Jay Aura is ready to get the party started with his new EP ‘iParty’. The four-track recording has a dance club atmosphere for a reason and that is because Jay had all the strobes, lasers, girls and drinks in place. Jay Aura didn’t just sing about being in the clubs but actually lived it during this whole process. An actual live party was being recorded with all the bells and whistles you would need for a good time.
Aura has been to clubs all aound the world so he knows his business. Jay is a young singer, composer and producer with a vision to make electro party dance/pop music specifically designed for a younger crowd. I would say mission completed after hearing this EP in full because it definitely has that care-free, youthful spirit to it all. No worries, having fun, hanging out and living it up sums up ‘iParty’ in a nutshell.
The only problem I have with this approach is that each song has that same pop/dance hook that seems to be on every mainstream pop record today. You also hear that regurgitated synthesized voice effect that saturates the market like there is no tomorrow. I referred to this issue as the broken record syndrome in a previous review which is definitely a major problem in today’s music scene. You can only take so much of hearing the same old, same old crap on the radio and TV before someone says enough is enough!
Jay does make a valid point when he says “I see a ton of emerging independent artists who are singers, rappers and rock bands, but not a lot of electronic party pop singers” but is that such a bad thing? What I have always loved about Indie artists, on the whole, is that they play & perform with no boundaries in mind. Complete freedom at its finest without having to subdue to a certain style, genre or sound just because that’s what happens to be “IN”. Be innovators and not followers when it comes to the music game because that’s what it SHOULD be all about.
Granted there were some catchy beats and Jay has some decent vocals but overall it doesn’t stand out from the rest. I will give credit to Aura because he did one hell of a job marketing this EP to fit a specific lifestyle and attitude. He is also able to connect with teens and people in their 20s because of the bubblegum party room he creates. Jay even taps into the iPod and iPad generation by way of the EP title ‘iParty’. In that sense Jay Aura is very smart when it comes to maketing a product to a targeted audience. And I gotta say that Jay Aura knows what’s HOT in today’s music world and so I can’t hate him for that. But…as a music journalist & music enthusiast it doesn’t mean I have to like it or respect it–sorry.
By Jimmy Rae (jrae@skopemag.com)
[Rating: 1/5]