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 |
