Rachel Stevens looks out onto a bright future as she releases her debut album ‘Funky Dory’ on Polydor Records. ‘Funky Dory’ is an exhilarating glimpse into Rachel’s talent and ambition, a musically challenging and lyrically honest album that oozes sexuality and confidence. Which was exactly what Rachel wanted. “I wanted people to see me as me, and discover a side of me they hadn’t seen before,” she says. To reach this goal Rachel has combined uplifting, edgy and emotional songs and ‘Funky Do...
Rachel Stevens looks out onto a bright future as she releases her debut album ‘Funky Dory’ on Polydor Records. ‘Funky Dory’ is an exhilarating glimpse into Rachel’s talent and ambition, a musically challenging and lyrically honest album that oozes sexuality and confidence. Which was exactly what Rachel wanted. “I wanted people to see me as me, and discover a side of me they hadn’t seen before,” she says. To reach this goal Rachel has combined uplifting, edgy and emotional songs and ‘Funky Dory’ comes full circle to create a collection of modern pop landmarks, unique and diverse. In this new, unstoppable and unshakeable frame of mind her talent is at an all-time high. Anyone doubting Rachel’s right to make music will already be questioning their preconceptions in the light of her debut solo single, the Cathy Dennis-penned slice of girl empowerment ‘Sweet Dreams My LA Ex’. Produced by hotshot Bloodshy (Ms Dynamite) ‘LA Ex’ is a sassy slice of urban pop, bold and distinctive. “The writers really got my personality and the direction I want to go in,” Rachel says. “The first single is a great example –the first time I heard it I knew it’s what I wanted.” There’s plenty of passion on ‘Funky Dory’, from the seductive ‘Silk’ with its pulsating bass line, to the funky workout of ‘Glide’, via classic modern pop anthems like ‘Breathe In Breathe Out’ and the urban R&B vibe of ‘Little Secret’. One of the album’s highlights is the title track; ‘Funky Dory’ which contains a stinging Spanish guitar and spins a hypnotic pop song out of David Bowie’s Hunky Dory album track ‘Andy Warhol’. ‘Blue Afternoon’ is a stylish, twinkling, lazy Sunday track that really showcases her voice capturing tones and melodies like never before whilst ‘Heaven Has to Wait’ is an emotional and evocative ballad, a real expression of falling in love. Backroom talents like Anders Bagge (Janet Jackson, Britney) and Mike Peden (Will Young), bring the album to life, with blue-chip songwriters ranging from Cathy Dennis to Guy Chambers. Rachel’s even been lending her own hand to the songwriting - a new experience she describes as “an absolute thrill”. Diversity is the key to Rachel Stevens, from the CDs in her own collection through to the music she makes for other people’s shelves. “I love pop and I love mainstream music. This album is the type of music I listen to and am passionate about. S Club wasn’t about taking itself seriously, it was about filling dance-floors, and that’s exactly what we did,” Rachel summarises. “But now, it’s just about me. It’s scary and it’s daunting, but it’s an absolute thrill. I feel brand new.”
