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Ministry Of Sound - Sleeping Satellite
Aurora - Sleeping Satellite Aurora and vocalist Naimee Coleman have unearthed Tasmin Archer’s 1992 classic ‘Sleeping Satellite’ Fresh for the summer 2003 they have carefully crafted it into a dance floor smasher which will undoubtedly grace the terraces of the ‘Devils Isle’ this year! Many have tried to emulate ‘Sleeping Satellite’ over the years but none have come close to Tasmin Archer’s 1992 hit which was Number 1 in 9 countries, including the UK. In today’s climate of 1980’s throwaway covers which are stagnating the charts, Sleeping Satellite makes a refreshing change. The difference? Aurora’s rendition is simply outstanding. After their top 5 hit ‘Ordinary World’ and their awesome self titled debut album last year, Aurora aka Simon Greenaway and Sacha Collisson have again teamed up with the gorgeous Irish vocalist Naimee Coleman. Naimee effortlessly delivers heartfelt lyrics over a hot bed of Sacha’s beautiful Balearic guitars, and Simon’s lush synthscapes and pumping beats. Aurora is founded on the boys’ impressive musical heritage. Sacha is a one-time Roxy Music extra and owned his first guitar at the tender age of ten. Simon is a trained classical pianist and the son of legendary songwriter, Roger Greenaway, who brought us ‘I’d like to Teach the World to Sing’. Simon and Sacha have also been headhunted to compose James Bond scores with David Arnold;, DJ-ed to crowds of 100,000 + alongside trance legend Ferry Corsten and collaborated with current Paul Oakenfold darlings, The Realm. As their first incarnation, ‘Think Twice’ – key 90s players in the Acid Jazz fellowship alongside Brand New Heavies, D-Influence and Jamiroquai - they spawned two critically-acclaimed albums followed by a Top 40 club anthem, ‘Boogie’, released under the band moniker Dive. In 2001 they’d settled on that suitably incandescent name, Aurora, and things began to snowball when the anthemic slice of Ibizan trance, ‘Hear You Calling’ went Top 20 in the UK charts. ‘Sleeping Satellite’ comes complete with a handsome set of mixes from, Rob Searle, Super 8 and Tubbs. Firing on all cylinders, top UK dance veteran Rob Searle delivers a tough blend of slick pumping euphoria and passionate drive, whilst Finland based producer Super 8 aka Miika Eloranta spreads a little sunshine by way of a warm Chicane-y piano and dreamy ethereal vocals. A special treat for the chill afficiandos comes courtessy of new kid on the dubbed out block, Tubbs who‘s blissed out downtempo reworking provides the perfect soundtrack to dreaming of firey sunsets and golden beaches. Aurora have previously been championed by, Deep Dish, Paul Van Dyk, Judge Jules, Dave Pearce and Seb Fontaine.
HMV.co.uk - Sleeping Satellite
Aurora’s rendition is simply outstanding, after their top 5 UK hit ‘Ordinary World’ and their awesome self titled debut album last year, Aurora aka Simon Greenaway and Sacha Collisson have again teamed up with the gorgeous Irish vocalist Naimee Coleman. Naimee effortlessy delivers heartfelt lyrics over a hot bed of Sacha’s beautiful balearic guitars, and Simon’s lush synthscapes and pumping beats.
amazon.co.uk - Bring Down The Moon Dan Gennoe
mcd.ie - May 18 2001 The Sun, Moon & Stars Naimee Coleman’s second album will get its long-overdue release on June 18th. ‘Bring Down The Moon’ was recorded with producer Ian Stanley and features the writing talent of Jane Wiedlin (of The Go-Go’s), Paul Brady and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. “For the guts of 2/3 years I was writing,” Coleman explains. “Because I used up all of my songs on the first album, I just took my time and wanted to get it right, so I started co-writing, which I'd never done before. I went to places like Nashville and all over the States and did the whole co-writing thing, which was really good fun.” Naimee scored much success last year when she collaborating with UK dance duo Aurora on their take on Duran Duran’s hit ‘Ordinary World’. Her next forthcoming ‘My Star’, which is out on June 4th, is said to be a little “kookier than 'Ordinary World'.” “There's a lot of programming on the album, but more in the vein of Massive Attack. I think that I've learned a lot about music in the last three years. I was 18 when I recorded the first album and I could have ended up with something I hated, but luckily the producer that I used was really cool and made sure everything sounded the way I wanted.”
phase9 - My Star Nigel M
RTÉ.ie - Bring Down The Moon
Coleman's sweet voice on songs like current single, the ethereal 'My Star', and the catchy 'Standing Strong' is beautifully pure, if sometimes a little lost amidst the glossy production. Although she is capable of taking 'Love Song' from goth-rockers The Cure and transforming it into a tenderly wistful ballad, in other tracks she seems to be experimenting with a variety of different styles and sounds, unsure of her direction. It can't be very easy to find your feet amidst all the Louises, Didos and Martine McCutcheons of this world but, given time, Naimee Coleman may be capable of producing more than just another disposable pop album. Caroline Hennessy
SkipMusic.com - "Love Song" Review - 11/2000 Naimee Coleman started her music career as a backing singer for an Irish band, ‘The Wilde Oscars’. After initially knocking back a solo record deal with EMI, she rethought her decision following a few months' touring with the band. She has already released one solo album, "Silver Wrists", released in 1997 "to critical acclaim" but unfortunately not commercial success. This new single, ‘Love Song’, is taken from her imminent album, "Bring Down the Moon", and is a remake of the 1989 Cure song. The first track on the single is a remix by Brothers In Rhythm, featuring prominent bass line, which makes it sound like the sort of filler track you find about halfway through a Ministry of Sound compilation album. This is a pity really, because the track itself really isn't so bad. It opens with backing sounds which are very reminiscent of Icelandic music like that of Sigur Ros and Bjork, providing an excellent gentle introduction to Naimee's haunting, plaintive refrains. There are unwelcome hints of the Corrs when the chorus kicks in though, which detract somewhat from the emotion Naimee injects into her singing. Overall, this is a pretty promising introduction to Naimee Coleman, but I'd like to see more inventiveness in future work.
6/10
What's On Where - June 22 2001 "Coleman's Balls" To say the last four years have been something of an adventure for Naimee Coleman would be a considerable underestimation. A 50,000 copy selling debut album, Silver Wrists, was neatly followed by acting as the voice and face behind the huge selling cover of the Duran Duran single Ordinary World, by UK dance duo Aurora – something which led to constantly cropping up on MTV and appearances on Top of the Pops and the seminal This Morning with Richard and Judy show. All very different to singing backing vocals on the Dublin gig circuit with The Wilde Oscars, which she was doing a few years before. Now the Dundrum-local is about to consolidate all this by releasing her second album, Bring Down The Moon and its first single My Star, which has already seen her undertake a shift in style. “The first album was written when I was in my mid-teens, whereas this time around, I’m a little bit older (she’s now in her early twenties) and I knew more about the recording process and the sounds I wanted on the album – this one is less acoustic and has more keyboards and drum loops and is all together more electronic sounding. But then again, it’s still me and my songs,” she says. “The change in direction wasn’t such an intentional move. The tracks on the album differ from each other; some are beat driven but there are a few which are stripped down to just an acoustic guitar or piano base. I didn’t approach it thinking: ‘okay, this is how I want to sound’; but just picked the sound to best fit each song.” She’s quick to point out that a full-on assault on the dance charts isn’t on the cards and that the more traditional singer/songwriter space is more up her street. Career longevity rather than instant success is preferable to her, not that she has anything against the world of dance music as such. The Aurora experience opened up bigger doors and introduced her to a wider audience in the UK and Europe. The link-up was so successful that Coleman will be working with the duo again; she’s currently writing a song for their next album for which she’ll also be providing the vocals. “It’s been incredible and it really was a gift for me to get that call because people in the UK had never really heard of me before that and then all of a sudden I was on MTV every few hours. The two guys in Aurora are two of the nicest people you’re ever likely to meet and because the song was a cover version and a dance version at that, which is different to what I’m used to, it all made the experience more relaxing and enjoyable for me. It wasn’t as nerve-racking as it would’ve been if it was my own material.” Another reason, albeit a less important one, for no major traces of an Aurora influence coming through on Bring Down The Moon, is that the album was actually finished in 1999, before Ordinary World was released. Why so long between completion and release date, then? “I know, it’s ages isn’t it? I’ve actually started to tell people that I’ve been in a witness protection scheme and that I’ve only just been allowed out in public again; it makes it sound more interesting and exciting than the truth. I kind of discovered with this album that things in the music industry do take a lot longer to happen than you’d ever expect them to. It was just a combination of things and the Ordinary World single put the release back about four months in itself.” A happy quirk of fate as it happens, meaning that the new release comes out when Coleman’s name is still on many people’s lips; rather than on the back of one album which had little more than a cult following. “Initially I was actually a little worried that things worked out that way, because I didn’t want people to think that this was a precursor of what my album would sound like. But it didn’t happen like that in the end. Enough people knew who Aurora were and that I was a solo singer and that it was a separate thing. But even those who didn’t know me are now noticing my name more and are more prepared to listen to my albums on the back of that single’s success. Having a Top 5 single in the UK and meeting Richard and Judy does help to raise your profile, but I can still easily walk down the street safe in the knowledge that nobody has the faintest idea who I am, most of the time. “It is nice, though, to know that there are some people out there who do know your music and like it, or even dislike it – but know of you anyway. That’s a great feeling. It won’t be that easy to get rid of me now. Whether this album sells ten or ten million copies, I’m still going to make records.” Irish and UK live appearances are pencilled in before the year is out and then there’s Australia and the Far East beckoning, where she’s already made quite a name for herself (especially in Japan and Thailand) through her own material. And with the US about to get a blast of Ordinary World any time now as well, that old ‘world domination’ chestnut may not seem like such a cliché after all.
Geoff Percival
Local Ireland: Music Feature - August 2000 She's back, but where has she been? Naimee Coleman explains, and talks about her collaboration with Aurora on their re-working of Duran Duran's 'Ordinary World'. For the better part of three years there was a 'missing in action' sign hanging over the name Naimee Coleman. Rumours circulated, but nobody was certain of what happened to the girl who brought songs like 'Ruthless Affection' to the airwaves. After finishing the recording of her second album, she re-appeared last month collaborating with UK dance duo Aurora. Setting their sights high, they went about re-working Duran Duran's 1993 hit 'Ordinary World'. Naimee Coleman "I can't take any credit for the track, all that I did was record the vocals," she explains. "It's these guys Aurora who put this thing together, so it's their thing. They'd been brought in to do a remix of one of the tracks on my new album, because they're on Positiva, which is EMI's dance label. "At that stage they'd already recorded the track, but were looking for a singer. So, then they heard my voice and thought it would be right for the track. They gave me a call and asked me if I'd be interested and I thought 'ah sure I'll do it' and it happened." While her debut album 'Silver Wrists' did relatively well in Ireland, it was in Asia and that things really happened for Naimee. Much of 1996/97 was spent touring in there, but what was she doing in the years between? "For the guts of 2/3 years I was writing, because I used up all of my songs on the first album. I just took my time and wanted to get it right, so I started co-writing, which I'd never done before. I went to places like Nashville and all over the States and did the whole co-writing thing, which was really good fun." Naimee Coleman 'Bring Down The Moon' is the title to her forthcoming album, due out in October following its first single, a cover of The Cure's 'Lovesong'. "The album was produced by a guy called Ian Stanley, who did most of Tori Amos' stuff, so I'd like to think that it's kookier than 'Ordinary World'. There's a lot of programming on it, but more in the vein of Massive Attack. "I think that I've learned a lot about music in the last three years. I was 18 when I recorded the first album and I could have ended up with something I hated, but luckily the producer that I used was really cool and made sure everything sounded the way I wanted." Does the current musical climate worry you? "When I signed my deal originally, there were no female singer/songwriters around, it was all stuff like Pearl Jam and Grunge guitar stuff. Then when I released my album the Alanis Morissette thing started to happen. "Now there are millions of female singers around, so I'm very aware that when my album's released it will be competing with 12/13 singers who are doing something similar. The thing is, I know my album has that little bit of originality, so hopefully people will hear that."
StudentUKmusic - Student UK 2001
Naimee Coleman "Bringing down the house" The scoop: Following the current trend for lilting Irish melodies comes Naimee Coleman's second album. Although her debut album in 1997 was critically acclaimed, it took a guest appearance with Aurora on their cover of Duran Duran's 'Ordinary World' to propel 21 year-old Naimee into the limelight and, on the strength of this, she fully deserves to be there. Opening track and forthcoming single 'My Star' is a jangly singalong pop number and the album largely sticks to a similar style. The pop formula is repeated on 'Sugar Me' and 'Standing Strong' while title track 'Bring Down The Moon' is more guitar driven and thoughtful. Naimee's Irish roots are easy to pick out. She's worked with Sinead O'Connor and O'Connor's influence shines through on 'Your Arms.' There are also echoes of The Cranberries and Tori Amos and the strong melodies and vocals are reminiscent of Ireland's greatest export The Corrs. With a current trend for female singer/songwriters (Dido, Eva Cassidy), Naimee Coleman should have a long and successful career in our charts. And in one line: What The Corrs' disappointing third album should have sounded like. Highlights: Single 'My Star,' the addictive rhythms of 'Standing Strong,' the pensive lyrics of 'Sugar Me' and the beautiful 'Delicate.' This is a low? Genuinely difficult to say but 'Altered' takes more time to grow on you than the rest of the album. Guest appearances: The second single from the album is a cover of the Cure's 'Love Song' and the album was produced by ex-Tears for Fears member and co-writer Ian Stanley. Longlife lyric: "If I sit up too straight, does that have to mean I'm tense?/And if I question your questions, am I on the defence?
Website: Naimee Coleman - easy to use and stylish design. | ||
"Pure, innocent and resolutely feminine, the tender beauty of Naimee Coleman's breathless vocals are the stuff that one-off female-fronted trance hits are made of, Bring Down the Moon's truly magical moment comes when her ethereal vocals are applied to a glorious ambient cover of the Cure's "Love Song". There is, however, another unavoidable quality to the Dublin born singer's voice: it's identical to Andrea Corr's. The resemblance is made all the more obvious with the likes of "Sugar Me, My Star" and "Standing Strong", songs which, complete with strummed acoustic guitars, the occasional fiddle and the family Corr's sweet verses and feel-good choruses, would be hard to tell from the genuine article. Probably not what she intended, remembering that this is a Naimee Coleman record is neigh impossible at points, but with a faultless selection of loveable grown-up pop to its credit, Bring Down the Moon is instantly gratifying and more than a match for anything Ireland's first family have done."
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