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Jamiroquai

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Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai (A portmanteau of Jam and iroquai, loosely based on the native American Indian tribe the Iroquois) is a Grammy Award-winning English funk / soul / disco band. Jamiroquai was initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the Brand New Heavies, Galliano, and Corduroy. Subsequent albums have explored other musical directions.

Formation and history

The lineup of the band has changed several times, but the core members of the band are lead singer and songwriter Jason "Jay" Kay and drummer Derrick McKenzie. Kay was the impetus behind the formation of Jamiroquai, deciding to form the band after an unsuccessful audition to become the singer of the Brand New Heavies. Their style has been described as an update of funk and soul music[citation needed].

Recordings

Jamiroquai's first single, "When You Gonna Learn?", was released in 1992 on the Acid Jazz label. Following its success, Kay signed an eight-album record deal with Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The first Sony album, Emergency on Planet Earth was released in 1993. It was followed in 1994 by The Return of the Space Cowboy. The single "Space Cowboy" gained notice on the charts and in club rotation.

File:Virtualinsanityvideo.JPG
Jay Kay in Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" music video

While Jamiroquai was growing in popularity in the UK and Western Europe, they remained relatively unknown to U.S and other international audiences. The band's international breakthrough came with the third album, Travelling Without Moving in 1996, which yielded two big hits, "Virtual Insanity" and "Cosmic Girl". The success of "Virtual Insanity" was due in part to its innovative video, which featured Kay's dance moves and some gravity-defying images. At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, the creative videoclip for "Virtual Insanity" won four awards, including Best Video, Best Special Effects, Best Cinematography, and Breakthrough Video. The song was also featured in Konami's rhythm game Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 for the Xbox video game system

Their hit single "Deeper Underground" - the band's only UK #1 single to date - appeared on the soundtrack of the 1998 movie Godzilla. Another single, "Canned Heat" (released 1999 in the U.S.) was featured in the films Center Stage (2000) and Napoleon Dynamite (2004), the latter for its famous dance scene, as well as the Nintendo DS rhythm game Elite Beat Agents and Sony PlayStation 2 camera game EyeToy: Groove. Also, "Feels Just Like It Should" is included in the soundtrack for the game FIFA 06 and a Timo Maas Remix was featured in Need For Speed: Most Wanted.

The acid jazz flavours and ethnic influences of the first three albums were all but extinct by the release of Synkronized in 1999. Jay Kay's interest in funk and disco music were shifting the band's directions towards such. By their fifth album, A Funk Odyssey (2001), they had evolved so drastically, that some critics and listeners would remark they lost the 'Jamiroquai sound'. With the departure of more and more original band members, including Wallis Buchanan and his Didgeridoo, Jamiroquai had become a very different band than that of 1992. In spite of the changes, the fifth album's first single, "Little L", reached #1 in many charts worldwide.

Their sixth album, titled Dynamite was released on June 20, 2005. It reached #3 on the UK charts. The first single, "Feels Just Like It Should" was released early in June, the second, "Seven Days In Sunny June" released on August 15th, followed by the third, "(Don't) Give Hate A Chance" on November 7th.

Jamiroquai released a greatest hits collection, High Times: Singles 1992-2006 in November 2006. The release of this album marked the end of Kay’s eight-album contract with Sony. The album reached the number 1 spot in the UK album chart after its first week of release. The album featured two new tracks, "Runaway" and "Radio". On September 18, 2006, "Runaway" was given its first play by UK radio stations. It was released as a single on October 30.

In March 2006, Jamiroquai announced their switch to Columbia Records. Future releases will appear under the Columbia imprint.[1]

In October 2006, Jamiroquai recorded a live session for Live From Abbey Road at Abbey Road Studios. His performance was shown alongside those of Damien Rice and the Goo Goo Dolls on the UK's Channel 4 in January 2007.

In March 2007, Jay Kay stated that he plans to retire so that he can raise a family. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, the 37-year-old Kay said that the only thing that mattered now was "having kids and finding a good woman." [2] In response to the Daily Mirror article Jay Kay wrote a statement on the official Jamiroquai site:

As usual they got it wrong for a cheap headline! All I said was that we’re taking a bit of time out to get the studio refurbished and we’ll be back making music in a few months time. There’s no way I’m quitting the music business - now I am out of my long contract with SonyBMG we have so many options open to us we’re just going to take our time and get it right - it's just getting interesting!

[3]

At the Intel gig in March 2007 Jay said he will take a vacation in Jamaica before starting the recording process of the next album.

Jay Kay vs. Sony

Kay expressed dissatisfaction with his longtime record label Sony Music. In a November 2006 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he commented that "These days it's 18% music and it's bloody 82% marketing bullshit ... Next time I do an album, I'm gonna put it up on the internet for five fucking dollars."

He also remarked that the Jamiroquai "greatest hits" album was released purely out of contractual obligation: "2006, they're out of the fucking picture." [4]

These comments, and other recent comments in an interview with The Sun ("There are other things I want to do with my life ... I want peace and quiet and to meet a nice girl and have some little pitter-patterers [children] and chill out."[5]) had fueled rumours that the Dynamite tour of 2005/2006 would have been cancelled.

Other projects

Discography

Main article: Jamiroquai discography

Band members

Current Memebrs

Former members

Guest appearances

  • Andrew Levy - Bass (1992)
  • Simon Bartholomew - Guitar (1992)
  • Kofi Kari Kari - Percussion (1992)
  • Vanessa Simon - Backing Vocals
  • Martin Shaw - Trumpet
  • Beverley Knight - Vocals (2001)
  • Beverlei Brown - Backing Vocals (2006)

Samples

When you Gonna Learn (Canté Hondo mix) (1992)
Sample of the "Canté Hondo mix" of the same song
Problems playing this file? See media help.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jamiroquai Switch to Columbia Records". Official Jamiroquai website. 2006-03-17. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
  2. ^ "Jamiroquai's Jay Kay calling it quits". MP3.com. 2006-03-17. Retrieved 2006-08-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Jay Kay calls it a day - Oh no he doesn't!". Jamiroquai - The Funkin Site. 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2007-03-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Mad hatter". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-11-25. Retrieved 2005-11-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Jay Kay to hang up hat?". Jamiroquai - The Funkin Site. 2005-11-25. Retrieved 2005-11-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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