Melleny Melody + The Pop Machine - Super Happy Darkness (2001)

Melleny Melody first became known in her native Toronto as an eclectic fashionista who traveled around the city in her oddly decorated car. She was also a huge dance music fan, and in the mid-1990s, thanks to her local celebrity, she helped form indie electronic label Play Records, which would put her unique musical persona on record. They also started Gay Records to launch their more pop-oriented music, and Melleny Melody + The Pop Machine was born. The "Pop Machine" were a couple of her friends who handled some production and instrumental duties. They released a couple singles in 1999, "Fashion Victim" and "Honey Pill / E-Me", but their album didn't appear until 2001, along with two more singles, "Doin' Dishes" and "Loveshower". Their music incorporates everything from lounge to drum 'n' bass to techno to electro to house, all pulled together by her girlish voice and lyrics. They remained a very underground act, and I'm sure they never imagined being anything more. Their last release was "Bad Girl / 8 Inch Pumps", and then The Pop Machine was no more. Melleny did collaborate with composer and arranger John Henry Nyenhuis to produce the strange Cartoon Songs To Drive You Crazy, but otherwise stayed out of the music spotlight. Then, in 2006, Melleny reemerged as Mellee Fresh and appeared with popular Canadian electronic house wizard Deadmau5 on "Cocktail Queen" and "After Hours", both underground club hits that also helped make Play Records a bigger success. Over the next couple of years they collaborated on more singles, with her Mellee persona being more a spoken word artist, a la Peaches, than a singer. This year, with their song "Attention Whore", they finally hit the big time, hitting number 10 on the Billboard Club Play charts, and the song is still charting there. Obviously Melleny's new persona has garnered her a broader audience, and there's no telling how far she'll go. To explore here Melleny Melody persona, go HERE. For her Mellee Fresh persona, go HERE.

Video for Doin' Dishes

Animated video for Doin' Dishes

Video for Loveshower

Download Super Happy Darkness

1		Doin' Dishes
2		I'm Already There
3		Bad Girl
4		Love Shower
5		Eight Inch Pumps
6		Cocktail Time
7		401
8		Honey Pill
9		Fashion Victim
10		E-Me

Sugar Jones - Sugar Jones (2001)

I suppose that I should have featured the original Canadian Popstars winners Sugar Jones before previous postees Velvet Empire, who were their successors. But at the time Velvet Empire seemed trashier and more apropos for this blog. So now it's due time for Sugar Jones and their album, which is much better than VE's, IMO. Their story is no different than their international counterparts: A ton of young ladies from across the country were auditioned to be in a pop group and the best were featured on the Popstars TV show, competing to be one of the final five. After many greuling weeks of rehearsals, lessons and tests, the five considered the most talented were chosen - and then one was dumped due to credit card theft and replaced at the last minute. The TV show then documented the album's recording (think the Spice Girls meets Destiny's Child) as well as the making of their first video for the single "Days Like That" (a remake of the song from 1999 by UK girl group Fierce). They worked with well-known Canadian R&B and pop producers (who also produced previous postees Jazmin and, yes, Velvet Empire, as well as many future postees). I remember how excited I was when the video was finally aired, and also how excited my BF was when he spied them at an Erykah Badu concert and almost attacked them while they were surrounded by their fans - all little girls. LOL Alas, the excitement barely lasted through their next single, "How Much Longer", and though both songs were Canadian hits, they soon broke up, due in part to one member, Maiko, leaving to tour with her husband, singer Remy Shand, who was becoming famous internationally. Like in the US, the whole Popstars brand fizzled after that. Though the ladies all seemed to disappear, a quick look reveals that surprisingly four of them have continued pursuing music, to varying success. Should you care, their Myspace pages are here: Maiko Watson (now divorced from Remy Shand), Julie Crotchetiere, Sahara MacDonald & Andrea Henry. The last member, Mirella Dell'Aquila, apparently works as a receptionist at a private school in Montreal, and once was rumoured to be engaged to former Brit Popstars hopeful and third runner-up in Pop Idol Darius Danesh. Talk about keeping it in the family!

Video for Days Like That

Video for How Much Longer

Download Sugar Jones

1		Days Like That
2		How Much Longer
3		If You
4		Keep On Walking
5		Never Leave Hurt Alone
6		It's Like Ice Cream
7		Baby Boo
8		Get Yourself Together
9		I Got U
10		A Little Bit Of Heaven
11		Days Like That (Baby Silver Refix)
12		How Much Longer (Couplet En Francais)

Sister Soleil - Soularium (1998)

Almost two years ago now (!!) I posted the brilliant pop album from 2001 by aspiring pop starlet Stella Soleil aka Stella Katsoudas. Unfortunately, her solo attempt at mainstream pop stardom never caught on despite great songs. I kept forgetting, until now, to post her debut musical foray as part of group (though really it was mostly her baby) Sister Soleil. According to legend, the Chicago native recorded a 7 track demo EP, and after getting no reaction from labels, created her own label Katharis and acted as her own A&R rep, eventually releasing the EP as Drown Me In You. Universal Records were impressed and signed her, re-recording some tracks from Drown Me In You and releasing them as part of a full album. She got a band together and though they had some underground success, they failed to catch on. As I mentioned previously, the music was very rock-oriented, with large doses of techno and industrial, reminiscent of Garbage or previous Isle postees like Transister. It was even less accessible than those groups, IMO, and remained an acquired taste, with the singles "Torch", "Blind" (which utilizes vocal "inspiration" from Peter Gabriel) and "Butterfly" relegated to late night alt-rock radio. Stella took some time off to reassess her career and 'Stella Soleil' was born a couple years later. After the failure of the Stella Soleil project, she made some guest vocal appearances and eventually reclaimed the name and sound of Sister Soleil. A few demos as Sister Soleil and an EP as Stella Soleil later appeared but that project once again ended when she formed an experimental rock group with Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan called Dirty Little Rabbits, who released their debut EP this year.

UPDATE: I just found a link to Dirty Little Rabbits' debut album! It's a very strange trip indeed! Go HERE.

Video for Torch

Download Soularium

1		Feel My Love
2		Red
3		HB's Dream In Red
4		Torch
5		Chair
6		Stella's Obsession With Satie
7		AOL
8		Dial Up
9		Hit Me
10		Little Girl
11		Blind
12		"Alright"
13		Liar
14		Strength
15		Lounge Lizard
16		Jacquie And The Bob-Elvis
17		Butterfly

Louie Louie- The State I'm In (1990) & Let's Get Started (1993) DOUBLE POST!!

I am relieved to feature an artist whom I have not had to do too much research on, thanks to the sleuthing skills of my dear friend Bomitoni over at Milk Carton Pop Stars, who previously featured Louie Louie HERE. In a nutshell, Louie Louie was Louie Cordero, a dancer who burst on the scene in 1984 as Madonna's love interest in the "Borderline" video. In 1987, he recorded his version of Jon St. James' track, "The Girl Who Seduced The World", to no fanfare. Luckily, he signed with CBS Records affiliate WTG in 1990 and had a top 20 hit, "Sittin' In The Lap Of Luxury," off of his debut album. His next single, "I Wanna Get Back With You" hit #69 on the Billboard Hot 100, but the next single, "Rodeo Clown", didn't chart. No other hits followed, and he moved on to Reprise Records. He got some help on his second album from heavyweights like Prince and George Michael, and ditched his straight up dance-pop sound for more R&B and house oriented fare, but the album and it's three singles, "The Thought Of It", "Brother Louie" and "Walk With Me", failed to generate much excitement, though the former was a minor hit in the UK. Most of us thought his story ended there. But he moved on once again to Interscope affiliate Trauma Records (home to Bush and No Doubt) and reinvented himself using his real name. Unfortunately this was an even bigger bomb, and I read that it was the worst selling album in Trauma Records' history, selling only a few hundred copies! Not to be discouraged, he created his own live 'revue' and thankfully continues to entertain in Las Vegas and abroad, as well as making an occasional trip to the recording studio. So look him up on your next trip to Vegas! (For a glimpse of Louie in action in Vegas, check THIS out.)

UPDATE: Thanks to the ever resourceful Rich at The Music Spectrum, I've discovered that Louie Louie independently released another album in 2002 entitled Dance Love Work, which is his mantra. It's a very funky ride. Go HERE to find out more and download it!

Video for Sittin' In The Lap Of Luxury

Video for the Spanish version of I Wanna Get Back With You

Download The State I'm In

1		The State I'm In
2		Sittin' In The Lap Of Luxury
3		I Wanna Get Back With You
4		Mata Hari
5		Penny Lady
6		Stop Lookin' For Someone Else
7		Hurt Baby
8		Let Me Divorce You
9		I'm Sorry That It Happened To You
10		Variety Is The Spice Of Life
11		Rodeo Clown

Download Let's Get Started

1		Let's Get Started
2		The Thought Of It
3		Walk With Me
4		Get Blue
5		Brother Louie
6		You're So R&B
7		Too Much Pressure
8		All I Do Is Toss & Turn
9		All In One Breath
10		Dance Unto The Rhythm
11		Aggression

Chena - Promises (1989)

I am delighted to present another artist on whom I can find no info. I say delighted because many of the artists I post about don't end up being as obscure as I had once supposed, thanks to the internet, and obscurity was initially what this blog was based on. That being said, I present Chena (or Chēna, as it was sometimes spelled to convey that her name was pronounced Chee-na). When perusing a dance music magazine that I read religiously back in the day, I came across an ad for this album. Though I had no idea what it sounded like, I demanded that my mother pick up the cassette when she went to the US (it wasn't released in Canada and we didn't get many US imports back then). When she returned with it, I excitedly threw it on. Alas, it wasn't as mind-blowing as I'd hoped, but it was a fun 80's dance-pop album. The same crew that worked with Hi-NRG faves The Flirts and Claudja Barry (including Claudja's husband Jurgen Korduletsch) worked on this, so the result is comparable to their late 80s work. Chena's voice is relatively thin, but apparently that was excusable in pop and dance music in the late 80s. She released three singles: "Mama Said", "Bring Back My Heart" and "E.S.P.", which is a freestyle/house hybrid and the best track by far IMO. None of the singles made much impact beyond select dance clubs and Chena remained an obscurity. Until now! I found the CD on Amazon for a steal and had to get it to share with y'all. Though it's even less substantial than I remember, it's perfect for fans of the Isle. ;)

Download Promises

1		Mama Said
2		My Boyfriend's Back
3		Bring Back My Heart
4		Don't Tell Me
5		Promises
6		When He Walks Me Home
7		Keeps On Gettin' Better
8		One Thing (Leads To Another)
9		E.S.P.