J*Davey

All Music Guide:

With a diverse array of influences, eclectic twosome J*Davey -- female vocalist Jack Davey (b. Brianna Cartwright) and producer Brook D'Leau -- deliberately evade the narrow categories of what urban music should sound like, not to mention that they defy normal conventions of pop music. Drawing equally from neo-soul, new wave, funk, and hip-hop, their melting pot of electronic soul and dance have made music-goers try to classify them somewhere between neo-soulstress Erykah Badu and new wave punks Talking Heads. D'Leau and Davey established the duo in the summer after their high-school graduation in 1999. Born and raised in L.A., D'Leau, whose taste for new wave and funk greatly characterizes the group's music, learned to produce tinkering with his father's studio equipment during high school. Davey moved to Los Angeles from her hometown of St. Louis, MO, when she was eight. She had her fair share of industry woes with a failed stint in a girl group, but when she met D'Leau, the two had a chemistry that they couldn't ignore. For several years, the self-proclaimed "black Eurythmics" worked the live circuit around the country, steadily building their reputation and a unique following. They made some substantial strides on the recording side of things, scoring music for television shows CSI: New York and Entourage. However, their recording appearances began to accumulate in the mid-2000s with the most interesting being their cover of Frank Zappa's "Dirty Love" on Ubiquity Records' Rewind! 5 compilation in 2006. Early the following year, fresh off their stint performing with Prince, J*Davey signed a major-label deal with Warner Bros.

Wikipedia:

J*Davey (stylized as J*DaVeY) is an American music duo from Los Angeles, CA. The group consists of female vocalist Jack Davey (real name Briana Cartwright) and male keyboardist/producer Brook D'Leau. The group had formed after being introduced by a mutual friend in high school.

Background [edit]

Growing up in St. Louis, Cartwright was exposed to classic jazz and hints of late seventies jazz fusion before being introduced to the sound of the eighties with R&B and hip-hop. By the time she relocated to Los Angeles at the age of 8, Cartwright landed a spot in an all-girl singing group that signed to MCA Records. The group never released any material.

D'Leau was surrounded by new wave and pop-rock sounds by the way of Prince, Radiohead, Talking Heads and The Police. And at an early age, D'Leau began to create interestingly melodic instrumental tracks in his father's home studio after school and on the weekends for fun.

Many have compared the duo's make-up/relationship of artist and producer to Kelis and The Neptunes' electronic funk sound.

The group signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 2007. Through the label, J*DaVeY released a compilation album of 2 EPs named The Beauty In Distortion/Land Of The Lost. Soon after, the duo left Warner over a dispute concerning the label's demand to split the group.

Shortly after, the duo self-released two EPs: Boudoir Synema: The Great Mistapes (Part 1) (December 2009) and Evil Christian Cop: The Great Mistapes (Part 2) (February 2011).

The group released their debut album New Designer Drug on November 22, 2011 under their self-managed label, iLLaV8r.

J*DaVeY's music has been licensed for episodes of the television drama, CSI: NY and a Snoop Dogg starred film, Bossin' Up. J*DaVeY's songs have been played on various radio stations across cities within the US including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, as well as overseas by way of BBC Radio hosts Gilles Peterson, Benji B and Berry King.

The duo have performed in sold-out venues at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA and the Temple Bar in Santa Monica, CA. Prince invited J*DaVeY to open for him at his 3121 Club. and they also featured in the new the Bloody Beetroots album Romborama with Make Me Blank.

Jack Davey/ Cartwright is now working with Hollywood and SkeeTv music producer TH8A aka Joe Fabio of Blue Town Syndicate] for a solo project. She just released the single The Road to Hell.