Colette
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Tags: house, electronica, pop
Websites:
Bio: With her disarming doe eyes and a heartwarming demeanor, Colette possesses the unmistakable voice of post-millennial house music. Her sweet-but-sultry voice has been called "angelic" ... (more)
so many times, it's a miracle she hasn't grown wings: Imagine a less breathy Kylie Minogue merged with a more controlled Roisin Murphy (Moloko) and you have a good grasp on her classy voice that highlights any beat that flows behind it. Whereas in the late 80s, the diva reigned supreme and made the music cower, Colette has kept it deliciously simple and always melodic, making the former choirgirl-cum-Chicago-house-siren a mainstay of modern dance music.
And it's been that way for a minute -- as raves were starting to wind down throughout the nation in the late 90s, Colette was busting through the "novelty act" stereotype that kept many women DJs corralled like VIP ropes guarding a Hollywood hotspot. But ever since she started her SuperJane troupe with fellow Chicagoan DJs Dayhota, Lady D. and Heather (recently celebrating their 10th anniversary), Colette's paved the way for other women seeking equal time behind the decks as their male counterparts. Things came full circle when the Los Angeles transplant reunited with Heather for a stateside tour promoting the "House Of Om" mix they did together and most recently in 2009 when the House FM tour touched down on cities such as LA, NY, SF, Miami and Chicago, where Colette holds her long time bi-monthly residency at Smart Bar.
Colette’s debut album Hypnotized became the most downloaded dance album on iTunes (US), and featured dance floor burners like "What Will She Do for Love" (Billboard's No. 1 Dance Club Play Single) and the title track, which was licensed to The Devil Wears Prada soundtrack. In just a few years time, Colette was featured as a "Newcomer to Watch" in JANE Magazine, filed under "Hot New Music" in Interview Magazine, graced the cover of XLR8R, and named in URB's Next 100.
Her follow up artist release, Push, has got serious dance floor ammo with its tricky, funneled beats
and overall playful vibe, but it can slink into dark-and-sexy mode too, making the record just as diverse as its cast. Home and Garden, Santiago & Bushido, Drew K, Chuck Love, Fab, Lucy Woodward share production credit, to name a few. Colette’s sexy, jazzy alto is featured perfectly on "If" and first single, "About Us." It easily could rock the airwaves on a Friday night mainstream pop station and slay the crowd at any dance club, and has already been remixed by tastemaker Derrick Carter.
Keeping things varied four tracks in, "Funny" features Om: Hip Hop new signing and fellow URB “Next 100” featured artist Black Spade, and the resulting vibe is chill with a bit of swagger -- complete with shiny synths over a tripped-up tempo.
"What's so fun about writing house music is that you're not confined to one format," Colette says. "And on Push, I definitely took advantage of that."
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