Claire
"Wouldn't It"

Claire Massey is the original vocalist in 'ohana Dreamdance, co-writing "Made To Love", and singing on four or five of the group's first tracks, only one of which ("Let Me") has been released so far. But most of Claire's music has come out of her successful collaboration with highly respected Chicago guitarist Tommy G., a collaboration that has included writing, performing and recording a number of noted projects. The two were founding members of the nineties pop group, now cult favorite, Tami Show, which included Claire's sister Cath, and after Tami Show's run through two major label deals ended, Claire and Tommy continued working.

Their 2002 LP Suncat Muse included the single "Butterfly", which, in complete defiance of the sordid financial realities of modern corporate radio, reached the Top 20 of the national AC charts as a true independent single. Their production technique has always come from traditional band-based arrangements, and it begins when Claire and Tommy write a song, usually a guitar driven progression from Tommy that Claire will put lyrics and melody to. When they're ready, they find some great musicians, usually the same ones, book studio time in a great room with a great producer/engineer, and work together with everybody until the track is right. It's the approach of most great bands, and a very different process from the producer-and-vocalist approach of most beats-driven music, like dance and R&B.

“Time Now” is ‘'ohana Dreamdance's original score for Lizzie MacKenzie’s newest choreographic work “Time Now”, which she is currently rehearsing with Extensions Dance Company in Chicago. The eight minute score is actually a collage of two new ‘ohana Dreamdance tracks. The first and third sections of the work are from the track “Time Now”, and the middle section is a collaboration between ‘ohana producers Dan Agosto and Johnny Nevin called “Some Time”. This is Section I, a two-minute-thirty-second arrangement in 3/4 time for two grand pianos and string orchestra.

Composing original music for dance is always an exciting challenge; it requires a complex collaboration between two different artistic visions -- that of the choreographer and that of the composer --- and those visions are not always easy to communicate. The choreographer may have an idea of general direction and mood, or she may have a more specific sense of a work she can visualize. But to communicate that to someone who is not a dancer is a start-and-stop process requiring as much courage as patience. The composer may have an idea of tempo, arrangement, and mood, or he may already have the beginning of a musical idea. But to communicate that to someone who is not a musician is a stop-and-start process requiring as much open-mindedness as optimism. (more)

‘ohana’s new release “Hidden” is an instrumental narrative of beautiful worlds lost, and then found. This is the score for Mollie Mock and Jeremy Blair's new choreographic work REFLECT, premiering July 17, 18, and 19 at ThodosDanceChicago's NEW DANCES 2009. The track begins with a desperately dark soundscape of deep orchestral strings and woodwinds, before beginning the full story, told by dance-driving percussion and orchestra, until, by the time the story is over, time itself seems to have changed.

When in love, learn the language. In its new release Amparo, PowerPlay FYI taps its diverse roots and reveals a cross-cultural love story set amid the searing heat of Latin rhythms and lush sparkle of vocal harmonies. Will she say, "yes", or will she say, "si"?

Let It All Down is a quiet song that tells a beautiful story. Mostly piano and cello, it winds its way through a series of gentle lyrical changes, speaking without any words, like a beginning that often changes, but never ends. Originally composed for a solo dancer, Let It All Down is an individual story, but it tells of a much broader experience. Here there is a much wider landscape, as if just one dancer could tell a story about everyone, everywhere, all at once.