Smooth Jazz Vocalist, Rebecca Angel, to Release What We Had on Timeless Grooves Records June 1

Four quick “s” adjectives come to mind when you first hear Rebecca Angel, making for some nice descriptive alliteration: smooth, soulful, sensual and sultry. Listening to her soulfully produced and exquisitely arranged debut What We Had, we can top that off with sexy and unabashedly sentimental as well. The emerging NYC based singer makes every emotionally compelling track an invitation – to dream, to love, to reminisce wistfully about beautiful times gone by which infuse every waking thought of today. With every swaying breeze of her distinctive voice, whether she’s singing romantic lyrics or sharing her artful sense of vocalese, Rebecca tempts us to explore her cool and edgy contemporary update on the deeply exotic vibe of classic artists like Sade and Brazilian greats Bebel Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto.

She weaves this laid back magic over the old school soul, easy funk, ear tingling electronica and infectious grooves created by renowned jazz/R&B producer Jason Miles, who grounds every mix in the shimmering retro sounds of the Fender Rhodes, Vox Continental and Wurlitzer. He brought in some of New York’s finest for the various sessions. Rebecca’s dreamy and sensual twist on Hoagy Carmichael’s wistful (and not frequently covered) “Winter Moon” features acoustic bassist James Genus, percussionist Mino Cinelu and soprano saxophonist Hailey Niswanger. The equally nostalgic title track “What We Had,” a slowly swaying look back at enduring memories of the sensory joys of a past romance, was penned by Rebecca and her father, trumpeter Dennis Angel, with additional lyrics by guitarist Jonah Prendergast. In addition to Miles’ keyboards and percussion loops, it features Christian Ver Halen’s crisp guitar licks and the easy grooving rhythm section of Reggie Washington (bass) and Brian Dunne (drums).  

On the other tracks, Miles leads an ensemble featuring Ver Halen, Dunne, bassist Adam Dorn, and percussionist Cyro Baptista. Special guests include Prendergast, renowned acoustic guitarist Ricardo Silveira and cellist Sebastian Stoger on a playful, spirited cover of the Brazilian gem “Agora Sim,” featuring Miles’ intoxicating electro-percussion. Also featured are Dennis Angel and flutist Gottfried Stoger.

The EP includes two versions each of the rock classic “Stand By Me,” and “(Samba Jazz Happiness (Jet Samba),” the latter of which was a popular radio single for Rebecca, who released the festive, playfully rhythmic track to coincide with the Rio Olympics in 2016. The song, originally penned and recorded as an instrumental by Brazilian composer Marcos Valle, reached high on the FMQB Adult Contemporary chart. The EP includes an “Ipanema Beach” remix featuring danceable, hypnotic and carnivalesque percussion textures. The first version of “Stand By Me” also lends itself to a trip-hoppy hypnosis via electro-percussion behind Rebecca’s wistful vocals. The second, which closes the set, has a more mainstream, seductive vibe, perfect for adult contemporary radio. Rebecca and Dennis also co-wrote the set’s other original, “Feel Alive,” a charming and innocent declaration of love and how it changes the heart, which breezes along like a brisk stroll on a balmy evening without end.

Rebecca recently graduated with a degree in voice from Ithaca College, where she studied with Roseanna Vitro, Cyrille Aimee (whose version of “Stand By Me” inspired Rebecca to record it), Carol McAmis, Kim Nazarian and Maya Azucena; Azucena helped the singer take her vocal on “What We Had” to another level. With her unique vocal timbre, Rebecca could certainly venture into any genre she likes. Those engaging with her artistry for the first time will be glad she’s chosen to go the sophisticated chill samba route.

            "What We Had" will be released on Timeless Grooves Records

 on June 1​.

RebeccaAngel.net

Qu-Bit Electronix Nebulae v2 Is Shipping

Nebulae is a granular sampler and DSP platform. Its phase vocoder audio engine provides elastic audio, which can be time stretched, granularized, and mangled to no end. With independent control over pitch and speed, and granular controls such as overlap, window, and density, finding new sonic territory is only a knob turn away. Nebulae can use live audio input, a recorded buffer, or audio files as the source material for its powerful audio manipulations. The live input buffer can record up to five minutes of stereo audio at 48kHz, 24 bit. In addition, up to 75 MB of stereo audio can be loaded simultaneously through the USB port. No naming convention or special formatting necessary; just plug and play.

Nebulae lives a double life as an open source DSP platform with an extensive library of off the shelf alternate instruments. You can turn the module into a lush reverb, spectral delay, or tape-style looper simply by loading a new file onto the flash drive. Do you want to tweak one aspect of an existing instrument, even the default functionality? No problem. No prior coding knowledge is necessary to tweak and refine existing firmware to your liking or start with one of our templates. Alternate firmware files can be written with Pure Data, Csound, SuperCollider, and even bare-bones C programs.




- Granular sampler with time stretching capabilities
- 5 minute stereo recording buffer at 48kHz, 24 bit (In addition to file playback buffer)
- No naming convention or special formatting necessary for file playback
- Supports Pure Data, Csound, and SuperCollider alternate instrument files
- Ships with loaded USB flash drive ready to use
- Black aluminum front panel

PCA Audio Serves a Diverse Clientele with Allen & Heath

From dance shows to marketing meetings to major touring acts,
PCA Audio Design puts Allen & Heath gear to work. 

PCA Audio Design, a New York City production company, used its Allen & Heath GLD-80 digital mixer for FOH and monitors at this year’s “Project Dance” in New York City’s Times Square. PCA President and founder Pat Alapa says his company has provided production audio for Project Dance for over 16 years. The annual event, founded by former Rockette Cheryl Cutlip, features dance groups from all over America. Alapa noted, “I’ve used this particular GLD for four years now and it’s a workhorse for us. The Allen & Heath boards are well thought out and you can get a good mix right out of the gate.”

For a recent Chanel marketing meeting in California, Alapa took good advantage of the GLD-80’s digital features. “I set up scenes during rehearsal for each segment of the meeting,” he said. “We stored EQ, compression, level and routing. That way, I didn’t have to worry as we switched mics during the show.” He also used the GLD’s AMM automatic mic mixer for Chanel panel discussions. “The auto mixer is a big help when you have 6 or 7 people on stage and want to keep the mics up without driving into feedback.” Alapa added, “I’ve got some outboard tube compressors that I really like but, for the most part, I just use the GLD’s internal compressors, gates and other effects. For ease of use and overall flexibility, you just can’t beat the Allen & Heath effects package.”

PCA provides production audio with its Allen & Heath mixers for events ranging from concerts and music/dance festivals to corporate meetings and award ceremonies. At a recent Hayley Kiyoko concert in New York, PCA provided the dLive S Class digital mixing system used at FOH. The dLive will also mix FOH in June for the New Jersey “Anime Next” event where PCA provides sound, lighting and projection services.

Alapa commented, “I’m pretty much an Allen & Heath company. We still own a GL4000, GL3300 and GL4 analog mixer. So, going into the digital world, I stayed with Allen & Heath. I love the sound quality and functionality and the consoles are well-constructed. Allen & Heath has always delivered for us.”