Mike

Details of 'Piece Of Me'. a new album from Lady Wray, available from today (19th Oct 2021) for pre-order from Big Crown Records. Due out January 28th. Big Crown Records is proud to present Piece of Me, the sophomore full length offering from Lady Wray. This is something of a homecoming for Nicole. Where her 2016 solo debut Queen Alone leaned more towards Soul and R&B with tinges of hip-hop, this record changes the mixture. It’s still R&B with the textures of analog Soul, but there is a heavy Hip Hop influence that brings the sum of Nicole’s career together in a new sound that will define her future. Boom-bap drums and chunky bass lines are front-and-center creating a perfect head-nodding backdrop for Lady Wray to take on the good, the bad, the difficult, and the joyful on her most personal collection of songs to date. The title track, “Piece of Me,” which has already become a classic since it’s 2019 release is about the people in your life who need more than you are willing to give. This tune and the B side of the 7” “Come On In” were the first songs put to tape for this album and they were recorded with Nicole sitting in a chair 8 months pregnant with her daughter. Her voice is so powerful, so raw, so thorough on these initial songs—it’s wild to think that they were recorded this way. And even wilder to know that she knocked them all out in one take. Long time collaborator and producer Leon Michels keeps the musical backing restrained and expertly executed, setting up Lady Wray for the full spotlight and setting the tone for the rest of the album. While the upbeat energies of “Under The Sun” and “Through It All” are sure to become hits that reconnect Lady Wray with her 90s R&B fanbase, “Where Were You” offers a behind the scenes look at what those days of stardom in her youth were really like. Nicole takes on the racial tension in America with her poetic and powerful “Beauty In The Fire” and leans heavy into her faith and church upbringing on the showstopper, “Thank You”. She gushes about the profound love she’s come to know for her daughter on “Melody” and celebrates life’s ups and downs on “Joy & Pain”. In 2021 it is rare to hear a varied yet cohesive album with no “skippers”, but that is what you have here in spades. The tried and true chemistry between Lady Wray and Leon Michels has undeniably found a higher level and this album stands as a testament to conviction and dedication for all of us to enjoy and be inspired by. With this in mind, when talking about this record, for Lady Wray, it’s about a larger purpose. “My goal is always to help and to heal people with singing,” she explains. “Part of that is to try and bring back real music, real singing, so people can feel something again.” Now, she’s not dissing anyone here, to be clear. It’s just that Lady Wray cannot sing without tapping into something deeper, searching for that shared compassion between all of us. Perhaps it comes from her church upbringing, or maybe from her years of trials and tribulations in the music industry. Either way, Lady Wray is looking to bring that “Good Sound” back and the good feelings that come with it. She calls it “those inner hands,” and she always means to stir them up, grabbing your attention from within. With past albums like the Lady project and Queen Alone, it’s hard to not acknowledge that Lady Wray plus Leon Michels production equals magic. But this magic is also coming from the fact that Lady Wray is now squarely herself, calling her shots, and singing to help heal first—everything else is secondary. “It’s a beautiful thing I’ve always wanted in my career, and now I have it,” Lady Wray says. “They encourage me to be me all day long.” This is Lady Wray at her finest, and she’s giving us all a piece of where she’s at these days. Tracks 1. I Do 2. Through It All 3. Piece Of Me 4. Come On In 5. Under The Sun 6. Where Were You 7. Beauty In The Fire feat. Kenneth Wray Sr. 8. Games People Play 9. Melody feat. Melody Bloom Bacote 10. Thank You 11. Joy & Pain 12. Storms Store links Pre-Order the Colored LP, LP & CD in the BCR Webstore https://bigcrownrecords.com/store/piece-of-me/ Pre-Order / Stream here: https://smarturl.it/Piece-Of-Me

The McClintons Love Doctor' - 4 Track Disco 12 - 7th Galaxy Super Disco Edits have a new 12 lined up for late October release, here's the labels blurb... Welcome to our last instalment from Eryk and Antoinette McClinton. Brother and sister duo who recorded these demo tracks with Detroit legends Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey. Recorded around 1979 these cuts were a spotlight on the duo's talents, hoping land them a record deal. Both had been active in the past with various recordings. Erik & the Vikings, and together as Eryke and Aronnette on Honey records. Here we have Four cracking disco fused funky songs, "Love doctor" made it on to our record store day lp "Long Distance Love Affair" so you may have already heard this. Accompanying this track are two more disco funk cuts. "Its all in your mind" & "Funky time Saturday night". Last and not least is the 2 step jam of "Recollections". All four cuts included some tasty breakdowns. The McClintons - Love Doctor unissued The McClintons - Funky Time Saturday Night The McClintons - Recollections The McClintons Its All In Your Mind unissued Disco 12 7th Galaxy Pre-order etc via https://superdiscoedits.bigcartel.com/