POP ROCK R & B RAP DANCE COUNTRY LATIN USIC CLASSICAL JAll PRO AUDIO Minogue Travels `Light Years' On EMI Love leaps From Major Label Globe - Trotting Artist Returns To DancelPop Sound To Rounder's Zoë For `14 Days' BY LARRY FLICK Loco-Motion," "I Should Be So Lucky," BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 since pro- BY JIM BESSMAN es,' " she continues. "But they went NEW YORK-With the June 19 and "Better The Devil You Know" mos of the track were shipped May 14. NEW YORK-Where other artists ahead and put it out, even while release of her hotly touted new EMI/ "My writing was all from the gut, The commercial pressing of the might regret losing a major -label heads were rolling around [during Parlophone U.K. single, "Spinning very stream -of- consciousness," she single will feature the non -album cuts deal, Seattle singer/songwriter the Universal restructuring], and Around," Kylie Minogue ends a brief adds of "Impossible Princess." "I "Cover Me With Kisses" and "Paper Laura Love, who was signed to Mer- three months later they let us go. I modern -rock flirtation and revisits think I've gotten stronger and more Dolls." "It's a single that fans are cury Records after winning a loyal think they felt like they were giving the infectious dance/pop sound of her focused since that album." truly clamoring for," says Rob Glen- fan base with her self- described us a soft landing -when I don't give '80s heyday. Although the label is still confirm- dale, manager of Blue, an indie retail- "Afro- Celtic" self-released albums, a shit." Produced by up-and -coming Vien- ing the track listing for "Light Years," er in London. "The song shows Kylie is more than happy to have hooked Love notes that she did just fine nese production team 7th District, the back in perfect form." up with Universal - putting out her own disco- inflected jam was written by That is precisely the intention of distributed Rounder. three albums prior fellow late -'80s /early -'90s pop star EMI/Parlophone, which has the proj- "It's great. They to Mercury. "I don't Paula Abdul with tunesmiths Os- ect for the world- excluding Aus- gave us hardly any have a high over- borne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi, and tralia, where Minogue is signed to money at all," says head. I live with Ira Shickman (Stevie Wonder, Chaka Mushroom Records. Love, whose Rounder other people. An '87 Khan). It precedes Minogue's full- Parlophone managing director debut, "Fourteen Astrovan carries us length label debut, "Light Years," Keith Wozencroft says neither "Spin- Days," comes out to the airport and which is due in September in the U.K. ning Around" nor "Light Years" is June 27 on the label's back-no huge pay- and continental Europe. intended to be a disco record, a club pop- oriented Zoë roll to meet with "When I sat down with the people record, or "a return to the great years imprint. travel by bus with an from the label to discuss what this with PWL. We weren't looking for She proudly goes entourage," she says. album should be, we all agreed that I anything light and sugary or a throw- on to explain that the "If the goal is to should do what I do best-a pop rec- MINOGUE away pop record." Instead, he says production budget LOVE get on the radio and ord," Minogue says. "It's the kind of that the intention was to create "qual- for her Zoë album sell a million, go music that people want from me, and the 14-cut set is expected to feature ity pop" with contributions and col- was less than a third of that of her ahead and follow your bliss, and I've learned over time that it's music Minogue collaborations with label - laborations "with great songwriters." last Mercury album. maybe we meet in the middle," she that makes me happy." mate Robbie Williams, famed song- With the ball rolling in nearly every "They gave me $50,000 -and I adds. "But with Rounder, there's a This project marks the Australian- writer Guy Chambers, and Johnny corner of the world, the only territo- could have done it on $5, because I smaller budget and less hysteria born singer's first recorded effort Douglas (George Michael, All Saints). ry Minogue has yet to reconquer is could get fabulous musicians with and agonizing over what the single since her 1998 Deconstruction set, Spice Girls and Five collaborators the U.S. In fact, she hasn't released a their home studios," she says. "And is, what's radio -friendly, what "Impossible Princess," which was Biff Stannard and Julian Gallagher record here in nearly 10 years. "And I feel less obligated with a smaller appeals to the biggest group of peo- marked by rock-edged collaborations also surface as co-writers on the title it doesn't really bother me," she says. amount of money: It's great to sell ple, which I have no idea about." with Manic Street Preachers and the track, while the team of Brian Bawl- Although there is a possibility that a million -bazillion albums -and Produced by Love and Joe Chica- Grid. Although it spawned the mod- ing and Mark Taylor (Cher, Ricky an EMI -affiliated label might issue more power to the people who are relli, "Fourteen Days" employed est hit "Breathe," which peaked at Martin) contribute the energetic "On "Light Years," she remains ambiva- doing it-but I don't feel I've failed Love's local Seattle musical friends, No. 14 in the U.K., the album broke A Night Like This." lent. "If something happens there, if I don't." along with Los Lobos sax player Minogue's singles hot streak-which String arranger Will Malone, great. But I'm honestly not sure that The eclectic, folk -style artist, Steve Berlin, who guests on "Way included 13 consecutive top 10 hits. famous for his work with Massive I have the energy or desire to start whose music shows a novel mix of Off The Hook," a "crudely egomani- The artist admits to being "a little Attack and the Verve, is also featured from scratch there." African and Celtic flavorings, fully acal, `I'm Too Sexy For My Cat' disappointed" by the response to on the album. As for her future elsewhere, the realizes that her brief major -label song," says Love, referring to the "Impossible Princess." "The press "Everything about this record was singer says that she found herself stay was curious, at best. Right Said Fred hit. Other songs, had a bit of a field day with it, calling light and fun," Minogue says. "It was putting her life and career into per- "I don't know why in hell they however, reflect the Painted Desert me 'Indie- Kylie' and such, which I like being on summer holiday." spective shortly after she completed even did the second record [1998's Publishing (ASCAP) writer's long- think scared people off," she says. With the recording complete, the recording "Light Years." "Shum Ticky"], because after the term sociopolitical commitments. In many ways, she views that proj- singer says she's ready to "work like "I faced myself in the mirror, shook first they said they were having a Love says she was deeply affect- ect as "a bit of a purge," following her mad" to promote the project. She'll hands with myself, and said, `You're hard time categorizing me and get- ed by last November's riotous World split with Svengali-like production spend much of June and July doing OK.' You embarrass me sometimes, ting radio placement -a not so sub- Trade Organization gathering in team Stock Aitken Waterman and television appearances in the U.K and but you're cool. That was a big tle way of saying I wasn't selling as Seattle, and she points specifically their label, PWL, several years earlier. throughout continental Europe in sup- moment for me -one that's allowed many records as Hanson," she says. to the tracks "In Seattle" and "Hey While with PWL, Minogue was famed port of "Spinning Around," which is me to move forward and feel really "So I said, `Maybe I'm not a hit - Bigelow." "Seattle got shut down, for such sugary dance ditties as "The already receiving active airplay on good about my past." maker and don't write for the mass- (Continued on page 103) The debut album from Saxman and Leader of Spyro Gyra! JAY BcCKI1STTICI Don't miss Jay Bectenstein Ja y and 1Py ro 6yray on tour this summer! 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