Espiritu's World
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Bio

Espiritu, AKA Vanessa Quinones/Vanessa Contenay, hails from a Parisian (spanish mother - "Quinones") and French (french father - "Contenay") background. Her first musical outing on the label Heavenly & Sony was a bossa nova style album, mixing spanish and english and was called "Always" or "Conquistador", depending on the territory it was released in. The tune "Always" from the album, a remake of an 80's song, was picked up by the dance act Tin Tin Out and given a full throttle remix. It became a international club hit in 1995, and is Espiritu's biggest single to date. However, the musical direction the remix took is not the style of music Vanessa intended to make, and she is not fond of the Tin Tin out version. Her record company had other ideas, of course, cause a hit is a hit and makes money, so within a year she parted with Sony and decided to pursue her own musical styles. The result was a full studio in her home, from where the next album came, "Another Life", or "Number One" (in some territories). The album is a mixture of drum n' bass, 1952's doo-wop, jungle, trip hop, and spanish influences, with various ethnic musical samples. With help from drum n' bass/junglist legends A Guy Called Gerald, and PFM, the album recieved rave critical reviews for it's innovativeness and style. The influences on the album range from LTJ Bukum, Saint Etienne, U.N.K.L.E., Fila Brazilia, etc. Her new single "Why" is a remake of an old Carly Simon classic, and the style shows influences from the Soul To Soul classic hit, "Back To Life".

(Mixmag, Vol.2., No. 70, March 1997)

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