Kreesha goes 'Electric' with new album

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Music industry insiders consistently talk about how tough it is making it to the top of the competitive North American pop charts. It is even harder staying there. Kreesha Turner, the Canadian-Jamaican singer who made a favourable impression with her debut album, Passion, is eyeing the Billboard summit with her new hybrid album, Tropic Electric.

Turner has spent the past six months in Jamaica working on the set with producer Nastasia 'The Wizard' Hammond. It is a project she hopes will appeal to dancehall and pop fans alike.

"There's an expression from the industry in the United States now that they want a new sound. Everybody's tired of the old sound," she told The Gleaner.

"That's what me and The Wizard tried to come up with, a unique blend."

Hammond, daughter of lovers rock king Beres Hammond, produced the dancehall songs on Tropic Electric. One of those tracks, Rock Paper Scissors, was recently released in Canada which remains Turner's prime market.

Most of the production for the Electric side was done by the Writing Camp, an Atlanta, Georgia, group responsible for big hits by Beyoncé (Halo) and Rihanna (SOS). They wrote I Could Stay, which is expected to be the album's second single.

Beyoncé, Rihanna and the outrageous Lady Gaga are the hottest of a plethora of female acts that emerged in the last 10 years. Trinidad-born Nicky Minaj is snapping at their heels, and Turner is keen to reach their heights, but on her own terms.

"We've been hearing Beyoncé for the last decade, but it's basically the same thing, so people are saying we are sick of Beyoncé!" Turner reasoned.

Market calling for new sound

"They still love her, but they want something fresh and that's what we're offering."

Born in Edmonton to a Canadian father and Jamaican mother, Turner said she relished her parents' different musical tastes. The "old man" was into the blues of BB King and the progressive rock of Fleetwood Mac, while her mother preferred the roots-reggae of Marley and Tosh.

It was as a creative dancer that Turner made her performing debut in Edmonton. At 15, she moved to Jamaica for a year and got into music while singing in her church choir, and listening to the secular sounds of neo-soul queens, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott.

Her sound was distinctly more commercial when she became a professional performer and hooked up with Toronto impresario, Chris Smith, a Canadian-Jamaican who has enjoyed remarkable success promoting the careers of singers Nelly Feurtado and Tamia.

Passion, their first major project, was a strong seller in Canada. Two of Turner's songs, Dance With Me and Don't Call Me Baby, also did well in Maple Leaf land.

A remix of Dance With Me eventually topped Billboard's dance chart in 2008, paving the way for a highly anticipated sophomore album. Tropic Electric is expected to be released in October by EMI/Capitol Records.