ARTIST BIOGRAPHY: Amanda Halsey is a
singer/songwriter of Roots and Rock music with a R&B
and Soul vocal styling.
Amanda Halsey grew up listening to R&B, Soul and the
birth of New York Hip-Hop. Born and an only child in
New York’s Long Island and raised by a single mother,
Maryann, Amanda was always fascinated by music.
Inseparable from her Fisher Price tape recorder and
portable radio and microphone, starting at age 4 she
regularly recorded sitcom theme-songs and radio hits
of the day and sang along with the playback. When
sufficiently memorized she would record her own a
capella renditions. This went on for years, until the
experience morphed into a recording career, but more
about that later.
singer/songwriter of Roots and Rock music with a R&B
and Soul vocal styling.
Amanda Halsey grew up listening to R&B, Soul and the
birth of New York Hip-Hop. Born and an only child in
New York’s Long Island and raised by a single mother,
Maryann, Amanda was always fascinated by music.
Inseparable from her Fisher Price tape recorder and
portable radio and microphone, starting at age 4 she
regularly recorded sitcom theme-songs and radio hits
of the day and sang along with the playback. When
sufficiently memorized she would record her own a
capella renditions. This went on for years, until the
experience morphed into a recording career, but more
about that later.
| Biography: |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| AMANDA HALSEY |
Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson provided a template for her early musical vision.
In her teen years, Amanda performed in a Long Island singing group, gaining experience in front of
audiences while learning about the great singers of the American Songbook, from Ella Fitzgerald to
Frank Sinatra. She began writing songs at age 12 and experimented with her sound on demos
recorded throughout her teens and early twenties, mostly covers of classic Soul. Her recording of Etta
James' "At Last" was played on National Public Radio affiliate, WLIU in Southampton, New York during
her junior year in college. Upon graduation from Long Island University in 2003, Amanda worked
various jobs in the Hamptons, from waitress to librarian and later as an Inn at Quogue hotel staffer. It
was there where she met legendary singers and their entourages, including Mariah Carey's tour
manager, to whom she slipped her demo. Ms. Halsey also witnessed the annual appearance of
Aretha Franklin’s tour bus in the hotel parking lot, because Ms. Franklin allegedly refused to stay in her
reserved room during her summer visits (accommodations perhaps lacking). And while Amanda
received positive feedback and compliments from her celebrity encounters, her efforts did not lead to
the storied Mary J. Blige Myth: Cover song demo leads to major recording contract. For Amanda, it was
her original songs that would finally open the door to her career as a professional recording artist.
By the fall of 2006, Amanda Halsey left all of her service industry jobs, having saved enough money to
begin recording her own material at newly opened Power Play Studios in Westhampton Beach, whose
former incarnation in Queens, New York recorded the birth and golden era of New York hip-hop from
Nas’ “Illmatic,” Salt-n-Pepa’s “Hot, Cool, & Viscous” and the legendary collaboration of KRS-One,
Public Enemy, and MC Lyte’s empowering hip-hop anthem “Self Destruction.” Faced with
increasingly costly recording sessions, she bartered with Power Play’s owner to work at the front desk
in exchange for more studio time. She was handed a key to the building and continued work on her
demo, paying an engineer and numerous session musicians to play her original compositions. When
the studio abruptly closed in 2007, she moved to Thunderhoof Productions in nearby Hampton Bays,
Long Island, a private production studio she learned about through an acquaintance. There, she
refined her modern R&B/Soul songs while achieving a more sophisticated sound thanks to studio
owner and producer, Joey "Coach" Hanna.
While still at work on her demo she participated in session singing via an online social networking
site for musicians and producers called Indaba. She built a home-studio in a converted bedroom
where in early 2009 she recorded backing vocals for Ohio-based band, Blues Evolution, as well as
producers and artists throughout the U.S. Through this website she met a young Italian producer
named Andrea Carax, who encouraged her to write lyrics and sing on his R&B instrumentals. She
complied and the two managed to create an interesting and contemporary 5-song release that
became Ms. Halsey’s solo recording debut. Entitled "New York EP," it was released in April of 2010 in
the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, U.K., and Japan. With the song “Dreams Come True” receiving
immediate airplay on Radio 6's exclusive show "Giel Jazz" in the Netherlands, Carax and Halsey
crafted three follow-up EPs scheduled for release throughout 2011.
Equipped with a versatile and smooth singing voice that fits in with the Soul/R&B tradition, Amanda
Halsey’s music has attracted a growing fanbase both in America and abroad. On February 1, 2011
Amanda releases her second collaboration with Andrea Carax entitled "Panic Marriage EP" through
S.H.E. Records. Upcoming 2011 releases include "New York EP: REMIXED," "Friday Night Soul EP,"
and an extended play of Amanda's solo compositions showcasing her singer/songwriter roots.
For more information, booking, or interviews, please contact:
Susan Eisman, S.H.E. Records; e. susan@sherecords.com
Official Websites: www.amandahalsey.com www.twitter.com/amandahalsey
In her teen years, Amanda performed in a Long Island singing group, gaining experience in front of
audiences while learning about the great singers of the American Songbook, from Ella Fitzgerald to
Frank Sinatra. She began writing songs at age 12 and experimented with her sound on demos
recorded throughout her teens and early twenties, mostly covers of classic Soul. Her recording of Etta
James' "At Last" was played on National Public Radio affiliate, WLIU in Southampton, New York during
her junior year in college. Upon graduation from Long Island University in 2003, Amanda worked
various jobs in the Hamptons, from waitress to librarian and later as an Inn at Quogue hotel staffer. It
was there where she met legendary singers and their entourages, including Mariah Carey's tour
manager, to whom she slipped her demo. Ms. Halsey also witnessed the annual appearance of
Aretha Franklin’s tour bus in the hotel parking lot, because Ms. Franklin allegedly refused to stay in her
reserved room during her summer visits (accommodations perhaps lacking). And while Amanda
received positive feedback and compliments from her celebrity encounters, her efforts did not lead to
the storied Mary J. Blige Myth: Cover song demo leads to major recording contract. For Amanda, it was
her original songs that would finally open the door to her career as a professional recording artist.
By the fall of 2006, Amanda Halsey left all of her service industry jobs, having saved enough money to
begin recording her own material at newly opened Power Play Studios in Westhampton Beach, whose
former incarnation in Queens, New York recorded the birth and golden era of New York hip-hop from
Nas’ “Illmatic,” Salt-n-Pepa’s “Hot, Cool, & Viscous” and the legendary collaboration of KRS-One,
Public Enemy, and MC Lyte’s empowering hip-hop anthem “Self Destruction.” Faced with
increasingly costly recording sessions, she bartered with Power Play’s owner to work at the front desk
in exchange for more studio time. She was handed a key to the building and continued work on her
demo, paying an engineer and numerous session musicians to play her original compositions. When
the studio abruptly closed in 2007, she moved to Thunderhoof Productions in nearby Hampton Bays,
Long Island, a private production studio she learned about through an acquaintance. There, she
refined her modern R&B/Soul songs while achieving a more sophisticated sound thanks to studio
owner and producer, Joey "Coach" Hanna.
While still at work on her demo she participated in session singing via an online social networking
site for musicians and producers called Indaba. She built a home-studio in a converted bedroom
where in early 2009 she recorded backing vocals for Ohio-based band, Blues Evolution, as well as
producers and artists throughout the U.S. Through this website she met a young Italian producer
named Andrea Carax, who encouraged her to write lyrics and sing on his R&B instrumentals. She
complied and the two managed to create an interesting and contemporary 5-song release that
became Ms. Halsey’s solo recording debut. Entitled "New York EP," it was released in April of 2010 in
the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, U.K., and Japan. With the song “Dreams Come True” receiving
immediate airplay on Radio 6's exclusive show "Giel Jazz" in the Netherlands, Carax and Halsey
crafted three follow-up EPs scheduled for release throughout 2011.
Equipped with a versatile and smooth singing voice that fits in with the Soul/R&B tradition, Amanda
Halsey’s music has attracted a growing fanbase both in America and abroad. On February 1, 2011
Amanda releases her second collaboration with Andrea Carax entitled "Panic Marriage EP" through
S.H.E. Records. Upcoming 2011 releases include "New York EP: REMIXED," "Friday Night Soul EP,"
and an extended play of Amanda's solo compositions showcasing her singer/songwriter roots.
For more information, booking, or interviews, please contact:
Susan Eisman, S.H.E. Records; e. susan@sherecords.com
Official Websites: www.amandahalsey.com www.twitter.com/amandahalsey
Copyright Amanda Halsey 2006 - 2011