Isabelle Antena

Powaga Isabella (born 1962 in Paris ), known as Isabelle Antena is a French jazz, Blue - Eyed Soul, bossa nova and lounge - pop singer. She became famous in the late 1980s with jazzy soul and acid jazz tracks in the style of Sade.

Biography

According to the company Isabella Powaga discovered her joy of singing and composing pieces as a child. As a ten- year-old she learned the clarinet. When she was twelve, she got her first guitar at seventeen, her first electric guitar. At 19, she went to London for Rick Wakeman, the keyboardist of the progressive rock group Yes, to work as an au pair girl. On his return to Paris, she had brought two things: good English language skills and the will to live from making music.

Inspired by a German Krautrock and Electronic music band Kraftwerk, Isabella Powaga formed her first band: Antena. Under contract taken by the Belgian label Les Disques du Crepuscule, the group released their first single in 1982 titled Boy From Ipanema - an early showpiece of Electric Samba. The label liked the debut, the band moved into an apartment in Brussels. The first mini - LP, Camino del sol, was produced on a budget. The commercial expectations, however, were not fulfilled. Isabella Powaga modified the concept, took over the previous band name as a new last name and changed his name to Isabelle Antena.

To record their first solo album En Cavale for the U.S. major label Mercury Records, Isabelle Antena moved again to London. Cooperation with Mercury proved to be short-term, however; for wider commercial success of the musical balancing act between Electronic, Lounge, Soul and Jazz was too demanding. Antena returned to Brussels back to their old label. Hoping For Love, her third album, was developed in close cooperation with Belgian jazz musicians such as Michel Hatzigeorgiou and Johnny Dover and the Dutch pianist Diederik Wissel. More albums and singles compilations taken followed, including Romancia del amor, one of her most famous pieces. 1986 and 1987 Isabelle Antena was twice mother; Son and daughter were named Achilles and Penelope. Until the early 1990s published Isabelle Antena seven albums and a half-dozen singles compilations taken.

1991 Antena who is dating the Vaya Con Dios bassist Dirk Schoufs. Together with Schoufs, who died from the effects of HIV infection in May 1991, she produced two more albums - Les derniers guerriers romantiques and Carpe Diem. The latter appeared after Schoufs death and contained the song Corto a memorial piece to the close cooperation. By 2008, followed in time intervals larger six more albums. As on the previous albums, the tracks were sung partly in French and partly in English. Furthermore groundbreaking remained Isabelle Antena in the increasingly widespread impact burgeoning electronic music - especially the varieties Electro Jazz and Bossa. The list of musicians with whom she worked, comprised one hand seasoned jazz luminaries such as Barney Wilen and Jacques Pelzer, on the other hand, new, coming from the electronic music artists such as Thievery Corporation, Nicola Conte and Tracey Thorn. 2005, two compilations released with best-of compilations: Easy Does It and L' alphabet du plaisir - Best of ( 1982-2005 ). A year earlier the retro label The Numero Group released a compilation of early titles: Antena: Camino Del Sol. In 2007, appeared on the German label Permanent Vacation also a version Spéciales - Camino Del Sol -titled album with remixes from among others Todd Terje, Joakim, Nouvelle Vague, Lexx and Chromatics.

Outside of her music, the singer produces little headlines. Motto, appearing on a second, complementary Artist website: "I'm a free spirit going my way". Isabelle Antena now lives in Montpellier, France.

Reviews

Although most publications by Isabelle Antena date from the 1980s and 1990s, it applies in the electronic jazz, bossa and nu jazz as an important musical reference. The music blog author and audio sound specialist Heinz Gelking praised in a detailed review of Les derniers guerriers romantiques especially the successful overall combination of jazz and electronic elements: " But the instruments are real: the sound of the wind, the thick bass strings, the shimmering pool of percussion. And he cometh not actually come from, the Jazz, from the bars and dance halls of the siffigen small stages that are to glamorous locations with a few decrepit headlights, if only the right people they enter? Here knitting class musicians for Isabelle a music full of sensuality and atmosphere. "

Discography

Albums

  • Camino del sol (1982, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • En Cavale (1986, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Hoping For Love (1987, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Tous mes caprices (1988, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Jouez le cinq (1989, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Fire (1989, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Intemporelle (1990, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Les derniers guerriers romantiques (1991, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Carpe Diem (1992, Vicvtor Musical Industries )
  • Mediterranean Songs (1997, Victor Entertainment Japan)
  • Take Me To Paradise (2001, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Issy Does It (2005, Les Temps Modernes )
  • French Riviera (2006, Gate Records)
  • Bahama Soul Club (2008, buyu Records)

Compilations

  • Antena: Camino Del Sol (2004, The Numero Group)
  • Easy Does It (2005, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • L' alphabet du plaisir - Best of (1982-2005) (2005, Les Disques You Crépuscule )

Singles

  • Boy From Ipanema (1982, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Laying On The Sofa (1987, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Le Poisson Des Mers Du Sud (1987, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • De l' amour et des hommes (1988, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Romancia del amor (1988, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Domine -toi (1989, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
  • Sur ton Ile (1991, Les Disques You Crépuscule )
Vocal jazz Blue-Eyed Soul Lounge music Yes (Band) Vaya Con Dios (band) Nouvelle Vague (Band) Chromatics (band) Discogs Myspace
417978
de