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| Erica Baxter |
| Biography |
‘Through My Eyes’ is the sound of an artist finally realizing her musical aspirations. Forget everything you think you know about Erica Baxter and just listen to this.
Until now, Erica has been best known to most Australians for her extraordinary natural beauty and, let’s face it, idle gossip about her personal relationships. Such is the public life of an international model.
All this is now set to change.
The release of “I Spy”, her fantastic debut solo single, sees Erica finally doing what she’s always wanted to do: Sing her own songs.
Anyone who has already heard “I Spy” knows it’s a hit in waiting. A dynamic pop song about self-discovery and inner-strength, it’s got one of the catchiest choruses you’ll hear all year. And it proves that Erica’s talents go way beyond simply looking beautiful for the camera.
For Erica, the release of “I Spy” marks the fulfillment of a dream that dates back to her childhood. However, Erica’s intensive modelling schedule made it impossible for her to focus her energies on also pursuing a music career. While she privately continued writing songs, developing her style and working on demos, it wasn’t until the beginning of 2005 that Erica accepted that if she seriously wanted to concentrate on her music, everything else in her life would need to be put on the backburner.
“I’ve always wanted to do this, my whole life,” says Erica. “I used to do a lot of dancing and singing as a kid. Then, while I was living in London, I shared a place with this great producer and I saw a loads of bands come in and saw what everyone went through, saw how much you’ve really got to get serious about your music and work at it.
“I’d always thought, ‘When I finish modelling, I’m going to pursue this.’ But then it really kind of hit me. I realised, ‘Well, no, you can’t do it when it’s convenient. If I’m going to do it, I’ve got to do it right now.’ It was really amazing being around all those people, watching things unfold. It was very inspiring and it was like, ‘Yep, I’m going do this.’”
So, at the beginning of last year, Erica took the extraordinary step of turning her back on her lucrative international modelling career to funnel all her energies into her music. Ultimately, it wasn’t that difficult a choice.
“I’d been modelling for a long time and I really couldn’t do both,” Erica explains. “It wasn’t a big deal to give it up because I loved it, it had its time and its place, but this is what I wanted to do.
“It is a transition, from modelling to singing, but for me it’s a natural progression. The modelling was something I did to travel the world and make some money and end up doing what I want to do. It was a way for me to go gather the experience to write an album and now sing about it.
“The modelling was fun but I don’t see it the same as music, because with modelling, I was just kind of lucky, I just fell into it. I got discovered at a train station when I’d just turned 15, I was working full-time by 16, moved overseas and then just kept at it and made it a life. Whereas with my music, I’ve really struggled through and worked hard, learnt how to write and I’ve kept developing that.”
Early last year, back in Sydney, Erica teamed up with Audius, the celebrated producer and songwriter best known for helping propel the careers of singers such as Delta Goodrem and Paulini.
Erica and Audius locked themselves away in a studio for an intensive three-month stretch of writing and recording. Working day and night, every day, Erica emerged at the end of it with her debut album complete.
‘Through My Eyes’ sees Erica explore the spectrum of her musical tastes and vocal talent. The first single released is “I Spy”. This big, instant pop classic showcases Erica’s unique voice and was co-written with New Zealand born Natasha Bedingfield. Much of ‘Through My Eyes’ has a more organic, singer/songwriter feel about it, featuring lots of piano, strings and guitar, as well as more smash hit singles.
“I’ve always liked that slightly rawer, acoustic-based sound,” Erica says. “With the lyrics, I wanted to be as honest as I could. I’ve called the album ‘Through My Eyes’, because it’s all perspectives on my life experiences at different places.”
‘Through My Eyes’ will be released later this year through Sony/BMG.
For Erica, ‘Through My Eyes’ is the culmination of a musical dream that began as a young girl growing up on the family farm in Gunnedah in northern NSW, spending 10 years learning to master the saxophone. The modelling, the fame – that was just an interruption.
With hindsight, Erica knows that the time and effort it’s taken to get to this point has only helped enhance the depth and quality of her music. “My direction is lot stronger and I feel in control of who I am and what I want,” she says. “I think that’s a really positive thing. This is a passion for me, a dream, and I want to see it through.
“Someone once told me: ‘Luck is when opportunity meets preparation’. And that’s what I really feel with my music. I’ve worked really, really hard on it. It was like, ‘This is really what I want to do – what do I have to do to make it work?’
“Now I feel like I have really done the work and the preparation has met the opportunity for me.”
It’s time to forget what you’ve seen or read about Erica Baxter, international model, and prepare to be enchanted by Erica Baxter, singer/songwriter. Just listen. From the first time you hear “I Spy”, you’ll know Erica Baxter is the real deal.
TV ROCK’s production skills first hit the airwaves in late 2004 and scored 5 number 1 positions on the coveted ARIA Club Chart with their trademark big room electro remixes. TV ROCK was also commissioned for mixes in the UK and Italy, and received the coveted ‘Essential New Tune’ on Radio 1’s Essential Selection for their mix of Nu Electric’s ‘No Matter What’ and received plays of ‘Flaunt It’, ‘The Power’ which they produced with Tom Novy and SNAP as well as getting spins for their mixes on Supermode, ‘The Fruit’, ‘She’s Hardcore’ and many more.
TV ROCK teamed up with singers Nancy Vice, Dino (DJ/Producer), Tyler Spencer (Electric Six), Seany B and Abigail Bailey (UK) to complete their debut album ‘Sunshine City’ set for release on November 25th 2006 through SonyBMG. This international collaboration with artists spans the globe from New York City to Rome to London and Australia as Ivan and Grant carefully selected the vocalists that suited the TV ROCK sound. The result is a great mix of old school flavours layered with new school beats uniquely layered to deliver a musical cocktail that would please any music lover. The second release from the album ‘Bimbo Nation’ went straight to #5 on the ARIA club charts and holds firm in the top 10 after 7 weeks in the charts.
Grant was recently voted Victoria’s #1 DJ in the Technics Inthemix awards in Sydney and is a resident at superclub Onelove in Australia. He has mixed the last three Onelove CD’s alongside Carl Kennedy, Kaz James (Bodyrockers) and The Freemasons. Grant hosts a national radio show in Australia called Overdrive on the Nova network alongside Vicious Vinyl boss John Course. Testament to his appeal not only behind the decks, he recently placed 4th in the 2006 Cleo 50 Most Eligible Bachelors of the Year and was appointed as brand ambassador for Pioneer Pro DJ gear.
Whether you’re talking about Dj’ing or producing, Ivan Gough is not only one of Australia’s most accomplished dance music exports, he’s also one of its very first! Not only have Ivan’s records graced the airwaves of Kiss90 London and the crates of Sasha and Oakenfold, but he also has more releases (and remixes) to his name than any other Australian. He recently mixed the Inthemix CD with Buzzin Fly head honcho Ben Watt and is also resident at superclub Onelove.
TV ROCK are currently completing a national tour of Australia to support Sunshine City and then head to the UK in January to launch ‘Flaunt It’ to the masses.
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