Indie singer-songwriter Ilene Angel has
released her new duet, “Friends Like Me & You,” with
internationally acclaimed soft-rock legend Kenny Loggins. The track
is the flagship single from Angel's upcoming LP record, “In Color,”
due out in fall, 2015. It has been proudly published on the Grownup
Records independent record label. Uplifting, patently heartfelt and
positively shining with humanity, “Friends Like Me & You” is
an endearing, no-frills instant classic from the top-shelf talents of
Ilene Angel and Kenny Loggins.
New York's Ilene Angel cites as
favorite influences Carole King, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, James
Taylor and Harry Chapin. Audiophiles will hear similarities to these
in Angel's songwriting, foremost in that her songs are not cluttered
with extraneous verses, bridges or refrains, but rather have a
distilled purity which exalts the character of each track. Her albums
play out like a social event this way, with the listener meeting
first one song and then another, each having its own mood, tone and
theme, as well as Angel's unassumingly impeccable singing style.
It is partially Ilene Angel's
pared-down manner of singing and songwriting which underscores this
elegant, surprise performance of perennial rock favorite Kenny
Loggins.
“When I first heard Kenny’s
familiar, iconic voice coming through the studio speakers,” says
Angel, “I squealed with delight and did a little happy dance … He
did these luscious and intricate harmonies and vocal arrangements
that are distinctly Kenny Loggins. It took my breath away.”
The track isn't gaudy – piano, bass,
drums and some strings, none of which intrude on the vocal interplay
which is clearly the song's beating heart – and at three minutes
flat, it's over by the time the listener is in love with it. 'Play'
is pressed again.
There's also a core goodness
to “Friends Like Me & You” which belongs to the lyrics,
themselves. This is a palpable, a-priori feeling of warmth which
emanates from the words and the people singing them.
Of
this Angel comments that she wrote the song, “with Anthony
Barone and Tanya Leah, two of my most cherished friends, trying to
capture what was so special about friendships like ours that spanned
years and miles and the joys and sorrows that life brings with it.”
Kenny Loggins shares a kinship with the
indie artist from the East Coast, too. Having become acquainted
during a collaboration for the Huffington Post, the duo began trading
songs over the Internet and in time found themselves bonded as
writers, performers, artists and simply people.
“I told him about the album I was
planning to make,” Angel says, “one that would extol the virtues
of following our hearts, resurrecting our dreams, being grateful even
for the challenges, and knowing that our lives, in fact, do matter.
The idea of putting songs with these messages out into the world must
have resonated with him, because he offered to sing something on it.”
Truly, there's something about “Friends
Like Me & You” that elucidates Loggins' musical personality in
a way perhaps none of his repertoire has to date. He joins Angel with
a natural, carefree earnestness in his tenor which reaches the ear
like an outstretched hand, a hand offered in happy greeting and maybe
to lift the listener up.
“I honestly don’t know of any
artist of his caliber who would have the generosity of spirit to
contribute the amount of time, energy, and immense talent that he did
to an indie project,” says Ilene Angel. “I think that speaks to
who he is as a person, besides being a rock star and all that.”
Ilene Angel herself is a multifaceted
artist who has performed at venues ranging from nightclubs to
television shows, and who has appeared both onstage at Carnegie Hall
and at the top of Billboard's music charts. She penned her first pop
song at the age of nine, long before she would graduate from
Northwestern U. and go on to New York's famous Juilliard music
conservatory.
A regularly contributing writer for
Huffington Post, she is also a published author of memoirs, a
featured writer in showcases presented by the National Academy of
Popular Music, and winner of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame's
prestigious Abe Olman Award for her song, “Silence Where Love Used
to Be.”
Ilene Angel is the co-author of No.1
Radio Disney single, “I Don't Think About It,” recorded by Emily
Osment of Disney's popular Hannah Montana program, as well as “We
All Fall Down,” the songwriting competition winner for the Global
Voices for Change organization.
The feature duet from Ilene Angel and
Kenny Loggins, “Friends Like Me & You,” is available online
worldwide beginning 17 August 2015. Her new LP record album on which
it appears, “In Color,” arrives at online music stores fall of
2015. It is available for pre-order from her official website now
(link provided below). The “In Color” LP by Ilene Angel was
produced by Tanya Leah.
Fans of great songwriting, sincere
vocal performances, and the preciousness of friendship should get in
early. Very early.
“Love is the miracle,” Ilene Angel
says. “And we are the miracle workers.”
-S. McCauley
Lead Press Release Writer
www.MondoTunes.com
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