"Pop" Music

Today, Bernadette O'Reilly and I did back ground vocals on some of the songs for our upcoming production album "Pop."

And mixing continued

"A Mother's Love"

Joi Joy Jones continues recording tracks to be considered for her upcoming debut album on Young Pals Music.

Today was another experimental take on a genre that's totally different from any of the other songs she recorded so far. Her diversity is one of Joi's main power on her talent.

She sang "A Mother's Love" from the musical "The Conqueror" written by David Keeley and Ayhan Sahin. 

David Keeley Back In NYC

Renowned actor/singer David Keeley is recording "Since You've Been Gone"- a composition by Bernadette O'Reilly and Ayhan Sahin for the upcoming album "Pop" to be released in the Autumn of 2015 on Young Pals Music.

Joi Joy Jones Recording Punk Rock This Week

We keep recording different styles with Joi Joy Jones to find the hidden strengths in her voice while we decide on the direction we want to go with her upcoming album project with Young Pals Music. 

This week, we recorded a punk rock track "Lying Eyes" written by Christian Imboden and Ayhan Sahin, and she delivered an astounding performance with her vocals.

It was great to see Joi back in the studio after two weeks of a break from recording, where she was busy with her opera performances around New York City.

Emre Back At Young Pals Music

Emre Yilmaz stopped by the studio today to lay down some tracks for Sahin's upcoming album "Pop."

Post Production Begins For the Album "Pop"

We are almost done with recording phase of our upcoming production album "Pop" which is composed of 12 songs written by Bernadette O'Reilly and Ayhan Sahin among other co-writers. The talent that are involved in this massive, detailed work is tremendous ranging from Broadway musicians/acts like David Keeley, Thomas Gallaher, Rob Preuss, Mike Sorrentino to renowned vocalists like Christi Bauerlee, Jerri BoKeno, Keith Fluitt, Denny Blake, P.J. Griffith; from new rising artists like Luis Cooper, Joi Joy Jones, Dan DelVecchio to Young Pals Music regulars Emre Yilmaz, Dennis DelGaudio, Carras Paton.

Everything is laid on the table. The hard part now is to connect pieces together and bring the production to the level of the talent. That's what the summer of 2015 is here for.

Stay tuned and look for our Autumn release from Young Pals Music! Exciting!

Keith Fluitt on "Pop"

Renowned vocalist Keith Fluitt revisited Young Pals Music studios in TriBeCa today, to lay down harmonies and back vocals to four of the tracks that are scheduled to appear on our production album "Pop."

Jerri BoKeno

Singer/songwriter and Young Pals Music artist Jerri BoKeno visited the studio today to lay down harmonies for "New Year's Eve At Home" which will be included on our production album "Pop." 

The song written by Bernadette O'Reilly, ChuckTaylor  and Ayhan Sahin was recorded recently for the album, by Nashville artist Christi Bauerlee.

Lybert Ramade

Lybert Ramade visited Young Pals Music today from Paris, during his three week stay in NYC.

Ramade released his fourth recording album "Une Autre Chance" with Young Pals Music in 2010.

Carras Paton/Sax

Carras Paton, recording long distance from L.A. saxophone parts for "Where is Your Heart," "L.A. Nights" and "New Year's Eve At Home."

Stay tuned for our production album "Pop."

MELIS AKER CONJURES TIME-TESTED MUSICAL HEROINES WITH DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE

Alt-soul project, produced by NYC’s Young Pals Music Founder Ayhan Sahin, combines vintage female singer/songwriter acoustics with Turkish influences

What happens when you mesh such American musical heroines as Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith and Cat Power with an artist who was born and raised in Turkey? In a word… Melis.

Stage performer, actress, singer and songwriter Melis Aker—now based in New York City—is preparing to share with the world a unique melodic mélange, with the release of her debut album “Dirt,” via NYC’s Young Pals Music. The project comprises acoustically driven original songs, performed with guitars, piano and violin, and lyrical themes based on Melis’ observations of human nature, relationships, and life in the big city. 

Contributing instrumentalists include Turkish guitarist Emre Yilmaz, Broadway pianist Tom Gallaher, percussionist Mike Sorrentino, double-bassist Evan Gregor, and Broadway musician Marshall Coid on violin. Melis wrote the majority of the collection’s titles, with one track composed with Young Pals’ Founder Ayhan Sahin (also Turkish). He arranged and produced “Dirt.”

Among highlights of the album is the tender “Dirt,” which offers an ode to hard-learned life lessons. Melis notes: “This is about coming to terms with those things I can’t change and accepting my own limitations—in a positive way.” Equally plaintive ballads “Take” and “These Days” are gentle acoustic strummers that hearken her many cultural influences. 

The moody, ethereal “Height” offers an emotive call for personal harmony, as she sings: “I’m living in my head but I’m high up in the mountain/I’m trying to get back to the ground, you know it ain’t easy.” The song is actually a metaphor about a relationship that’s not quite on equal footing. She says: “You have a connection with a person, but you realize you’re not on the same level, and there’s pressure to come to terms with the differences. There are never any certainties, so you have to be content with where each of you stands.”

When composing her music, Melis begins with a melody, either on piano or guitar. From there, “the music tells me what the story will become. It’s almost like a soundtrack, where the lyrics come from the mood of the notes.”

And there’s so much more to Melis’ inspiration as a performer—beginning with childhood. As a young girl, she had a habit of hiding underneath her grandparent’s dining room table and observing shadows that moved with the afternoon sun. As these “shadow puppets” came to life, she created live characters. Meanwhile, her grandfather played piano for two hours every day after work, and readily taught her chords and melody.

By high school, Melis was active in theater, all the while teaching herself to play guitar, conjuring heroines Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone. But this was more than a pastime: She studied drama at the International Baccalaureate in Turkey, and then began to discover the world, earning a certificate in Classical Acting from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Next came the U.S., with studies in Drama & Philosophy at Boston’s Tufts University. 

She says, “Growing up in Turkey, it’s hard not to be political. Performance and theater bring diverse groups of people together. It’s an art, but it’s also part of an overall movement. As I traveled more and learned more, I realized it was time to just let life guide me.”

Melis then had her breakthrough role, originating the lead of Roya in Charles Randolph-Wright's play “Love in Afghanistan” at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage. She has also performed throughout the States, at Signature Theatre, New Dramatists, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, PEN World Voices Festival, Boston’s Arts Emerson and the Players Club.

“These experiences were a reminder of my roots and how privileged I was to be in the States as an artist,” Melis notes. “It also drove me to realize that I wanted to share my music. A lot of what I want to say is rooted in my own culture—and elements of nature and nostalgia.”

“Dirt” is the ultimate result of those life influences, blended into a beautifully textured musical entity that tells her story—while relating tales that are at once universal to those who have the courage to take forward strides and escape our innate comfort zone. 

“I guess I’m very sensitive. I’m affected by everything I see and hear and experience,” she adds. “Sometimes, it’s a personal and intimate connection, but you can just as often be impacted through interaction with a stranger. I want people to listen to this album and feel the intimacy of connecting with others.”

For more information, contact 

Ayhan Sahin

ayhan@youngpalsmusic.com

YoungPalsMusic.com

"Behind Every Great Man"

Joi Joy Jones in the studio today, recording a David Keeley/Ayhan Sahin composition "Behind Every Great Man." 

The song was originally written for the Keeley/Sahin musical "The Conqueror" narrating a family torn apart in the Middle East because of war. 

Jones' version will be part of her upcoming album with Young Pals Music, accompanied by Rob Preuss on piano, Dennis DeGaudio on guitars, Mike Sorrentino on drums and Carras Paton on saxophone.