Love & Sas was a Canadian duo consisting of Lovena Fox and Saskia Garel. Both ladies had been involved in music from an early age, Lovena in Vancouver and Saskia in Toronto. Both did vocals for other artists and performed in local musical theatre. The two were brought together by BMG A&R man and noted rock producer David Bendeth. Described as Canada's answer to Salt N' Pepa (which is very misleading since they weren't really rappers), the duo released their first single "I Don't Need Yo' Kiss", a pop-rap hybrid that achieved success on the Canadian charts. Their next single, the house song "Call My Name", achieved even greater success on the Canadian charts and even received attention in the US and UK dance clubs. They released an album by the same name and their next single, the soul/pop track "Don't Stop Now", also became a Canadian hit. Their last single would be the ballad "Once In A Lifetime". During the course of their union they won two Juno awards (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy). But they broke up soon after due to "creative differences". The two would follow similar career paths following the dissolution of the group, however. Both have acted extensively in television and have done back-up vocals for other artists. Both have been praised for roles in the Canadian productions of popular musicals, most notably Ragtime for Lovena and Rent for Saskia. They have also both released independent solo albums. But in my mind, it all pales next to this fantastic album, which mixes pop, house, R&B, rap and even reggae to create a tasty and diverse pop album. I have my fingers crossed that the two will see how awesome it would be if they reformed. They both still look and sound fabulous, and Canada needs some fun injected back into it's music scene.Video for I Don't Need Yo' Kiss
Video for Call My Name
Video for Don't Stop Now
(For maxi-singles of some tracks, go to my sister blog HERE)
Download Call My Name
| 1 | Call My Name | |
| 2 | Don't Stop Now | |
| 3 | Get It Up | |
| 4 | Once In A Lifetime | |
| 5 | I Don't Need Yo' Kiss | |
| 6 | Leave Your Lover | |
| 7 | One Step Closer To Heaven | |
| 8 | Baby's Never Comin' Back | |
| 9 | Change Of Heart | |
| 10 | Stop, Look & Listen |
Nice one. Lovena released a solo album in 1997 titled "Now's The Time" independently on Rece Records. She released her second release in 1999 titled "Holdin' On". She also released a third album titled "Broadway Visions" in 2003/4. The latter two are available on CD Baby.
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Saskia was on "One on One" and she has a music myspace, the address is her name
ReplyDeletesaskia garel used to have an official
ReplyDeletewebsite. it was up and running earlier in the year when I checked it out, but it doesn't appear to be online now. There's a Facebook group for Love & Sas.
-cactusdialect
Saskia had song writing credits for "Do You Want My Love" by CoCo Lee. The song was released in 2000 on CoCo Lee's first English language album.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=SASKIA|GAREL&sql=11:0bfwxqu5ldte~T3
-cactusdialect
Another I bought a copy of after hearing it here first. Although I knew one song from when I was living in TO back in 91-92.
ReplyDeleteFound some Saskia Auditions on Youtube.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone confirm it's really her?
http://www.youtube.com/user/sasysasvids#play/all/uploads-all/0/otduw0Hv1P0
That is indeed her! Good find!
ReplyDeleteOMG I LOOOOOOOVED Love & Sas!! Last time I saw Sas was when she was in the Lion King - she's still a wonderful person!
ReplyDeleteThey also used to perform with my mother, Debbie. You are totally bringing back my childhood here...
"I don't need your kiss....keep it away from my body!"
I don't know how common this was, but the radio stations I listened to as a kid rarely identified the artists they played, so to this day I'm rediscovering old radio memories - which is always a thrill - and finally getting to hear more by those artists. So I'm always especially interested in checking out Canadian music from the 80s & 90s I might recognize... and I hit the jackpot here! :) "Don't Stop Now" and "Once In A Lifetime" must've been in heavy rotation in my neck of the woods - they sound so familiar and it makes me really happy to hear them again - Thank you! ~Chris
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