billie Ray Martin | Sweet Suburban Disco
out February 28 and available via
iTunes, Amazon, Juno + major digital stores worldwide
WWW | BIO | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
SOUNDCLOUD | YOUTUBE | 2010 Q&
PREVIOUS RELEASES
Billie Ray Martin on Discogs.com
The Crackdown Project
Billie Ray Martin: The Crackdown Project by billie ray martin The Crackdown Project Minimix by billie ray martin
Billie Ray Martin: The Crackdown Project
Featuring Stephen Mallinder, Maertini Broes and Lusty Zanzibar
Vol.1 - Sold Out To Disco
Digital Release
Believe (worldwide) | February 15, 2010
LISTEN: Crackdown - Oicho Remix
Vol.2 - Darkness Restored
Digital Release
Believe (worldwide) | March 15, 2010
LISTEN: Fascination - Celebrity Murder Party Remix
View PDF Billie Ray Martin: The Crackdown Project Booklet
PDF Press Release (includes track listings)
When Billie Ray Martin told Stephen Mallinder she had just finished the job of selling out Cabaret Voltaire to disco, he burst out laughing. The legendary head of famed electronic band Cabaret Voltaire saw no reason to stop her. Instead, he agreed to deliver his first vocal performance in years on Billie’s cover of the Cabs’ song ‘The Crackdown’. Produced by top Berlin tech-house act Maertini Broes, this production brings Billie Ray Martin back to her cutting-edge house music roots.
Second in line to be out-discoed was the song 'Just Fascination'. This time, the UK's finest Nu-Disco producer Lusty Zanzibar delivered the production. The result is a no holds barred epic groove fest with a Balearic touch.
Remixes were delivered not only by Billie's 'Your Loving Arms' co-writer David Harrow (under his Oicho moniker), but also by super-blog Audio Porn Central's top remix team:
Celebrity Murder Party, Copycat, Divide and Create, Dunproofin, Flying White Dots, Phil RetroSpector, Year Zero have all delivered something that goes beyond mere remixing but they have created stunning artistic reworks of these classic songs.
Released on Billie's Disco Activisto label, which she has re-launched for this and all future releases. In an 'industry-first' Billie is collaborating with torrent-site Mininova.org and will be releasing free exclusive mixes on January 25, leading up to the official release of the first EP. Further 'exclusives' will be released in collaboration with blogs and magazines leading up to the second part of the release.
Stephen Mallinder: "Billie and I had been planning to work together for a number of years and now we finally did it."
BRM: "I could never do justice to the original songs but can have a damn good time trying."
Billie Ray Martin | The Videos 89 - 98 | DVD
Stahl (Germany) | out now
DVD PREVIEW
“To describe Billie Ray Martin’s sound as soulful would be an understatement. She has the sort of voice normally unheard outside gospel choirs and churches, unless you’re listening to Aretha Franklin or Mahalia Jackson, that is.” – The Sunday Times Magazine (London)
Dubbed "the thinking man's diva," Billie Ray Martin is known to the masses for her Europe-wide number one and a Top 30 USA pop hit of 1996, "Your Loving Arms," and to fans as the woman behind the groundbreaking 1990 band, Electribe 101 ("Electribal Memories"). Possessing wit, soul, humor and a laser-like focus on her vision of what contemporary pop music should be (smart, adult, well-sung) Miss Martin recently topped charts worldwide with her cosmic Moroder-fest, "Undisco Me" (released in the US on Tommy Boy). She's also released the much sought-after first four-track EP under the name (with partner Robert Solheim) The Opiates. And FYI, she's also a fierce DJ, thowing down a trainspotters wet dream of acid, eletro and house.
Get to know the brilliant Billie Ray Martin with this highly collectible collection of videos from Electribe 101's "Talking With Myself," to the aforementioned "Your Loving Arms," they're all here.
Download BRM talkin on Sirius OutQ 7.18.08
Undisco Me (Peter Jurgens) -Billie Ray Martin by yakutra
The Queen of Electro Soul Returns with
the Quirky, Dazzling, & Lush “Undisco Me”
Billie Ray Martin | Undisco Me
Digital Single | Rebirth (Italy) | December 14, 2007
No hype, well a little–hell, it’s Billie Ray Martin!–and we’ll leave you to hop to MySpace to brush up on Billie, whether it’s by reading the the smartly written bio, checking out more music, or–in the blog–downloading her live DJ sets, perusing recent press clips or peeping pix of that full-page HMV (UK) ad series with The Pet Shop Boys.
“Undisco Me” comes to the US after topping club charts across the UK and Europe. The Single Of The Week review (below) that appeared in the UK’s venerable DMC Update pretty much tells you all you need to know about the single that has DJs including Roger S. (they’re collaborating), Tom Novy , Joachim Garraud, Oliver Lang (Bora Bora, Pacha), Dave Dresden, David Vendetta, DJ Paulette, Sarah Main (Pacha), Oscar G, Mark Moore and many more raving.
If all you ever knew from Billie Ray Martin was her massive 1996 single, “Your Loving Arms,” take a minute to get to know her, while you get to know “Undisco Me.”
Single Of The Week: “This is a long overdue and more than welcome return, of one of thee voices of dance music. Billie Ray Martin first took club goers on a soulful high in 1989 with the absolute deep classic “Talking With Myself” which she made with Electribe 101. A few years later she turned up on the legendary Guerilla Records alongside Spooky, causing a bit of controversy with a cover of Throbbing Gristle’s “Persuasion”. Billie Ray Martin soon signed to East West and scored a worldwide number 1 with “Your Loving Arms.” Since then she has done her own thing, and collaborated with quite a few. Well now she’s back with a new album, and if it’s along the lines of this single, there’s gonna be no stopping her. In its original mix “Undisco Me” has got a slight retro feel, taking you back to those heady Balearic times, bringing a certain DJ Essentials Inc / Lisa Stansfield bootleg to mind, only Billie has done it better, never being afraid to take a chance and push forward, “Undisco Me” is properly out there, giving house the kick up the arse it so desperately needed. A quality set of remixes come from Peter Jurgens, Edison and Acid Jacks. Billie Ray Martin is the thinking man’s diva and she can walk up & down my back anytime.” – Dean Thatcher, DMC Update (UK) 5 fucking ****!
5 Questions for Billie Ray Martin
1 What's "Undisco Me" about? Music on this planet is boring me so i'm taken up by aliens where the groove sets me free. Tedious boy and girl groups and reunions of farty old bands have made me w rite this song.
2 The last song the most in the us know you for is "your loving" arms. What have you been up to since? I’ve been releasing electronic records since, as always. Such as no brakes on my rollerskates and dead again, also collaborated with slam and dj hell, all of which information can be found on my myspace page. Ive developed my songwriting.
3 Why are you so incredibly gorgeous? I was born that way.
4 You tour not only as a singer, but as a DJ. What's your sound? Who you loving these days? I read that my thing is called electro-tech. Sounds good enough to me. It{s hard electronic music but not minimal noise. Instead i play things with lots of sounds and arrangements. But really you gotta hear it. Again there's a set on myspace. You can download it for free!
5 Give us a top 5 tracks, luv [2007]:
1 Karl Bartos - “Camera Obscura”
2 Experimental Products - “Glowing In The Dark”
3 Kiki & Gino featuring Naommon - “Good Sluts Factory”
4 Orgue Electronique - “The Plot”
5 Legowelt - “Sturmvogal”
