ArtMag Radio Network

ArtMag Radio Network


Thelma Houston and Janitor: New Release

November 07, 2013

Grammy Winning Disco Diva Thelma Houston Collaborates With Janitor a young Producer/Musician and release their New EP entitled FORTY TWO. Original songs aren’t a dime a dozen. It may be hard to recreate such a sound from one of American music’s most famous disco diva icons, Thelma Houston.  Add into the mix a 28 year old producer named JANITOR who is deeply embedded in the Los Angeles indie rock scene and you have “fortytwo†- the EP concept and the actual age difference between Houston and JANITOR and an innovative new side-project that challenges the limit of an unlikely collaboration that incorporates both contemporary and vintage sounds. Houston is well-known to the world of Disco, R&B and Motown. One of her most notable singles during that period was "You've Been Doing Wrong for So Long" which secured her a Grammy nomination for a Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Houston released her third album Any Way You Like It in 1976. The first single released was her version of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes’ 1975 song "Don’t Leave Me This Wayâ€. In February 1977 the track hit Number 1 in the U.S. on the R&B and Club Play Singles charts and in April 1977 on the Hot 100 Charts. "Don't Leave Me This Way" won Houston the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the Grammys for 1977. Infusing electronic and R&B and indie pop music, listeners can hear almost every genre in the five-song EP as JANITOR cites his taste in everything from jazz, hip hop to powerpop. Each song is a journey that starts from dark to light – raw, uncensored, thought-provoking lyrics is what JANITOR describes as “Conscious Club†music. They are making music that has a specific idea around it.  It’s also the next generation of Thelma’s sound