Kalistan

[Doc]

Dea Releases new Album on KMI
Kaliburg singer aims to revive RF
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
December 8, 5657


Dea's Debut Album focuses heavily on Synthpop aesthetic

Donna Francesca Salvatore, 23, who has recorded her debut album under the name Dea, has recently been signed to KMI records for a two record deal. The signing was accompanied by a quick three week recording and mastering session that has yielded her debut LP, titled This Girl. The music is largely synthpop, with some RF elements added. And as the record makes a splash in Kaliburg and Sulari dance and RF clubs, the young singer says she is on a mission.

"I love pop music and the old RF stuff, and I would like to bring it back to the radio, to the mainstream," said Dea last week. "I thinks its great, I'd kind of like to bring RF back."

Dea spent her early childhood in Addisjah, where her working class parents recognized her talent early, and scraped for voice lessons. As Dea grew up, her family moved to Kaliburg for work, and Dea continued singing in school. In highschool, she was the drummer for a local all female ska set called The Skirts, who attempted to enter a school talent contest and promptly lost. "I was not a very good drummer," said Dea. "Every singer wants to be a drummer, and every drummer wants to be a singer. Tale as old as time, you know?" Dea lost interest in school and dropped out when she was 16, intending to pursue music full time. By the time she joined the NSP and worked for 4 years as a mechanic in the Ananto Corps, she had built a little following in the Kaliburg Club scene.

Her fans stuck with her, and the two boot leg tapes recorded from some of her last early shows made their rounds to DJs in Kaliburg, and eventually to Sulari. "That music was not really that good, but I mean, it was mostly the quality of the recording. Some DJs would take the tapes and produce remixes of them and distribute them. And remember now, I am still in the Ananto Corps while all this is going on. So I go on leave one time and am hanging around in Kaliburg, and one of these remixes comes up. And I am like 'What's that? Who remade my music?' like I recognized the song."

Once Dea found out that these remixes had been being shared around the country, she was advised to contact an agent. But her search was interrupted when her leave ended. As soon as she was mustered out of Service, her contacts in the Kaliburg Club Scene put her in contact with the agent who would eventually get her onto KMI, Dave Eberhart. "Dave was really cool, he's pretty rich, so he wasn't really in it for the money. He used to be an A&R guy and he really loves the thrill of meeting people before they get famous, and I think that was really his interest in me. He's a metal head. He really doesn't care about my music. But he thinks I should be on the radio, so he went out and got that for me." The negotiations led to a two record deal, with a ₭25,000 Imperial advance to make her first record, and a percentage of sales for the Label.

"KMI handles distribution, and they helped me get a great producer, John Jotai, to work with me," said Dea. "I'm excited to see how this record does. We went for a sound which is very retro in electronic music. This is one of the things: This record absolutely sounds like retro electronic music. It kind of draws more on the roots of synthesized and RF music. But its been so long since this kind of music has been made in Kalistan, that it almost sounds new again. Which, in a weird was, is kind of RF. Like you hear of first, second third wave ska, first and second wave of RF, maybe third wave. This is more like Zeroth Wave RF."

The album consists of 6 originals, and includes four remixes of tracks on the record. "I mean, my music spread by remixes, so I invited a few of my favorite DJs in, two from Kaliburg and two from Sulari, to make their versions. The songs really are so different from the remixes, you sort of have to really listen to them close to realize they are remixes." Dea said she wants experimentation and sincerity to be hallmarks of her sound. "I like the bands and musicians that make different kinds of stuff each record."

The first single from the record "For Your Love" is a solid, uptempo dance track that employs heavy synths and electric guitars. "I tried to play drums on the song, and wanted to try it," said Dea. "Our first few takes were really kind of slow, and they just weren't working, so I think we kind of gave up on the idea of me being the drummer during maybe the sixth take. Jotai got us the sequencer, and amost doubled the tempo, told me to focus on my vocals, and the song was done in two takes. Everyone loved it. We had Carl Mortensen on guitars for that track. He and I knew each other from back when I was in the clubs."

You can check out Dea's new album This Girl released on KMI, and check out her new video "For Your Love" right here, or on M7 where it will get a heavy push starting next week.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pufec0Hps00]

@KalistaniRawkMonthly