Coming off his appearance on NBC’s “The Voice” last season, Nashville singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist BRIAN FUENTE is self-releasing his debut solo EP 1983 tomorrow, Tuesday, October 16, on all digital retailers. To celebrate the occasion, that night FUENTE and his band The Shadows will hit the stage at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville at 7pm. Fans not in Nashville can watch the show streaming live at http://www.livestream.com/3rdlindsley. FUENTE is also offering fans a free download of the song “No By Now” exclusively at http://www.brianfuente.com/1983.
“I sat down at the drawing board shortly after my time on ‘The Voice’ and was trying to figure out where I wanted to go creatively with my first EP as a solo artist,” explains FUENTE. “I started listening back to some of the music that inspired me to get into music in the first place. I grew up around a lot of R&B as well as 80’s pop. I grew up listening to everything from Tears For Fears to Duran Duran; Michael Jackson to obscure pop bands like Cock Robin. When I was listening back to some of those early inspirations, I thought that it would be really cool to write and record something that set me back in a time and place where I discovered my love for music. 1983 is the year I was born.”
The five-song EP pays homage to that decade of undeniably addictive pop with a modern twist. Propelled by BRIAN’s rich, at times gritty, vocals sung with an abundance of passion and conviction, 1983 is sure to please his ever-growing group of loyal fans–over 4,000 Facebook fans and over 5,000 Twitter followers–while drawing in new fans and further establishing BRIAN’s place in music.
FUENTE–formerly a member of the now-defunct indie rock band Newmatic–was eager to tackle this new project as a solo artist and took complete creative control with guidance from some notable Nashville players. BRIAN laid down guitar, bass, keys, percussion and vocals and self-produced all the new songs, except for “Slow Down Steven” which was co-produced and recorded with Chris Grainger (Wilco, Switchfoot, Luna Halo, Kyle Andrews, The Five Knives) at his studio. The drums were recorded at The Sound Emporium in Nashville while the remainder of the tracking was completed in BRIAN’s home studio known as “The Fountain.” The songs were mixed at Blackbird Studios and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Andrew Mendelson (The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon) at Georgetown Masters Nashville.
The Ridgeland, MS-native, Nashville-based musician also got the opportunity to take in a few successful songwriting sessions for 1983. The fourth song of the collection, “Why’d You Have to Be So Beautiful” was written with Michael Natter–co-writer for Jason Mraz’s latest hit single “I Wont Give Up”–and Michael Logan. “Josie” was written with Nashville writer and artist Shelley Fairchild.
BRIAN’s intention is to offer fans something fresh coupled with the infectious 80s throwback vibe. “I decided to throw in an epic sax solo in ‘Sidelined’ because I can’t remember the last time I heard a sax solo in a rock song…so why the hell not?” FUENTE says. “Lead off song ‘No By Now’ is quite different from the other tracks because it includes a full horn section and definitely has more of an R&B feel.”
His father a guitar player and mother a jazz vocalist, BRIAN was born into music. He picked up a guitar at age 9. Self-taught, he started writing music early and began showing off his guitar skills to the public performing in between his mom’s sets at local clubs, honing his performing skills and garnering a diverse, local following.
In 2007, BRIAN found his way to Nashville hoping to be seen and heard by the industry that mattered most. He embedded himself in the music scene and put together his first Nashville band, Newmatic. The band gained an increasingly loyal audience within the area but BRIAN was determined to show the world what he was all about and in the summer of 2011, he auditioned for the hit TV reality competition “The Voice.” His version of Grace Potter’s “Paris” earned him a spot on Team Blake (Shelton) and the chance to work alongside Shelton and Kelly Clarkson.
Track listing for 1983:
1. No By Now
2. Josie
3. Slow Down Steven
4. Why’d You Have to Be So Beautiful
5. Sidelined
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