A musical force with Newark roots, Amanda Holley, a Bi-Racial songstress, channels her soulful, 5-octave voice that resonates from birth. Raised by a cellist mom and a songwriter dad (known for Sarah Vaughan), she emerged from challenging circumstances, surviving on her vocals since day one. As a Grammy member, Amanda has graced prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and Birdland, leaving her mark on stages from NYFW to Coachella events, with her music featured in the film “Sharon 1 2 3” on Showtime. Keep reading for my thoughts on her latest single, “Press Play”!
From the opening notes, we’re treated to a well-concocted cocktail of vocal layers, all strung together by Amanda’s seamless switching between registers– something she accomplishes nicely here. The vocals are sultry, energetic, and get you grooving from the first second. As we settle into a downtempo interlude in the middle of the verse, she lets the rest of the ensemble take over the ears, as they all come together to create a nice and cohesive sound.
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The production leaves nothing to be desired; from the uptempo yet calm energy, as well as the wafty reverbs on the keys and the percussion, which find themselves heavy on the clicks and the top percussion, she weaves her voice into the beat seamlessly and presents a vocal treat throughout the track, and all we need to be doing, well, is to press play (if you will excuse my punning).
The mix is tight and powerful– focusing a lot of energy on the center for the low-end to shine through rather brilliantly, and the top-end is very well balanced; the mark of a true master I’d say. The soundstage also finds a great deal of smart use, with instruments and effects placed at all places through the field, and makes use of delays and long, organic reverbs to create an atmosphere like few others.
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On “Press Play”, Amanda presents something rather very special– and I’m a fan. Check out the track here!
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