High Luxe

#		Title	Length
1		Whirl	3:51	Play
2		Constellation	4:02	Play
3		Diamond	3:19	Play
4		Empty State	5:05	Play
5		Empty State Reprise	2:08	Play
			18:25

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Description

Together in a room with two keyboards and a microphone, so it all began. The husband and wife duo of High Luxe fell upon their mutual love of creating music. Keyboardist, Jeff Green and Vocalist, Tamara C. Green both with musical backgrounds of their own, began a jam session in their Redondo Beach, California studio in the summer of 1996. "The feeling was euphoric, completely unlike anything I had ever felt before. I was singing, Jeff was playing his keyboards, we turned on the drum machine, and sparks flied." Married in 1995, group members were surprised to discover their musical chemistry. Music was a shared interest, yet it wasn't what brought these two together. From 1996 to 2003, the two wrote numerous songs. One song was written, only to be quickly followed by another. Tamara's silky smooth vocals combined with Jeff's synthesized riffs, superimposed over down tempo acid jazz beat-loops are the soul foundation of their self-titled premiere CD, High Luxe.

Songs fell together for the band as simple musical patterns and soon developed in to more complex sounding compositions. In describing their studio collaboration, it can best be summed up with 'Whirl,' the first track on their premiere CD. "It began with an acid jazz beat and a piano track using my Triton synthesizer. By the next day, I had several tracks recorded and by weeks end, I had finished the instrumental version," recalls Jeff. "I knew Jeff was working on something, but I was so engrossed in other things that I didn't have a chance to listen to it. I sneaked in to the studio when Jeff was out and listened to his creation. It was magical! Almost immediately, I felt words flow through me, and before I knew it I had a melody line. 'Whirl' became the quickest song I had ever written lyrics to and also indicative of what I was going through at that moment...my 'Saturn Return,' as some call it...the culmination of 30 years." Other songs on this 5-song compilation are offered up in altered states, bringing you through experimentation of reverb in 'Constellation,' sexy love lounge in 'Diamond,' break-beat combos with lyrical tirade over breakup past in 'Empty State,' and ending with a bassist journey (John Schweitzer) under dreaming lyrics in 'Empty State Reprise.' But, they confess that none of their creations would be possible without the help of beat master friend, Paul Grogan of Rampant Records. A relationship that started with the sharing of simple drum beat loops, later turned in to a break-beat production of 'Empty State.'

In 1998, the group relocated to San Francisco, California. After spending 3 years in a small San Francisco apartment, the need for more space became obvious. "Everything was squeezed in to one room; our bed, couch, 4-track, Jeff's keyboards, and everything else." In the summer of 2001, they moved to a house in Santa Rosa, California where space was no longer an issue. At this time they upgraded their limiting 4-track to a non-limiting Pro-Tools music editing system. Now with a new in-house studio, members of High Luxe decided to start their own record label, Casa Verde Records, with the intention of operating independently on their own terms. Fed up with main stream pop music and the music industry's exploitation of artists, reaching an audience of 1 or 1 million became inconsequential. "It will always be about making our own original music, with our own hands, controlling our own creative chaos."

Footnotes: Who does High Luxe sound like? Style terms - Morcheeba, Olive, Cocteau Twins. Who are Jeff's musical influences? Gary Numan, Ultravox, Icehouse, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Duran Duran, LTJ Bukem, Pet Shop Boys. Who are Tamara's musical influences? George Michael, Sarah McLachlan, Liz Phair, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Sheryl Crow, Patsy Cline, Billy Holiday, Natalie Cole, Olivia Newton John.