FANIA RECORDS releases LOUIE VEGA’S ELEMENTS OF LIFE – ECLIPSE
Louie Vega & Elements Of Life ft. Josh Milan, Anané, Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Ursula Rucker, Luisito Quintero, Oveous Maximus
RELEASE ON FANIA RECORDS AVAILABLE NOW ON CD, VINYL, AND DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
Fania Records releases Elements Of Life ‘Eclipse,’ a 2-disc album from Louie Vega’s critically acclaimed live orchestral project. The album is set for a worldwide release date of March 19, 2013, and is the first new artist album Fania is releasing in years. The first disc showcases 17 brand new tracks from Elements Of Life that tastefully traverse the sounds of Afrobeat, Jazz, Latin, R&B, Gospel, Soul, Blues, Brazilian and World Music all woven with the golden touch of Grammy Award winning Producer/Artist/DJ Louie Vega. The second disc includes “EOL Soulfrito” an homage to Fania Records through interpretations and remixes of classic Fania songs performed by the Elements Of Life in a 33-minute sound collage as well as six more bonus tracks. Louie Vega connected with the legendary Fania Records after doing the smash club remix of his uncle Hector Lavoe’s “Mi Gente” track back in 2008. Louie elaborates, “At that time I started working on my new Elements Of Life album. Fania was already aware of my previous E.O.L. albums and when they got wind, they wanted to hear it. Once they heard it, they were very interested in signing it. I was in awe of the idea. Things really would go full cycle being on Fania Records.”
On Elements Of Life Eclipse, which was 4 ½ years in the making, Vega kept the style of the earlier albums (African, Jazz, Latin, World) but has added Soul, R&B, Gospel and Blues. The lyrics are deeper now and are bringing more conscious messages to the world. Joining Elements Of Life on this album are singers Lisa Fischer and Cindy Mizelle, and poets: Ursula Rucker and Oveous Maximus as well as percussionist Luisito Quintero (Vega produced his last two albums). Singer/songwriter, and global DJ Anané has blossomed since her full length release of Ananésworld and brought in more of her Cape Verdean influences and has also experimented more with the R&B/Soul sounds which she’s made her own on songs like the Roy Ayers penned “You Came Into My Life” and the Cesaria Evora classic “Sodade.” Lisa and Cindy have brought in their Gospel and R&B influences, and have even experimented with Jazz, Funk, and House. They performed backgrounds on live shows for many years for artists like Luther Vandross, the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, and Mary J. Blige to name a few.
For years Vega wanted to do a project and take Lisa and Cindy from the background to the forefront as leads. Rounding out the stellar talent are poets Ursula Rucker and Oveous Maximus who bring their storytelling and poetry in the form of spoken word to E.O.L. As Vega states, “It was all perfect for the new album.” Ongoing themes for the new album are about reaching out to our young generation, and paying homage to women. Vega adds, “I feel in these times we need songs like this to help inspire moves.”
Vega concludes, “It’s a true honor for me to be the first new artist album signed to Fania Records in years. It really comes full circle now, being able to be on the label my uncle Hector Lavoe was on and the Fania All Stars who are also great inspirations for me. Fania Records is to Latin music what Motown is to R&B and Soul, so to be even a small page in this encyclopedia of music is a dream come true for me.”
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