Amel Larrieux

Amel Larrieux Biography

“[Morning] is a tight, 10-song set that’s Grade-A prime choice- no filler.”- Billboard, April 2006

“’Bravebird’ sounds like some brilliant rare-groove thing you’d find in a used-record store. Except it’s really one of the most off-the-hook new soul albums in years.” - Rolling Stone, February 5, 2004

“With talent like Larrieux’s, anything is possible.” – Vibe, March, 2000

An urban chanteuse by birth, the bi-coastal Amel Larrieux grew up in a West Village "artists building" in New York, her parents exposing her early to bohemian characters and experiences that would mold her eclectic sensibilities. By 18, sure that she wanted to express herself musically, she wrote a song and created a demo tape, which led to her pairing with Bryce Wilson to form the duo Groove Theory. As lead siren and co-writer for the group, Amel enjoyed success with "Tell Me," which broke the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top five on the R&B charts before being certified gold in October 1995.

Amel recently released her third solo album, Morning (Blisslife Records) on April 25, 2006. Amel fuses a range of genres – R&B, soul, hip-hop, jazz and folk, with flashes of Middle Eastern, West African, and Indian styles. Inspired by a friend who felt "tired of having to be strong," Amel wrote the first single "Weary" for hard-working single people all over.

The title track, "Morning," speaks of sleepless nights and the longing for the morning to come so the feeling of time standing still will disappear, while "Earn My Affection" is influenced by early blues recordings and “Trouble” features a playful melody and light-hearted acoustic guitar. "Mountain of When" speaks of procrastination due to self-doubt and features delayed backgrounds through delayed effect, giving the illusion of the vocals piling upon each other.

Flying high with a Grammy nomination for her work on Stanley Clarke’s "Where is The Love," Amel Larrieux stretched her wings in Bravebird (Blisslife Records), her second solo effort that was released in 2004, rising courageously into atmosphere untouched by her contemporaries. The ballad "For Real" pulses with the beat of early Prince, offering a classic, unabashed ode to the human heart. In "Bravebird,” Amel mourns female circumcision by describing a fearless victim who fled her native Somalia for the U.S.

In her solo debut in 2000, Infinite Possibilities (Epic), Amel crafted a veritable concept album that explored an endless range of promise and potential. Its single "Get Up” is an ode to working people became a modern anthem and magnet for the growing legion of Amel’s fans.

Amel has contributed to film soundtracks, writing and singing in such films as Barbershop, Love Jones, Down To Earth, and Sunset Park, as well a Mercedes Benz commercial. Former Sade guitarist Stuart Matthewman sought Amel to sing on an album for his band Sweetback. She has also collaborated with hip-hop supergroup The Roots on several songs and tours. She was also recently recognized with a Grammy nomination in the Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, for "Where is the Love" by Stanley Clarke, on which she joined Glenn Lewis as a featured vocalist.

Equal to Amel’s vocal and writing talent is her alluring beauty and eclectic style. She has been spotlighted as a style maven in Essence, Honey, Harper’s Bazaar, Trace, The Fader and other magazines and was also featured in the Coach anniversary print campaign. More recently her vocal talent and beauty have been central to Coca-Cola’s "Keep It Real" campaign in television, radio and print ads. She is also a trained dancer.

She is happily married to manager, producer and musical collaborator Laru Larrieux and is the proud mother of two girls, Sanji-Rei (7) and Sky (11), whose singing on Morning proves that the apple does not fall far from the tree.