Longtime Musical director and vocalist Tony Isabel aka Tisabel boasts an unprecedented skill set. He writes, arranges, sings, plays, and performs. He busts taboos, flashes unstoppable ambition, blends genres together like paint. Soulful ballads and funky grooves, ambient new age soundscapes, Hip-hop fantasy, and divine EDM devotion. For these qualities alone, he deserves respect. However, as you know, respect is also kind of a bullshit concept. Your favorite songs may not grace anyone else’s mixes; your favorite artists may not have ever left town. A century of recorded music has given us a galaxy of worthy tunes. But the gravitational pull of Tisabel’s music is strong; it has few equals in the underground. If you dig people standing tall in the music industry machinery, he’s your standard-bearer.
Practically anyone trying to marry catchy song craft to such a vast number of styles and genres is very hard to find in an era where artists categorize themselves into the tiniest of sub-genres. With astounding ease, Tisabel gives us dozens of evergreen sounding melodies, deep instrumental cuts, futuristic concept ideas and slamming retro harmonies.
Tisabel’s 15 track album “GENRE HOPPING” is a heady blend of styles and passion that add to the conception of the artist. The recording bristles with the energy and audacity of an artist who is poised with the ambition to take over the world.
How else would you explain the artistic courage needed to jump from the smooth and soulful R&B groove of “Can I”, to the new age piano meanderings of “Sierras Float”, and then onto the ghetto rapper’s swag of “5 Star Girl”, before executing the upbeat, dubstep-influenced, electro rhythms of “All Action No Talk”.
Tisabel seems to be in the process of brazenly reimagining what being a modern musician means – both professionally and artistically – while dismantling the public’s preconceived ideas about what kind of one-dimensional music a possible music icon can and should play.
Moving through the album it is clear that even if “GENRE HOPPING” is the only record, Tisabel ever makes, it will stand as a singular creative statement from a musician who knows precisely what he needs to say, musically. As well as showcasing in just how many different ways he is artistically able to say it!
Again, taking it from the slow-burning stunner, “Could You Be My Lady (Walking Down the Aisle)”, to the funky new jack dance of “Need Your Touch”, and then the retro-rock ballad “One and Only”, Tisabel time and again proves to be a universal artist, meant for all seasons and flavors. I have no doubt that if this album had been released during the eighties or early nineties it might have spawned quite a few radio ready singles.
A multi-talented cross-genre artist such as Tony Isabel deserves much more than being trapped in an era of artificially generated robotic music. Luckily though, he’ll find a plenitude of people longing for the soulfully nostalgic sounds, melodies and harmonies he proposes on this album. Not secondary to any of the above qualities however, is Tisabel’s richly resonating voice, which reaches its entrancing zenith on the mid-tempo ballad “Hold Me Tight”.
“GENRE HOPPING” is the type of album that never goes out of style. This is the kind of music that will outlive us all, and these songs will still be blowing the minds and capturing the interest of music fans decades from now. Produced by The Muzikworkz Company, “GENRE HOPPING” is simply the real thing!
Who is Tisabel? – Anthony Wayne Isabel a.k.a. Tony Isabel, was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and later moved to Los Angeles. He began his career with an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland as bassist with a college jazz ensemble, and subsequently became the bassist and backup singer for such acts as Memphis, The Indian River Boys, Louise Mandrell, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, as well as the bassist and lead singer for a number of working Top 40 club bands. He has performed with a wide variety of acts during his career, such as Bob Hope, Charo, Freda Payne, Johnny Thunder, Snoop Dog and Tupac Shakur, and has also had appearances in TV and film projects such as Rodney Dangerfield’s “Meet Wally Sparks”. “The Martin Short Show” and “Ally McBeal”. A Music Director for a number of cruise lines, primarily Princess Cruises (The Love Boat), Tony is capable of directing a pit orchestra or show-band with equal ease. He is also the author of two different online instructional video series: “The Elusive Pocket Player” and “Stanley Clarke Secrets”.
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