


At: www.emimusicpub.com/worldwide/artist_profile/terence-trent-darby_profile.html
Terence Trent D'Arby
SANANDA MAITREYA
With this recording, Terence Trent D'Arby's Vibrator,
the singer, songwriter, arranger, producer has once again succeeded
in creating an ambitious, provocative and diverse album of music.
The theme of this record, his fourth, is spirituality. The title
itself refers to Terence's
concept that vibrations exist within all matter. Such ethereal subjects
have been an inspiration in Terence's previous recordings, but this
time
around he explores the concepts more thoroughly--examining them
on his own terms.
And so, along with songs about pure love ("Holding
On to You," "Undeniably," "We Don't Have That
Much Time Together," "It's Been Said"),
immortality ("If You Go Before Me"), and the pursuit of
enlightenment ("Vibrator," "Surrender"), Terence
also takes a look at sexual attraction
("Read My Lips: I Dig Your Scene," "C.Y.F.M.L.A.Y.?"),
doubt and fear ('Resurrection." "TTD's Recurring Dream")
and -- offering a humorous slant --the narcissistic world of supermodels
(and rock stars too, for that matter), in the satirical "Supermodel
Sandwich." Whatever the message, Terence succeeds in composing
and performing music that resonates his ideas, ranging from hard
- rocking songs and heartful anthems to funky soul tunes and jazz
- tinged ballads.
"Music is there purely to communicate,"
Terence says. "That's the highest endeavor for language - -
to communicate, to move someone. Whether it's Neil Young, Jimmy
Page, Hendrix, Beethoven, Patsy Cline, Aretha, Hank Williams or
Bill Withers -- -it's the soul coming through that counts."
Soul is an important element in Terence's music, present
in his organic songcraft, in the execution of smooth arrangements
and in his singing.
Terence's voice attracted attention from the beginning of his career,
with the release in 1987 of Introducing the Hardline According to
Terence Trent D'Arby. Capable of rough textured intensity, an intimate
whisper and a delicate, clear falsetto, it is a voice that covers
the scope of emotion.
Also emanating from Terence's music is a voracious
intellectual curiosity, a trait that has inspired him to read widely
and extensively, once even
incorporating the lines form one of his favorite writers, Rilke,
into a song. "The people I gravitate toward in philosophy and
literature are
people that consolidate and validate one truth," TTD says.
"Not one religion or path, but one truth. One ultimate reality."
Balancing this introspective side of himself, Terence
also pursues more earthly concerns. to him, striving for enlightenment
is a way to realize
the inner self. But it is also important to celebrate living. "It's
essential to enjoy the gift of life," he says. "So I also
write songs about sex, or about hanging out. I see my music as,
'Here's some stuff to think about - -or you can just dig the groove.'"
On Terence Trent D'Arby's Vibrator, Terence offers
plenty of grooves, as in the guitar - driven rock dynamic of "Vibrator"
and the soul - funk punch of "Supermodel Sandwich." And
on the tricky, upbeat "Read My Lips ( I Dig your Scene),"
Terence begins the track with aural bits of devotional chantsand
a string section, then drops into an irresistible rhythm track--anchored
by his own drumming and Southern-funked guitar --that provides a
solid base to his falsetto vocals. Clear, high vocals also grace
"C.Y.F.M.L.A.Y.?," an R&B - flavored vibe with a deep,
full
foundation. The album also includes a club - ready version of "Supermodel
Sandwich," (this one dubbed "w/Cheese"). Terence
recorded the song two different ways because, he explains slyly,
"Some people can't eat dairy products."
Irresistible though those grooves may be, Terence
is also well known for the strength of his ballads. Hardline offered
"Sign Your Name" and Let Her Down Easy";on Terence
Trent D'Arby Vibrator, he delivers some of the best he's ever written.
On "Holding On To You," Terence's vocals run deep and
clear, while "Undeniably" and "It's Been Said"
feature the upper range of his voice to great effect. And "If
You Go Before Me" creates drama in its simplicity: the song
features only Terence's pure vocal and a piano accompaniment.
As on his previous recordings, TTD produces and plays
numerous instruments -- all instruments on some songs - - including
sitar, keyboards, guitars and drums. He also wrote the arrangements
for the album, featuring strings and woodwinds on some cuts, and
performed most vocals, including overdubbed backup tracks on many
of the songs. Terence Trent D'Arby's Vibrator also features numerous
musicians who toured with D'Arby in support of Symphony or Damn,
his third album, and several guests artists, including keyboardist
Patrice Rushen, trumpeter Charlie Sepulveda and saxophonist Brandford
Marsalis.
Recording in Los Angeles at his home studio, Monasteryo,
Terence spent four months laying racks and mixing the new album.
Prior to that, the songs themselves were composed quickly, in Terence's
inimitable manner. "I don't write songs," he says. "They've
always just come to be. Songs come to me the way a thought comes
to a person. When I'm in the studio, it's natural."
Since the release of his 1987 debut album, Introducing
the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, Terence has been
a much - noticed
artist. That first album sold more than 8 million worldwide, and
Terence won the 1988 Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance,
gained a No. 1 pop/R&B crossover hit with "Wishing Well,"
and was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, the first
African-American artist since Jimi Hendrix to do so with his debut
album.
Prior to his first recording, Terence has pursued
careers outside of music, though he's played numerous instruments
since childhood, starting with the drums at age 6. Born in Manhattan
in 1962, Terence learned to appreciate music from his parents- -in
a roundabout way. His father, the Reverend James Benjamin D'Arby,
was a former guitar player who idolized Elvis Presley and Little
Richard before devoting his life to God. Terence's mother, Frances
Darby, was a highly respected gospel singer. But the Darbys forbade
Terence form listening to secular music. He rebelled, borrowing
a transistor radio from a friend and listening to it secretly in
bed, absorbing all types of music, from Marvin Gaye to the Rolling
Stones.
The Darby family moved frequently as Terence was growing
up, and he lived in New York, Florida, Chicago and New Jersey. While
in Chicago, he attended a school for gifted children and sang in
church to enthusiastic response. He attended college at the insistence
of his parents and studied journalism, writing a newspaper column.
Always somewhat of a loner growing up, Terence feels that this trait
"forced me to create my own world and to tap into my imagination."
He also took up boxing - -in some ways a response to his sense of
isolation --reaching Golden Gloves standard.
After college, Terence enlisted in the army and was
sent to Germany, serving in Elvis Presley's old regiment. After
18 months in the rigid
military system, Terence turned his life around by leaving the military
and returning to his musical roots. at that time, he joined a nine-piece
soul-and-funk band called The Touch. In 1986, TTD relocated to London
after demo tapes brought him to the attention of Columbia Records.
With the release in 1987 of Hardline, Terence enjoyed
great success in Britain, where he was heralded as the "New
Prince of Pop" in a cover story by British magazine NME (New
Musical Express) and went on to sell a record - breaking 2 million
copied in England alone.
Terence's success was as big in the United States
and elsewhere. After a year of successful touring worldwide, Terence
started to work on his second album. He released the artistically
eclectic Neither Fish Nor Flesh: A Soundtrack of Love Faith, Hope
& Destruction in 1989.
TTD's third album, Symphony or Damn (Exploring the
Tension Inside the Sweetness) was released in 1993, after a three
and a half year hiatus,
during which Terence moved to Los Angeles, built his home studio,
relaxed away from the public eye and recorded about 50 songs. "I
took a lot of time before going back into the studio to step back
and answer one basic questions about myself as to who I am and what
I want to do," he told Los Angeles Time at the time of its
release.
Symphony or Damn went on to receive unprecendentedly
favorable coverage from Rolling Stone, Time, Entertainment Weekly,
Spin, Musician, the Los Angeles Times and literally scores of other
publications. Musician described it as "Sgt. Pepper's as sung
by Sam Cooke," while calling Terence "an extravagant talent."
The album's singles, "Do You Love Me Like You Say?," "She
Kissed Me" and "Delicate" went on to receive wide
airplay. Symphony or Damn landed on numerous year-end "Top-10
album" lists for 1993.
With Terence Trent D'Arby's Vibrator, D'Arby continues
to pursue his love of music, his vision, his spiritual growth. To
the listener, Terence says
this about his music: "I'm not interested in telling people
what to think. My songs reflect what I've discovered. If this is
of any use to you,
that's great. But if it's not, I trust that you will find what you
need, in your own way, in your own time and place."