Amel Larrieux (born March 8, 1973) is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a founding member of the duo Groove Theory along with Bryce Wilson. After leaving the group in 1999, she released her debut solo album Infinite Possibilities the following year on Epic Records. In late 2003, Larrieux founded her own independent label, Blisslife Records, on which she has released three albums so far. Larrieux cites Ella Fitzgerald, Prince, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder, Shawn Colvin, Chaka Khan, John Lennon, Patrice Rushen, Jimi Hendrix, and Joni Mitchell as her musical influences. [1]

AMEL LARRIEUX TICKETS The Eagles Tickets Mary J. Blige Tickets Katt Williams Tickets Mike Epps Tickets Karlous Miller Tickets Lil Duval Tickets

Biography

Larrieux was born and raised an only child in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. Her African American mother, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, is a dance critic, author, and college instructor. Her father is Caucasian American of French, English, and Scottish descent. Larrieux was raised in a very artistic environment and was surrounded by talented and inspirational artists. Many of her influences are drawn from R&B, soul, jazz, folk, hip hop, and gospel with flashes of Middle Eastern, West African, and Indian ethnic styles. She has often been documented for describing her music as "Amel's music". Larrieux currently resides in New York City with her husband, Laru, and their two daughters, Sanji Rei and Sky. Her forename Amel means "hope" in Arabic.

Career

Groove Theory

In 1991 Larrieux met Mantronix member Bryce Wilson at Rondor Music. Wilson, who wanted to begin his solo career as producer and musician, was looking for a vocalist to work with. Wilson and Larrieux began to produce demos together and subsequently formed R&B/hip hop duo Groove Theory. Their debut release, Groove Theory , spawned several radio hits such as "Tell Me", "Keep Tryin'", and "Baby Luv". The duo were also featured in successful motion picture soundtracks such as 1996's Sunset Park and 1997's Love Jones . Larrieux, pursuing a solo career, would not be involved in the duo's eventually-shelved second album The Answer . Makeda Davis would step in as lead singer in 1999 until Groove Theory officially disbanded in 2001. Larrieux said of leaving the group, "You have to make a bunch of compromises and .. you know, I just couldn’t go on forever. We wanted different things and a combination of that and the label wanting different things from us just made me decide that it was time to move on."

Solo career

In 1996, Larrieux guested on the self-titled debut album of Sade's backing band Sweetback, yielding the top forty-five R&B entry "You Will Rise".

Larrieux co-wrote and co-produced her debut solo album Infinite Possibilities , released in early 2000 on Epic Records, along with husband Laru Larrieux; the album reached number seventy-nine on the Billboard 200 and number twenty-one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and produced the minor hit "Get Up". Some tracks from the album, such as the eighth track "Down", could be described as acid jazz, a musical genre which combines elements of jazz with soul and funk.

Larrieux was released from Epic Records after this CD. She says of the release "I was asked to tone it down as a solo artist, which is one of the reasons why I was really glad to leave the major label where I was signed." ^[2] Husband Laru Larrieux, who had been co-writing and producing most of Amel's material, started the independent label BlissLife Records with her to distribute her music.

Independent Releases

Bravebird
Her second album Bravebird was released under Larrieux's indie label Blisslife Records label on January 20, 2004. While it underperformed on the Billboard 200, it peaked at number twenty-eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number five on the Top Independent Albums. It spawned the midtempo radio single "For Real", which showcases her ability to utilize the whistle register and inspired Ebony magazine to rave about her "ethereal high-octave vocals that bring to mind Minnie Riperton" ^[3]. A portion of the album's seventh track, "Giving Something Up", could be heard in the commercial for BET's HIV/AIDS awareness campaign Rap-It-Up, in which Larrieux participated in September 2003 ^[4].

Larrieux's collaboration with Stanley Clarke and Glenn Lewis, a cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's 1972 song "Where Is the Love" from Clarke's 2003 album 1, 2, To the Bass , received a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2004 Grammy Awards.

Morning
Larrieux's third effort Morning was released in April 2006 and features the single "", which reached number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart in mid-2006 ^[5]. Morning is her highest-charting album to date, peaking at number seventy-four. Follow-up single "No One Else" was featured on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's 2007 film Why Did I Get Married? . The song Gills and Tails also received radio airplay.

Lovely Standards
In May 2007, Larrieux released a jazz standard cover album entitled Lovely Standards . It broke into the top five of the Top Jazz Albums and sold 3,700 units in its first week on store shelves.

Larrieux was featured on 2Pac's 2007 greatest hits album Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug , on the previously unreleased song "Resist the Temptation".

Currently

Since June 2008, Larrieux is currently in the studio recording her fifth studio album. In March 2009, she released the first single from the currently untitled album "Orange Glow" to Itunes and other online music stores ^{[6] [7]}. Her follow up single, "Don't Let Me Down", was released to online retailers on April 14 along with a dance remix. ^[8]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart positions
		U.S.	U.S. R&B	U.S. jazz	U.S. indie
2000	Infinite Possibilities	79	21	—	—
2004	Bravebird	166	28	—	5
2006	Morning	74	8	—	5
2007	Lovely Standards	195	32	3	22

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions		Album
		U.S.	U.S. R&B
1996	"You Will Rise" (Sweetback featuring Amel Larrieux)	112	42	Sweetback
1999	"Get Up"	97	37	Infinite Possibilities
2000	"Sweet Misery"	—	81
	"I N I"	—	—
	"Make Me Whole"	—	—
	"Now You Know Better" (Mondo Grosso featuring Amel Larrieux)	—	—	MG4
2001	"Glitches (The Skin You're In)" (with The Roots)	—	—	Down to Earth soundtrack
2004	"For Real"	—	45	Bravebird
	"We Can Be New"	—	—
2006	"Weary"	—	113	Morning
2007	"If I Were a Bell"	—	—	Lovely Standards
	"No One Else"	—	—	Why Did I Get Married? soundtrack
2009	"Orange Glow"	—	—	TBA
	"Don't Let Me Down"	—	—	TBA

Album appearances

Year	Song	Album
1998	"Time After Time" (Towa Tei featuring Amel Larrieux and Viv)	Sound Museum
2000	"Guidance" (Guru featuring Amel Larrieux)	Streetsoul
2001	"Believe in Love"	Epic Records: A Season of Soul and Sounds
2002	"I Don't Know" (Soulive featuring Amel Larrieux)	Next
2003	"Where Is the Love" (Stanley Clarke featuring Glenn Lewis and Amel Larrieux)	1, 2, To the Bass
2007	"Resist the Temptation" (2Pac featuring Amel Larrieux)	Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug

Soundtracks

Year	Song	Film
2001	"Glitches (The Skin You're In)" (with The Roots)	Down to Earth
2002	"What's Come Over Me?" (with Glenn Lewis)	Barbershop
2007	"No One Else"	Why Did I Get Married?

Videos

• 1996: "You Will Rise" (Sweetback featuring Amel Larrieux) — directed by Michael Krantz
• 1999: "Get Up" — directed by Floria Sigismondi
• 2000: "Sweet Misery" — directed by Earle Sebastian
• 2001: "Glitches (The Skin You're In)" (The Roots featuring Amel Larrieux) — directed by Nzingha Stewart
• 2004: "For Real" — directed by Sanaa Hamri
• 2006: "Weary" — directed by Jon Menefee and 8 Hertz

References

1. Brave Bird Amel Larrieux Soars with Another Eclectic Set
2. http://blog.nu-soulmag.com/?p=1147
3. Amel Larrieux's dynamic second recording, Bravebird, blends rhythm & blues, soul, hip-hop, jazz and folk music
4. Bliss Life News
5. Hot Adult R&B Airplay
6. Blisslife News
7. Amel Larrieux Has Us Feeling The 'Glow'
8. http://www.honeysoul.com/wp/?p=3019