|  The
main ingredients: an angelic voice, a professional work ethic and
bewitching good looks… blend them together and you get Dionyza
(dee-on-juh). The Los Angeles native was born into music. She’s
the daughter of Motown singer/songwriters Michael and Brenda Sutton.
Though never pushed into the business by her folks, she inherited
its finest points and practices to become one of 2007’s most
seasoned and diversified new artists. The
proof is on brilliant display with her self-titled 5 track debut
EP, “Dionyza” which will initially be released digitally
January 2008 on Little Dizzy Records. She’s collaborated with
hit-makers such as: Rashod Holiday & Sauce (Ne-Yo), David Frank
(The System), Jared Gosslin (Macy Gray) and Nate Butler (3LW).
Dionyza says,
"I've been around music all of my life, up to the wee hours
in studios while Mom and Dad were working. My greatest memory is
being at Motown where I got to meet Smokey Robinson and Teena Marie.
Teena took my sister and me to the park while my parents were in
the studio. As children we saw the ups and downs of the music business
first hand, so they didn't have to warn us about anything! We can
all sing… but I'm gonna take it all the way!”
Thus far, “all
the way” has included chop-building, behind the scenes work
and singing background vocals for top-flight songwriter/producers
such as Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and the team of Soulshock
& Karlin. Her extensive credits include singing on Christina
Aguilera’s, “My Kind of Christmas” album and accompanying
singer Jon B on his Cool Relax tour (which included promotional
stops on Soul Train and Motown Live).
Dionyza sang
on the best-selling soundtrack of the Disney TV movie “High
School Musical 1 and 2” and provides the singing voice of
the characters “Sasha” and “Jade” on the
Saturday morning cartoon The Bratz. “I guess you can say I’ve
been a busy lil’ studio rat,” she laughs!
What Dionyza
has ultimately become is a well-rounded creative artist of the highest
order – a distinction in keeping with the classical literary
character from whom she received her name. “I was named after
‘Dionyza from William Shakespeare’s play Paraclese.’
So I read the play and found that ‘Dionyza’ is a strong
independent woman - the wife of the town mayor who comes to her
for decisions to make. I was feelin’ that!”
Which brings
us to Dionyza’s self-titled debut. She has wisely chosen to
collaborate with several different writers. One intriguing example
of her writing approach can be found on her first single- “I
Told Myself,” which she co-wrote with Robbie Nevil. Dionyza
says, “Robbie asked me, ‘What are you going through
right now? I told him I was seeing a guy and I thought he was going
to be a dog… a player. I told myself to stop hanging out with
him. I told myself I need to let him go.” Robbie said, “That's
it - I Told Myself - we've got a hook!”
What makes “I
Told Myself” even more special is the music track. Back in
the `70s, Motown vocal quartet The Originals recorded one of Michael
& Brenda Sutton’s songs titled “Sunrise.”
That song was sampled by producer Kanye West for rappers Scarface
& Jay-Z’s “Guess Who’s Back” (2002)
and was a Multi- Platinum hit. Bringing the song full circle and
back to family, Dionyza has sampled Kanye’s flip of the track
for “I Told Myself.”
Dionyza says
the most important thing she learned from her parents was to never
give up. “They tell me that I'm at a place where a lot of
people are still trying to get to. Sometimes I just want to stay
in the background. It’s satisfying enough sometimes just hearing
another singer's voice on a track that I wrote. Then I’ll
go to a great show and want to jump on stage, grab the mic and get
up and hit the stage and in the studio as well, I love bringing
songs to life.”
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