Wilneida was born in Puerto Rico and is currently an up and coming singer/songwriter/guitarist based in New York. Wilneida has been playing the electric/acoustic guitar and writing and performing her own music since the age of seventeen. A performace in a local club allowed for a fateful meeting with Tommy Brunjes who is a critically acclaimed percussionist and has performed in such bands as the Murmurs and P.M. Dawn. Their collaboration produced Wilneida's debut EP "Slow". Wilneida wrote all the lyrics and music on this brilliant debut EP. Tommy contributed to the arrangements with the drums, bass, and additional lead guitar on the songs "It's Lovely" and "Slow".
Wilneida leads the band with her haunting vocals and lead/rhythm guitar and is backed up by fellow musicians Nick Lundy on drums and Tommy Brunjes on bass. She will be launching a mini-tour during the Summer of 2005. Catch her in a city near you.
Visit www.wilneida.com for additional artist info.
Hit Session CD Review of
Born in Puerto Rico, Wilneida is now a New York working girl who knows her way around an electric guitar. This four-song EP is a brief yet interesting journey into a quasi-P.J. Harvey or Liz Phair territory. Wilneida has a husky, unique voice that is interesting and compelling to listen to.
The songs on Slow don't rely upon a defined verse/chorus/verse structure, but instead are slightly jazzy, free-form soft-rock excursions. Bass and drums provide a solid rhythm for unusual guitar patterns that are light on riffage but heavy on atmosphere.
"It's Lovely" begins with a subtle guitar pattern and Wilneida's voice, warmly inviting the listener into her sonic experience. This is a song for adventurous adults, as it demands to be listened to rather than played as background music. "Lost In New York" is a mid-tempo number that features a smartly energetic guitar section that would do The Feelies proud. Wilneida tries a bit of Suzanne Vega talk-singing in the jazzy track "Better Than That," and closes with the cleverly melodic "Slow."
Wilneida isn't the sort of singer who would ever make it far on American Idol, but then again, she'll still be recording and singing years after the Idol singers are performing at the local fairgrounds.
Here's hoping that Wilneida will be soon be releasing a full-length album.
Wilneida-Spotlight Artist for Ju
"Wilneida presents a deeply textured EP with a hypnotic, sensual vibe."
I was not expecting such a rich, sophisticated sound. Wilneida's EP arrived on a home-burned CD-R with the song titles Sharpied on the cover. About as DIY as you can get. So I was prepared to be forgiving of less-than-perfect sound quality. I was ready to look past typical DIY flaws and hope the songwriting skills would be strong enough to shine through.
I think Wilneida was just messing with my mind when she scrawled that CD cover. What came out of the speakers sounded confident, solid, ready for a major studio recording session with Butch Vig or PJ Harvey at the helm. Or both. Give her both. Trust me. This is important.
Accompanied only by Tommy Brunjes, whose drums and bass add a warm, rhythmic pulse, Wilneida presents a deeply textured EP with a hypnotic, sensual vibe. The music on these four tracks is 60s rock and 40s jazz-influenced while still modern and experimental. Her voice is deep and sultry. You feel the fog swirling in. There's also a wonderful hippy-trippy element, especially in the lyrics:
We'll go walking along this cloudy road
I can see it now
The cold will keep us young
And we'll be dancing away
Underneath the storm
Can you see it now
It's so lovely ...
These songs are dreamy, half-spoken and half-crooned, presented in what feels like stream-of-consciousness, like she's making this up as she flows along. Yet there's definitely an aggressive rock undertow. The tempo may be writhing and sensual, but she's digging her teeth and nails in.
Of course, there are some flaws here and there. At times, when holding a long note, her voice wavers off-key. It's sometimes hard to understand the words (the above lyrics were pulled from her web site). Again, minor issues that will be resolved once she gets into the right studio with the right people.
And when that does happen, may I suggest more experimentation. I'd love to hear that voice try something a cappella. It's intriguing and strong enough to hold its own. For other tracks, maybe some exotic woodwinds, a djembe, or someone reciting poetry in the background. And just for the heck of it, send that final product out with nothing but the lyrics scrawled on the cover. This is one reviewer who didn't mind having the rug yanked out from under her.
http://www.wilneida.com