For Immediate Release
SONY BMG’S
BLUE
ALERT,
THE MAJOR LABEL DEBUT ALBUM FROM ANJANI
THOMAS
Vocalist/Songwriter's Eagerly-Awaited Album
Collaboration With Leonard Cohen In Stores Tuesday, May 2.
(dateline –
SONY BMG’s Columbia Records is set
to release Blue Alert, the eagerly-awaited major label debut album from
vocalist/songwriter/instrumentalist Anjani Thomas, on
For Blue Alert, Anjani collaborated with mentor Leonard Cohen on a groundbreaking collection of "bittersweet love songs." Blue Alert is co-written and produced by Leonard Cohen.
Anjani was first introduced to
Leonard Cohen in 1984. She first sang
backup with the musical/literary legend on 1985's Various Positions, which included her haunting background vocals
on Cohen's original recording of his signature "Hallelujah." Later that same year, Anjani joined Cohen's
"Various Positions" World Tour as a keyboardist/vocalist and has gone
on to sing on subsequent Leonard Cohen albums including I'm Your Man (1988), The
Future (1992), and Dear
Heather (2004). In 2005 Leonard
Cohen suggested to Anjani that together they try a new approach to music. The result of this marriage of extraordinary
sensibilities is Blue Alert.
"Anjani's music is exotic, dreamy and hypnotic," said Leonard Cohen of his protégé's new music on Blue Alert. "Anjani's voice dropped from her throat to her heart. She was always a great singer, but now she's a world class singer, in full command of an unforgettable voice." Anjani calls Blue Alert "…the most lyrically rich and musically satisfying project I've had the honor of working on."
Born Anjani Thomas in
In 2002, Anjani released her self-titled independent CD, which showcases an innovative blend of jazz, folk and Hawaiian influences, including a duet with famed Hawaiian musician Henry Kapono. She followed her debut with the stirring Sacred Names project, an inspirational meditation on the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek names of God.
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For more information, please contact Erica Silver,
SONY BMG MUSIC (CANADA) Inc., National Media Relations, Toronto, 416.589.3050;
email: erica.silver@sonybmg.com