Ara Jansen
The West Australian
November 4, 2011,
Breaking preconceptions and being incognito away from his fame in Australia has helped Anthony Callea find his next musical step. The runner-up in 2004's Australian Idol created a career which led to two studio albums, performances in musicals Rent and Wicked and television shows such as It Takes Two. Now with a new single out called Oh Oh Oh Oh, the Melbourne singer hopes it changes people's perception of what he can do.
The new single is a result of two years spent globetrotting and writing with other artists, mainly in Los Angeles, to help define the next stage of sound for a guy who turns 29 next month.
Co-written with DJ Poet, best known for his work with Black Eyed Peas, the song is a cheeky piece of 70s disco meets dance-floor pop bursting with joy. Oh Oh Oh Oh is very much unlike the angelic ballads for which we've known Callea.
"This is where I am musically and I just wanted to create a track that was fun," Callea says. "I wanted to use my voice as the instrument and give it the kind of production which makes it sound like an anthem."
Unlike in Australia where his profile and recognition factor is high, Callea says writing in LA was so much easier because people had no expectations. The writers and producers he worked with didn't really know what he could or couldn't do, nor what he was willing to try in order to expand his musical boundaries.
"I was in a new environment and going to new places," the singer says. "With all the fun I was having, I just wanted to put that into a track."
Callea is no longer signed to a label and says being an independent artist was liberating because he didn't want anyone deciding or getting in his face about what they wanted from the tracks and sessions. He might not have the sexy marketing budget, but he's banking on the music speaking for itself.
The ARIA Award winner is working towards a third album and the single is the first step towards redefining himself as more sophisticated than a post-Idol, boy-next-door pop star.
"When you write with someone you don't know, you bare your heart and soul and it can be a little scary," Callea says.
"That pushed me in different directions, which was great.
"I can be anyone now."
Oh Oh Oh Oh is out now.
source - http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/music/11342345/fresh-voice-for-callea/
Photo - Peter Brew-Bevan
1 comment:
Nicely written piece. Let's hope it does well for him
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