New Yvette Rovira Album Remixed by Spinna & Matthias Heilbronn

DJ Spinna and Matthias Heilbronn take the Yvette Rovira album in a new direction with a Galactic Soul mix of “I Remember Love” by Spinna and a mix of “Let’s Go Out Tonight” by Matthias Heilbronn. Spinna and Heilbronn add a high-energy house vibe to Rovira’s sound, which is influenced by everybody from Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel to the Beatles and John Mayer to India Arie.

“I tend to listen to a lot of hip-hop, old school R&B and blues,” she says, but I also try to expose myself to what’s happening now. I’ve been listening to Robin Thicke, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Jay-Z lately.” In addition to working on her own music, Rovira regularly sings with hip-hop band The Lifted Crew in Brooklyn.

Yvette Rovira Remixes

“Remember Love” (DJ Spinna Galactic Soul Remix)
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“Let’s Go Out Tonight” (Matthias Heilbronn Mix)
Premiered on Hard Candy | [MP3]

“Let’s Go Out Tonight” (Album Version)
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About the Album
Working with producer Rob Mounsey (Rihanna, Mary J. Blige), and the same tight family of musicians with whom she’s collaborated for the past few years, newcomer Yvette Rovira has recorded a dozen tracks for her self-titled album, flavored with Latin-inspired percussion, funk and old-school R&B references, all sung with a distinctive power and passion.

Among her collaborators is the rapper Lex Doe, who adds his distinctive edge to two songs, “City of Lights,” which Rovira describes as her “love song to New York City,” and “Psychedelia,” the singer’s take on the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky.” A closer listen to the lyrics of that particular song, with its trippy synth lines and multi-layered vocals, brings to light one of most striking aspects of Rovira’s songwriting – her lyrics resonate with a positive message, whether she’s heading for the dance floor (on the high energy “Let’s Go Out Tonight,”) or baring her soul (on the pop ballad “Passion,” which Rovira says is about her love for music.)

Notes of inspiration and power course through the single, “Everybody Stand Up,” which opens with the words of no less a spiritual leader than Mahatmas Gandhi: “Be the change that you want to see in the world,” Rovira sings as the song opens. “So often I hear people complain about things but offer no solutions,” she explains. “I’m inspired by leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King to be of service, which sometimes can be as simple as stating your opinion in a positive way.”

“Give Me Just a Little Bit of Time,” which features M.C. Atlas, fuses pop, gospel and hip-hop into a poignant parable with universal appeal. Seemingly at first to be just another song of love and longing, its true message unveils itself with M.C. Atlas’ rap: “This story is told through the eyes of a man who’s lived 80 something years…holding the hand of his wife who can’t stand…watching the love of his life slip away…. ” Atlas had just come back to New York after the death of the grandmother who’d raised him. He wrote his verse in reaction to that, directly from his experience,” says Rovira. “At some point in our lives, we all experience loss.”

All this talk of Rovira’s ability as a songwriter should in no way detract from her power as a singer. Her voice pulses and soars on soulful anthems like “Fearless,” and rides waves of emotion as her vocals intertwine with guitarist Nicholas Cassarino’s on the R&B ballad, “Hold Me.”

Only two tracks on the CD were not written by Rovira – “Love Can Find a Way,” written by producer Rob Mounsey. and “Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream,” one of the lesser-known songs from Aretha Franklin’s 1967 Atlantic Records debut, I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You. “When I get into an artist’s music, I get a little obsessed, and I listened to this CD over and over,” laughs Rovira. “Sure, ‘Respect’ and the title track were Top Ten hits, but this song really resonated with me, because it’s how I feel about my own dream of being able to pursue a career as a musician.”