Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to see most of the artists featured here perform during their 'heydey'. Lamya, however, is one whom I did have the pleasure of seeing live. Upon arriving in San Francisco I noticed in the local paper that Lamya was performing a short set at Tower Records. I raced down to Tower just in time to see this exotic beauty perform, singing with the voice of an angel and pounding two large drums! She was singing "Empires", the most successful single off of her album. It was a great performance and she was a delight. Lamya moved from Egypt to New York, apparently being inspired by a TV interview with Madonna. She was soon asked to sing with Soul II Soul, and then did back-up for Duran Duran and David Bowie, among others. She was signed to a major label and the hype machine went into overdrive. Every magazine and TV show was interviewing her, before she'd even released anything, focusing on her exotic looks and opera-trained voice. After being remixed, "Empires" became a huge dance hit. Two other singles, "Black Mona Lisa" and "Never Enough" failed to generate the same heat, though, and critics were disappointed with the album. No album could have lived up to that much hype, and it's genre-defying music (think eclectic electronic soul) seemed to scare the public away as well. She has laid low since, but I think it's safe to say we'll be seeing more of her at some point in the future. You can't keep a good woman down!
**UPDATE: Sad news. The beautiful and talented Lamya died on January 8, 2009, of a heart attack. She was only 35! She was planning on releasing a new album in 2009, but unfortunately it may never be released. Very sad indeed, but we will remember her with fondness and I will cherish that I actually got to see her perform live. R.I.P. beautiful lady. Go HERE for more.
Video for Empires
Download Learning From Falling
| 1 | Empires | |
| 2 | East Of Anywhere | |
| 3 | Black Mona Lisa | |
| 4 | Never Enough | |
| 5 | Judas Kiss | |
| 6 | Full Frontal Fridays | |
| 7 | I Get Cravings | |
| 8 | Splitting Atoms | |
| 9 | Never Such A Long Time | |
| 10 | The Woman Who | |
| 11 | Perfect Girl | |
| 12 | Pink Moon |
she's amazing. i can't believe she never did another album!
ReplyDeleteshe should have been successful
this is one of my fav cd's , i've bought at least 3 copies.. I saw her live, as opening act for macy gray.. i hope she releases another ...
ReplyDeletei'm a HUGE fan of this cd. east of anywhere is such a great song! every song is great....i sure hope that she returns!
ReplyDeleteShe has a myspace page apparently...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.myspace.com/lamya1
Seems to be run by her and not fan made.
r.i.p. Lamya
ReplyDeleteR&B singer Lamya (pronounced "lamb-ya", born Lamya Al-Mugheiry), former background vocalist for Duran Duran's "Wedding Album" and "Thank You", unexpectedly passed away on 8th January 2009 in Oman, according to a message published on her MySpace page.
Lamya was born in Oman and raised in London and Egypt. A very talented voice with a five octave vocal range trained as an Opera singer, she was compared to Björk and Kate Bush for style and vocal abilities.
After watching an interview with Madonna, Lamya moved soon to New York City to pursue a musical career. After going from dance club to dance club and asking to sing, she caught her first break at just 17 years old.
In 1991, Lamya sang lead vocals on "Break 4 Love" by DJ Vaughn Mason, and it led to singing for Soul II Soul. From there, she joined Duran Duran in 1993, touring and recording with the band, and also performing with David Bowie and James Brown.
In 2002, Lamya released her first album, Learning From Falling, which she produced and composed using poems she had written since age 11. A remix of her song "Empires" hit #1 on the Billobard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2002.
Her second album, ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’, was scheduled for release in 2009.
So sorry to hear of her passing. I adore the song "Black Mona Lisa" and recently included it on a mix CD of feel-good music for friends. RIP.
ReplyDeleteThanks for uploading this album, I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Morcheeba and Belleruche.
Top stuff!!
I would probably call this album Trip Hop, as opposed to R&B, but each to their own.
It's definitely quite a shame she's no longer with us.
You say you saw her performing but did you even get an autograph???
That would have been even better!
Hi can you reupload the album?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for introducing me to this artist...I just checked out the music video for "Empires"... wow what a beautiful song, with the kind of deep, poetic lyrics you rarely find in pop music! And I was even more impressed by her playing drums in the video, thinking of how you saw her play them live... so lucky you got to see her, and so sad that she's gone. If it's any consolation, at least you're helping to keep her music alive here with your blog. :) Thank you again for this great discovery! ~Chris
ReplyDelete